Christmas in Zermatt is a magical experience.  Not magical in the cliched sense of the word, that so many ski resorts claim, but a truly enchanting and fascinating slice of Swiss Alpine life.

We’ve been spending Christmas in Zermatt for years, and here are our top seven reasons why you should too:

• Wonderful Après-ski
• High skiing and reliable snow
• Chez Vrony
• Christmas at the English Church
• You don’t have to cook…
• A car-free ski resort
• Zermatt is great for kids

Here are some more details on why Christmas in Zermatt is so good…

1. Wonderful Apres Ski

Zermatt’s bars don’t need inflatable kangaroos or to pump out ‘Living on a Prayer’ at top volume to create a wonderful apres ski scene.

Whether you stop off in one of the piste-side mountain restaurants, or the many bars in town, you can enjoy great company, great views and a stylish environment.

One of our favourites is the CERVO.  This video gives you a great feel for a laid-back and chilled out way to end your day on the mountain:

2. High skiing and reliable snow

There aren’t many resorts that can offer you skiing at over 3000m, but Zermatt is one of them. The Klein Matterhorn glacier is open in summer as well as winter and goes as high as 3820m.

The village itself is 1620m and the resort has a great snow record – important for early season skiing at Christmas.

3. Chez Vrony

If you travel to Zermatt for Christmas, then make sure you include at least one visit to the amazing Chez Vrony.

The view from this restaurant is unbeatable, the staff friendly, food superb and even better, it’s decent value (for Switzerland…).  Try the Vrony Burger for the perfect post-ski energy boost!

4. Christmas at the English Church

Since it was consecrated in 1870, St Peter’s (also known as the ‘English Church’) is regularly full for their Christmas service. It can attract up to 800 people, leaving it literally ‘standing room only’ and helps make Christmas in Zermatt special.

Built during the ‘Golden Age‘ of Alpinism, a visit to the church is an essential part of any trip to Zermatt.  Part-funded by the families of those who died during the fateful first ascent of the Matterhorn, the graves of mountain climbers from over the years can be found in the churchyard.

5. You don’t have to cook…

We all know how stressful it can be preparing Christmas lunch with all the trimmings.  One of the best parts of going away for Christmas and staying in a catered chalet is that everything – yes, everything – is done for you!

All you need to do is go out for the day and enjoy skiing in the fresh air and blue skies, then come back to your chalet in the evening for aperitifs and canapes, before the main meal itself.

Chalet Ulysse is a luxury chalet for 8-12 guests in an excellent location. To check availability for Christmas, please contact the Matterhorn Chalets team.

Of course, if you really do love to cook Christmas lunch then you can do that too.  We offer a range of self-catered apartments and chalets for 6-8 guests.

6. A car-free ski resort

One of the highlights of Zermatt is that you can spend some time away from the pollution and congestion of a car-packed city.

Petrol and diesel cars are banned from the resort, and transfers from the railway station to your chalet and around the resort are made either by electric taxi or bus.

The bus service is extremely efficient, and as you would expect from the Swiss, always reliably bang on time down to the second. Sync your watch and you can walk out of your chalet and walk onto the bus!

All of our accommodation is Zermatt is located on the bus route making it simple to get into town or to/from the lifts.

7. Zermatt is great for kids…

With sledging and snowy playgrounds, Zermatt is a wonderful place for children to spend Christmas.

When you see horse-drawn sleighs travelling around resort every day, of course it makes sense that Santa’s reindeer will be pulling his to drop off their presents!

And with no cars to worry about, it’s a great place to travel by sledge yourself…

Let us find the right accommodation for you

If you would like to spend a magical Christmas in Zermatt, then please contact theMatterhorn Chalets team to discuss your requirements and we can find the right accommodation for you.

Article by Iain Martin