Records in Zermatt

Europe’s highest cable car station is on the Matterhorn glacier paradise (Klein Matterhorn) at 3,883 m.

Zermatt’s Glacier Palace not only has unique ice sculptures but an incredible location, too – it's the highest in the world.

How do you cook spaghetti at almost 4,000 metres above sea level? This is the challenge facing the chefs in the Matterhorn glacier paradise restaurant, the highest in Europe.

Zermatt’s ski area, the Matterhorn ski paradise, stretches up to 3,899 m above sea level (Gobba di Rollin), making it the highest in Europe. It’s also the only one in Europe that is open all year round. This attracts many professional skiing teams to Zermatt for summer training.

Europe’s longest ski slope is 25 km and goes from the Matterhorn glacier paradise into Zermatt village.

Switzerland’s highest hotel is on the Gornergrat. The 3100 Kulmhotel Gornergrat has stunning views of the majestic Alpine glacial landscape, plus its own observatory offering views of the stars.

It’s an historic icon – the amazing Gornergrat Bahn. It's also Europe's highest open-air rack railway.

Speeding down the mountain – on the highest toboggan run in the Alps.

You need a head for heights to cross the Charles Kuonen Suspension Bridge. The longest pedestrian suspension bridge in the Alps is almost 500 metres long and spans the Grabengufer ravine above Randa. At its highest point, it is 85 m above the ground.

With an average sunshine duration of 62% per year, the Zermatt / Gornergrat / Klein Matterhorn area is the sunniest in Switzerland. As the area is surrounded by 38 four-thousanders, there is little cloud cover, which bestows a dry, sunny climate on Zermatt.

No other Alpine village has as many restaurants that have been awarded Gault-Millau points.

Zermatt's restaurants and accommodation are regularly honoured in a wide range of rankings as being the best in Switzerland, if not the world.

Blacknose sheep are as much a part of Zermatt as the Matterhorn. This may be why the village has the largest flock of Blacknose sheep in the world.

The area of Zermatt has the highest tree line – above 2,300 m and defined as a forested area with fixed stock. Below the Trockener Steg mountain station lies what is thought to be the highest tree in Switzerland. It is a larch that grows at 2,800 m.

Dufourspitze, Dom, Liskamm, Weisshorn and Matterhorn are the highest mountains in Switzerland and are all around Zermatt. A total of 38 four-thousanders can be climbed from Zermatt.

Zermatt has always been car-free. While many Swiss bus companies are now electrifying their fleet, there have been electric buses in use here since 1988.

The very best in sensor and monitoring technology – the Kumme gondola will be the first gondola in Switzerland that will run without staff.

At 12.9 km, the Gorner Glacier is the third-longest glacier in the Alps. Together with the Grenzgletscher (Border Glacier), it forms the second-largest glacial system in the Alps.

The final record is about Zermatt's most popular landmark – the Matterhorn, the most-photographed mountain in the world! But it's also dangerous, claiming more lives than any other mountain in the world.

Europe's oldest barn, built in 1261, stands above Zermatt, near Herbrig. This "Stadel" or grain barn, was used to store and dry the sheaves of grain. 

The largest granary in Upper Valais is situated in the centre of Zermatt near the church. It was used to store food and other belongings in the 19th century.