Switzerland, Zermatt
France has the Eiffel Tower, Italy has the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and Switzerland has the Matterhorn. At its foot lies the village of Zermatt, a legendary summer and winter resort with universal appeal. Zermatt is Switzerland’s southernmost tourist resort. At an altitude of 1,620 meters, the air has always been pure and dry. The Valais village has banned cars. Here, people get around on foot, by horse-drawn carriage, or by electric car. Despite its fame and development, Zermatt has managed to preserve its picturesque and ancient village.
Hikers and mountaineers from all over the world flock to admire, photograph, and climb the Matterhorn: its summit rises to 4,478 meters, and this mountain is not only the most beautiful and most photographed in the world, it is every mountaineer’s dream. The Matterhorn is not a fad, but a fascination. Thirty-seven other peaks over 4,000 meters tower above Zermatt. Three panoramic viewpoints, located at an altitude of over 3,000 meters, are easily accessible by ski lift: Gornergrat, Matterhorn Glacier Paradise, and Rothorn Paradise. The Gornergrat cogwheel railway (3,135 m), the Sunnega funicular, and the cable cars to the Klein Matterhorn (3,884 m) and Stockhorn (3,532 m) make the ascent easy and offer breathtaking views.