Matterhorn – The Toblerone Mountain
Matterhorn is perhaps most famed for its presence on Toblerone chocolate bars and was often used as a poster child for Switzerland. A visit to the country is not complete without a visit to the mountain. However, Matterhorn is not accessible unless we are experienced climbers (which we were not); the closest we can get is Matterhorn Glacier Paradise, located on Klein Matterhorn. Klein Matterhorn is separated from the Matterhorn by the Theodul Glacier and offers the closest, most direct, and spectacular views of the Matterhorn.
Ascending to the top of Matterhorn Glacier Paradise at 3,883m
Getting to Matterhorn Glacier Paradise was a breeze, thanks to the engineering prowess of the Swiss in their cable car construction. We headed to the Glacier Paradise base station and got our tickets, which we were able to get half price using our Half Fare card. The base station was packed with skiers going up the mountain this morning. Despite the long line, the queue actually moved very fast. We found ourselves on the cable car going up to the mountain in under 5 minutes of queue time. The way up to the mountain was easy, with only one change of cable car in between. As we ascended up to the mountains, we were treated with views of the Zermatt Village and the Swiss Alps. And all these while, the pyramid-shaped Matterhorn never left our sight, as though the mountain was protecting us on our way up. The first cable car brought us up to 2,939m to Trockener Steg, passing by three cable car stops at Furi, Schwarzsee, and Furgg along the way. When we were riding past Schwarzsee, we spotted the huge “Zermatt” sign. This was the sign that I wanted to bring my friends to take pictures with, but I found it difficult to access when I was planning this trip. I was elated when I saw that this sign was so close to the cable car station. I told my friends about this sign and would return on our way down, as it would be difficult for us to get to the top with the amount of skiers going up the mountain. After another 15 minutes, we reached Trockener Steg, where we changed onto another cable car up to Matterhorn Glacier Paradise.
Glacier Paradise Top Station
When arriving at the top station of Matterhorn Glacier Paradise, we originally wanted to visit the viewing platform, which promised us a spectacular view of the mountains. However, the viewing platform was under renovation during our time of arrival, and would only be opened at the end of January 2026. Since we couldn’t visit the viewing platform, the next best alternative was the skier’s start point next to the restaurant. It was chilly and very windy the moment we stepped out of the building. The chilly winter alpine wind kept blowing our way, making standing outside the building a torture. Despite the chilly winter wind, stepping outside the Glacier Paradise top station building treated to a view of the winter wonderland of the Swiss Alps. The viewing was spectacular. We shuttled in and out of the building to take in the views and a quick wefie before we gave up and headed to the Glacier Palace.
Glacier Palace
The other activity to do up here at the top station of Matterhorn Glacier Paradise for non-skiers was to visit the Glacier Palace (other than visiting the viewing platform). Perched 15m below the surface on top of the 3,883m Matterhorn Glacier Paradise, the centuries-old ice formations sit on the broad glacier between the Kleine Matterhorn and Breithorn, which is the highest Glacier Palace in the world. Our visit to the Glacier Palace started with a lift ride 15m below the surface to a tunnel of ice where we saw numerous ice sculptures ranging from bears to eagles to wolves and even ice sculptures of humans. There is even an ice bar and an ice slide. The ice slide was carved into a tunnel, which looked dark and claustrophobic. However, once we had a go, it was not as dark as it seemed, and it was quite fun. The only issue we found was that the slide was not slippery, especially with the mat that was provided. We thought it was better without the slide. After playing with the slide, we explored the rest of the ice cave and saw more ice sculptures. We spent a total of 30 minutes in the Glacier Palace.
Cinema Lounge
Our last stop at Matterhorn Glacier Paradise was the Cinema Lounge, which was situated at the entrance from the cable car station. Since we were here, we figured to take a look at what the Cinema Lounge offers. To our disappointment, we thought the film shown in the lounge was boring. There is a limited number of hanging chairs for visitors to sit and watch the replay run videos of people climbing to the top of the Matterhorn. I thought it was not worth the time coming to the Cinema Lounge, unless one has time to kill. Seeing there was nothing else to do up here (no snow fun park for us to sledge), we took the next cable car and descended the mountain.
The Lower Stations of Trockener Steg and Schwarzsee
Before heading back to Zermatt, we had lunch at the Trockener Steg. There are two types of dining available at Trockener Steg – the sit-down full-service and the canteen-style self-service restaurants. We opted for the canteen style and found the food to be reasonably priced and delicious. Other than dining, Trockener Steg offers visitors a great spot for pictures with the iconic Matterhorn.
Schwarzsee is our last stop before we return to Zermatt. It is the second last station on the mountain before we reach Zermatt. We did a brief stop here to take pictures with the “Zermatt” sign. As the sign sits at the side of a ski slope, we had to walk down the slope to get to it. The “Zermatt” sign at Schwarzsee was a great spot as the letters were set against the Matterhorn.
Exploring Zermatt
It was already 2 pm when we arrived back at Zermatt. We originally planned to visit the Rothorn, but seeing that the last descent from Rothorn was at 3.30 pm, we figured it was not worth going up since we would not be spending much time on the mountain. We changed our plan to spend the rest of the afternoon visiting the sights in Zermatt.
Municipal Administration Office Viewpoint
There are a handful of sights in the village of Zermatt which can be seen in one afternoon, due to the compact size of the town. We stopped by a viewpoint of the Matterhorn outside the Zermatt Municipal administration office. This viewpoint gave us a good view of the Matterhorn against the traditional Swiss alpine cottage. As it was situated on an elevated platform, we were not worried about blocking the human traffic on the main street. There are some benches placed here for people to rest and admire the beauty of the Matterhorn. With the wooden alpenhorn strategically placed on the stairs to the platform, I thought this was a good place for people to take pictures of the Matterhorn and the traditional long Swiss horn.
Pfarrkirche St. Mauritius
Our next destination is the Pfarrkirche St. Mauritius, situated in the centre of the village, just next to the Municipal administration office viewpoint. One cannot miss this church due to its location and its distinctive stone structure, bell tower, and green roof. The church, dating back to 1285, is the tallest structure in Zermatt. Unlike the churches we saw in Italy or Paris, the exterior of Pfarrkirche St. Mauritius is rather plain, with the exposed stone feature on the tower. As with its exterior, the interior of Pfarrkirche St. Mauritius looked equally clean, without elaborate carvings and frescoes. The only fresco is painted in the centre of its ceiling, depicting Noah and his ark. The main altar features a baroque style with elaborate carvings, with the statue of St. Maurice installed in the centre of the altar.
The Matterhorn Museum is another sight in the centre of Zermatt, next to Pfarrkirche St. Mauritius. The distinctive glass-domed building was a stark contrast to the traditional architectural style of the church. The museum archives how Zermatt changed from a sleepy farming village to a world-renowned alpine village. It also displayed wooden cottages and the effects of the first climbers of the Matterhorn. We did not enter the museum as it costs CHF 12 to visit. There is a cemetery behind the church (which we discover in the evening when walking past it), with graves of the mountaineers who scaled the Matterhorn.
Hinterdorfstrasse
The main street of Zermatt, Bahnhofstrasse, ends at the train station, which is filled with shops selling from souvenirs to luxury items. Most of the restaurants and supermarkets are found on the Bahnhofstrasse. We made a detour off the Bahnhofstrasse into Hinterdorfstrasse. Often missed by visitors to Zermatt, the Hinterdorfstrasse is a small street with traditional Swiss wooden houses built on both sides of the street. These houses used to be barns and stores for the residents to store their harvests. The distinctive stone stabs these houses sat on were designed to keep mice out. Today, the facades of these houses have not changed, but their function changed. Most of these houses were converted to chalets and cafes. I even saw a plaque on one of these houses that dates the house back to the 17th century for the storage of sugarcane and bread. I thought Hinterdorfstrasse is a great spot to take in the historic vibe of the town and makes a great photograph spot, especially in winter when the houses are blanketed with snow.
Murini Hill – Sunset in Zermatt
As it was approaching sunset, one of the things that we planned to do was to view the sunset and see the village of Zermatt light up from Murini Hill. Murini Hill is situated in northern Zermatt, past the Zermatt train station and Rothorn cable car station. The walk up the hill started with a climb up a gentle slope, and the walk up the hill ended with a 300-step staircase. There was a small crowd by the time we reached the viewpoint on Murini Hills, all waiting for the sunset and the village light up. This is the viewpoint from which the iconic photo of Zermatt glowing at night with the Matterhorn Mountain standing solemnly behind was taken. We watched the sky turn from light blue and eventually be taken over by darkness, and Zermatt slowly be taken over by warm orange light. The view was spectacular. We were glad that our patience paid off as we waited for sunset. We did not wait for the sky to turn completely dark; we headed to the supermarket to buy dinner and breakfast before heading back to our apartment to rest for the night.
