Zermatt, Switzerland - Guide for Visitors

Zermatt is a historic town which has been looking after tourists since Victorian times. There's a wide range of accommodation for every budget, although it caters best for the higher-end budget and is not a cheap place to stay.

Shoppers will not be bored. Those with expensive tastes will enjoy the watch shops, and less expensive souvenirs fill many of the stores along the main street.

For Swiss cuisine, there are many choices of restaurants. Try 'raclette' or 'fondue' to sample traditional Swiss cheese-based meals.

On a rainy day, learn more about this unique town by visiting the alpine museum. Here you'll read about the early, ill-fated attempts to climb the Matterhorn, learn about the birth of snowsports, and can see how the farmers of old Zermatt used to live.

You'll enjoy a summer vacation to Zermatt if any of the following apply:

• You love to escape from it all
• You long to spend your days high in the beautiful mountain scenery
• You are a keen walker, or a hiker
• You love scenic locations for photography or art
• You want to go mountain biking, paragliding or summer skiing
• You are a couple (of any age) or have active, outdoors-loving teenagers with you

• You are on a tight budget
• You want to have a car with you
• You would find it tiresome to travel for an hour on a slow train before you could begin to explore other places in Switzerland and beyond
• You have young children who will be bored after one trip on a cable car

Travel up into the alpine foothills by funicular, cable car, train, or on foot. The scenery here is simply breathtaking. You'll be surrounded on every side by a panorama of high alpine peaks.

If all that fresh air gave you an appetite, you'll be ready for a hearty outdoor lunch. Kick back and relax as you warm your skin on the terrace of an alpine cafe. Sip a coffee or treat yourself to an ice cream.

If you are ready for more of a challenge, there are several mountain bike hire shops in Zermatt. The bike-friendly trains will transport you up high in the mountains, leaving you to make your own way back down over some of the most impressive terrain you could wish for.

For an out-of-this-world experience, my top recommendation is to take a tandem paraglide flight. Your instructor will do all the work, as you literally run off the side of a mountain and float across the valley high above Zermatt. With the awesome Matterhorn dominating the skyline, it is a totally unforgettable experience.

Your instructor will ensure you know what to do if you choose to try paragliding in Zermatt. Remember, he or she will be an expert and will take care of all the essential safety checks. You will need to wear a helmet and sturdy shoes, and of course a pair of trousers (or pants - depending on where you are visiting from) and a warm top or light jacket. Even on a hot day, it may be cool at high altitude.