Switzerland, Italy · Mountain Exploration

Zermatt & Mt. Gornergrat Small Group Day Trip from Zürich

12 Hours Round trip from Zürich Easy pace

The journey

Trip highlights
  • 01 Scenic train journey from Zürich to Zermatt via Bern, Lake Thun, and Visp
  • 02 Walk through Zermatt’s old alpine village with its typical wooden houses
  • 03 Visit Kirchbrücke viewpoint for classic Matterhorn views
  • 04 See the Mountaineer's Cemetery and Hotel Monte Rosa
  • 05 Ride the Gornergrat cogwheel railway to around 10000 ft altitude
  • 06 Enjoy views of glaciers, year-round snow, and more than 20 four-thousanders
  • 07 Small-group experience with local guide and transportation included

Travel from Zürich to the heart of the Swiss Alps on this small-group day trip combining scenic rail travel, village charm, and high-mountain views. Journey through Bern and along Lake Thun before continuing via Visp to car-free Zermatt, where traditional wooden houses and classic Matterhorn viewpoints await.

In Zermatt, explore key sights including the old village, Kirchbrücke viewpoint, the Mountaineer's Cemetery, and Hotel Monte Rosa, closely tied to the history of the first Matterhorn ascent. Then ride the Gornergrat cogwheel railway up to the high alpine world of year-round snow, glaciers, and sweeping views of the Matterhorn, Monte Rosa, and surrounding peaks.

With transportation included and a local guide leading the way, this full-day experience offers an easy and memorable way to discover one of Switzerland’s most iconic mountain regions from Zürich.

Travel from Zürich to the heart of the Swiss Alps on this small-group day trip combining scenic rail travel, village charm, and high-mountain views.

From the itinerary

At a glance

What this trip includes

Duration 12 Hours
Tour type Shared
Activity level Easy
Accommodation Not included
Transport Included
Wheelchair access No
Cities Bern, Thun, Zurich, Monte Rosa, Zermatt
Languages English, German

Day by day

The itinerary

1
Day 01

Train station Zürich HB

Your tour starts with the train ride from Zürich to Visp (two hours). The intercity train takes you in one hour to Bern.

Bern (passing by)

Berne is called the "Federal City" and functions as the capital of Switzerland. As the seat of the city and large parts of the cantonal and federal administration, it is the largest center of public administration in the country

travel along lake Thun

Lake Thun is a fjord lake in the Bernese Oberland on the northern edge of the Alps.

crossing the alps in a tunnel

The Lötschberg Base Tunnel is a 34.6-kilometre-long railway tunnel that crosses under the northern Alpine chain at the Lötschberg between Frutigen in the Bernese Oberland (Canton of Bern, Switzerland) and Raron (Canton of Valais, Switzerland) and was put into operation in 2007. This base tunnel is part of the Lötschberg-Simplon axis of the New Rail Link through the Alps (NRLA), which runs from Basel via Bern-Thun-Spiez to the Lötschberg and on via Brig-Simplon-Domodossola to Milan and Novara-Genoa, and next to the one running parallel Gotthard axis forms a second route for the transalpine rail freight traffic of the European Corridor (Rotterdam-Genoa).

Viso (passing by)

Visp is a municipality in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It is located at the entrance to the Vispertal at the mouth of the Vispa in the Rotten. The small town is the capital and largest municipality in the district of Visp.

Here you get off the intercity train and change direct onto the Matterhorn-Gotthard-Railway. The cogwheel train takes you within 55 minutes to Zermatt

St. Niklaus

The Mattertal is one of the southern side valleys of the Rhone Valley in Valais. It is one of the valleys that have cut deep into the Valais Alps to the south, up to the main Alpine ridge (there is also the border ridge between Switzerland and Italy) and open to the north towards the Rhone, the main geographic axis of Valais. Three of the four highest mountain massifs in the Alps lie in the valley's border.

Zermatt alpine village

Walk through the old part of the alpine village of Zermatt with it's typical wooden houses.

Viewpoint Kirchbrücke

Visit the viewpoint for the typical Zermatt village picture to the Mt. Matterhorn

Mountaineer's Cemetery

The graveyard shows you, how closed the success to climb Mt. Matterhorn and the risks are. It's part of the history of Zermatt, that accidents on high alpine climbing happens.

Hotel Monte Rosa

The hotel Monte Rosa is where the first ascent to Mt. Matterhorn startet. Several information about the first ascent and it's historical tragedy are available here. 

Gornergrat railway

On a 30 minutes cogwheel train ride you get up to 10000ft altitude. In this high alpine area, beautiful views to Mt. Matterhorn and the glaciers await you. Mt. Gornergrat is in all year snow. 

Mt. Gornergrat

The Gornergrat is a mountain ridge at an altitude of 3135 m above sea level. M. It is located about three kilometers east of Zermatt in the Swiss canton of Valais. The Gornergrat is located between the Gorner Glacier and the Findel Glacier and offers views of more than 20 four-thousanders, including Monte Rosa, the Matterhorn and the Liskamm.

The Gornergratbahn runs from Zermatt (1620 m above sea level) to the Gornergrat, overcoming an altitude difference of almost 1500 metres. At the terminus (3089 m above sea level) on the southwestern tip of the ridge is the Kulmhotel, which is the highest mountain hotel in Switzerland.

Visit the scenic viewpoint with the all year snow or have a look at the multi-media experience world, which shows the Matterhorn and its surrounding alpine world in all dimensions, will fascinate both young and old and is even a great place to visit on the Gornergrat when the weather is not so good.

return travel

After returning from Gornergrat, your travel back to Zürich will take place (3 hours). You trave on the same way back as you arrived in the morning. 

The route

Where you'll travel

Tour route map
Round trip from Zürich 5 cities · 12 Hours

The fine print

Trip details

What's Included

  • Local Guide
  • all transportation fees
  • priority boarding pass for Matterhorn railway

What's Not Included

  • Food or drinks (lunch break at various restaurants possible)
  • Gratuities

Know before you go

  • WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE
  • STROLLER OR PRAM ACCESSIBLE
  • ANIMALS OR PETS ALLOWED
  • PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION NEARBY
  • Infants must not sit on laps
  • Infant seats unavailable
  • Wheelchair accessible
  • Not wheelchair accessible
  • For questions, you may contact SwissTravelGuide by e-mail.

Logistics

Meeting & route

Meeting point
Zürich, CH
Tour start
Zürich, CH
Tour ends at the same location as the start point.
End of the journey

Your 12 hours finish where they began, in Zürich.

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