Zermatt, Switzerland

[tmcdac]

Hey everyone. My fiance and I are thinking about our honeymoon, and we are thinking about going back to Europe skiing. We went to St. Anton about two years ago and loved the skiing and vibe of the town, and we would like to go somewhere similar. We were thinking Zermatt.

I have been doing a little research, and I was just wondering if I could get some advice from people who have been there. I'm looking for the basic logistical stuff right now: What is the best airport to fly into? Good idea to take a train from airport to Zermatt? Places to stay, good places to eat, general tips on ways to get around. I also want to make sure that the town itself is similar to or better than St. Anton! I know the skiing will be sick!

Any advice at all would be greatly appreciated. We are thinking about going in February 2012. Thanks!

[kalisto]

Was just there on Friday... I'm just outside of Bern, and training there was no problem. From Zürich, I would guess around 3-4 hours via train. You could probably fly into Milan, and train as well, would probably take longer though. That said, I also trust the Swiss train system a hell of a lot more than the Italian.

As for the town, as far as I know, you can't even drive into it. Only electric cars/horses. You can drive part way, then train the rest, but ultimately not worth it.

Never been to St. Anton, so can't compare. The town isn't huge though. You can pretty much walk anywhere (across town might take 10 minutes?). Didn't go out at all, not the cheapest place in the world...

My thoughts? Really cool place. Super touristy, but beyond that, still a badass town. The Matterhorn is obviously super impressive, and the train ride in from Visp is one of the better rides I've had during my 3 months of travels here in Euroland.

Hope that helps.

[BigDaddy]

Zermatt's a great town with the epic Matterhorn in the background. The skiing's good, not phenomenal, but you can always ski the other side in Cervino, Italy. (Makes for a fun day, lunch in Italy, dinner in Switzerland.)

The train is awesome and gets you right there. No need for a car. It is touristy, but very romantic and great idea for a honeymoon.

[That was Pontus]

The train is the only way into Zermatt, unless you're a farmer. That's not a bad thing, it's a pretty easy town to walk around. Plus Swiss public transit is fucking excellent. Watch out for the electric mini trucks/vans the locals are running. Swift, silent, deadly...

[Hicks]

If you are looking for a St. Anton like experience then Zermatt does not fit the bill. Look into places like Engelberg instead.

Entirely different breed of people in Zermatt but this is not meant in an solely negative way. Even the lift system provides great off piste runs when conditions permit and being with a local showing you around.

That said the mountain ranges around Zermatt are unrivalled in the Alps except for the Chamonix valley. If you are into mountaineering and go during April or May when the high regions provide according conditions you could easily have a time of your life with descents ranging 7-10000 ft.

I'd say just go, you'll enjoy anyway.

[Meathelmet]

From Zürich, I would guess around 3-4 hours via train. You could probably fly into Milan, and train as well, would probably take longer though.

What the hell!!? Flying to milan to get to Zermatt is like flying to mexico city to get to Seattle! Absolutely no point!
Italians+Railways=Disastro.

Get your flights to Geneva or Zurich,depending wich one is cheaper, and enjoy the precision and comfort of Swiss Railways. Only place where they are more anal about the railways is japan.

[Ripzalot]

have you looked at the exchange rate lately?

[kalisto]

^ This may change your mind.

[steven hatcher]

Sir Ripzalot said it best. It's crappy and getting worse.

[verbier61]

Zermatt for skiing is not like st anton. You would be much better served in andermatt, engelberg and verbier (all reachable by train from zurich or geneva, forget about landing in milan) or zinal or saas-fee. Unless you get on touch with supergold locals like the antamatten brothers, zermatt+cevinia ski does not match with the above mentioned other swiss resort.
And yes, the exchange rate nowadays is ridicolous

[tmcdac]

Well, now that I seem to have the low-down on the ski terrain in Zermatt, I know that Chamonix has sick skiing, right? Would Chamonix better serve our needs of sick ski terrain/romantic honeymoon? what about the logistics of getting there, airport, etc.? The Euro is also a better exchange. Again, thank you all for your help. This is the first place I go to get info!

[MEfree30]

I know that Chamonix has sick skiing, right? Would Chamonix better serve our needs of sick ski terrain/romantic honeymoon? what about the logistics of getting there, airport, etc.?

sick off piste- yes
romantic honeymoon- maybe...the posters over at snowheads might not be the best skiers, but they ski the Alps a lot more and might be able to better answer the romantic question.
Cham's proximity to Geneve airport makes access easier than Zermatt.

[telelebowski]

Hicks and Verbier61 laid it out properly. Zermatt would be very romantic for a honeymoon, but not the ski experience you had in Anton. As others also mentioned, from attempting to dirtbag climb there several years ago, the idea of how much you would spend today for a honeymoon in Zermatt is actually making me physically ill. Chamonix could definitely also serve as a romantic honeymoon and is a nice middle price point if you want to head to France. It is very beautiful (Had two friends so far propose there), and there are many different options on accomodations running from staying in town to hiding in a very quiet chalet up the valley. Cham can be done without a car, but if you stay anywhere outside of Cham proper in the more quiet areas, you will probably prefer one (Argentiere, etc.). The skiing gets exponentially more awesome the further you get off piste, but the entire valley is so beautiful you can just cruise around with the new wife. The other two options I would throw at you are Trois Vallees/Courcheval, if you want to spend anywhere from a little more money to alot (Russian Gangsta) more money, which could also provide her with-depending on outlay-more romance, lots of cruisers, and off piste terrain that can be found with some effort. If you can both rip, and want a small atmospheric French village in the middle of nowhere with no need for nightlife b/c you are going to be screwing each other's brains out, easy choice: La Grave. All three are most easily accessed from Geneva, which has non-stops from Newark and DC. Can get by without a car in Chamonix (direct bus), but would not advise trying to reach a honeymoon in Trois or La Grave without renting a car, and would personally recommend renting a car for Cham, too.

[horizon]

If you're looking for romantic plus offpiste potential, you should add the Dolomites to your list. Something like Selva Gardena - superb mountains, beautiful mountain village, good food (mix of Italian and Central European, mmm), mostly untouched offpiste as the Italians don't ski it...and a huge domain.

And you could get there from Venice or Verona, for the honeymoon part (though the travel time would be longish, 4hrs in a car from Venice)

No need for a car to get around.

That said, Chamonix is also beautiful and, as a real town, does have true rather than Disney atmosphere. No need to say any more about the skiing there!

I'd pick either of these two before Zermatt, which has the scenery but would be eye-wateringly expensive - and in my very limited experience, it's harder to find good offpiste there without a guide.

[Hicks]

Depending on how much time you are spending in the ole smoke you could fly into Geneva, ski Portes du Solei (Morzine/France) for a few days, move on to Verbier to tick it off your box, then drive over Forclaz to invade Cham and Courmayeur. Only worth doing if you have about 2 weeks to spend.

I would not really recommend going to the Dolomites - scenic as it is - if you aren't entirely flexible. Snow levels are often unpredictable which rather makes that area a destination for short term decisions.

[steven hatcher]

Yes, Chamonix could be romantic but think about staying in one of the smaller villages like les Houches, Argentiere, Les Prats, or anywhere in between. There is nothing romantic about the village of Chamonix in the winter, unless you think places like Vail are romantic. If that's the case then Chamonix will be a dream come true!

Also, you said you're coming in Feb. Find a European school holiday calendar and study hard. They are showing one on snowheads but there seems to be some discrepancies with dates. I don't care where you go in Europe, if you have scheduled your romantic holiday around a school break, your honeymoon will no longer be yours to enjoy. There is nothing romantic about swarms of Brits and Parisians taking their one week out of the year to ski. If that's the case you'd be better off at Vail.

Not only should you think about what dates you will be here but where to go to avoid school holidays. For example, if you decide on some dates that correspond to the French holidays but not the Italian then, yes, it might be worth it to go somewhere as far away from France as possible. That said, you'll never get away from the Brits. Or the Russians.

Last year at Alpe d'Huez:

[Hugh Conway]

Alagna/Gressoney might fit the bill as well. Quiet bases but good skiing available. The worst weeks for crowds were Carnvial/Fasching and Easter ime. The school holidays were irritating but dealable somewhat.

[Toadman]

having spent sometime in $witzerland this past march, when the exchange rate was not yet at the ridiculous level, but only at the ouch, this hurts a little bit level, it is definitely an expensive place. And that does not include the USD/Swi$$ franc exchange rate. Once you factor that in, then I think you are beyond ridiculous.

[tmcdac]

Okay, we seem to be shying more away from the Zermatt experience and more towards Chamonix. We would ideally like to stay right in Chamonix where there seems to be a bit of a nightlife, and I don't think we are going to be able to do much traveling around because we can only take 7 or 8 days to be there. I am an experienced off-piste skier in both Europe and the West/Jackson Hole, and she is more of a groomed skier, but can ski anything that is groomed. It seems like Chamonix fits the bill, figuratively and literally, a little more than Zermatt.

Does anybody have any recommendations on places to stay in Chamonix? Experiences good/bad? Again, thanks for the help!

Oh yeah, fly into Geneva seems to be the consensus?

[Ripzalot]

i've stayed here a couple of times:

http://www.hotel-grands-montets.com/uk/index.php

my wife liked it so it must not be too bad. it's been a while since i've been there but iirc, it's set off by itself, not crammed in between other hotels, quiet, nicely furnished, friendly staff, plus it's right next to the grand montets lift, which sounds like the station you want to be near. it's NOT in chamonix proper, so a short drive, bus, or taxi into town is needed.

GVA is the right airport. 1 hour to cham, lots of shuttle buses available.

[CarveMan]

If you want to stay in central Cham then Faucigny is great: http://www.hotelfaucigny-chamonix.com/

View from my window sucked:

[tmcdac]

Still really interested in Chamonix, and those hotels look great. Thank you!

But my fiance who is constantly changing her mind about everything in the world is looking at Cortina, Italy now. I still think we're leaning to Chamonix, but we are just looking at as many options as possible. Does Cortina have equal ski experience/village? We do want a lot of off-piste skiing like in St. Anton.

[hutash]

Cahm would be a good choice. It is easy to get to from Geneva, and you can fly Swiss Air, with a likely connection in Zurich. Swiss Air allows two checked bags, one of which can be a ski bag, and they serve free beer and wine across the Atlantic.

We stayed at the Hotel Eden http://www.hoteleden-chamonix.com/ in Les Praz, and they provided a free transportation card, so you can use the bus or train to move up or down the valley. You do not need to stay in Cham proper as the public transportation is great (bus and train).

A few day in Courmayeur Italy would not be a bad thing to do on a honeymoon as well, and it is just through the Mt Blanc tunnel.

[Hugh Conway]

If you're looking for romantic plus offpiste potential, you should add the Dolomites to your list. Something like Selva Gardena - superb mountains, beautiful mountain village, good food (mix of Italian and Central European, mmm), mostly untouched offpiste as the Italians don't ski it...and a huge domain.
.

But my fiance who is constantly changing her mind about everything in the world is looking at Cortina, Italy now. I still think we're leaning to Chamonix, but we are just looking at as many options as possible. Does Cortina have equal ski experience/village? We do want a lot of off-piste skiing like in St. Anton.

The Dolomites (where Cortina D'Ampezzo is located) are a huge area all accessible if you purchase the Dolomiti Superski Pass. Something like 450 lifts more pistes than you'd ever care to ski and lots of offpiste available if you want it. This advice might be useful

I would not really recommend going to the Dolomites - scenic as it is - if you aren't entirely flexible. Snow levels are often unpredictable which rather makes that area a destination for short term decisions.

Selva Gherdina was ok but not terribly charming ime. Lots of skiing available though.

Chamonix, ime, doesn't have nightlife worth anything and if you want nightlife there aren't buses up or down valley so stay in Chamonix. For nightlife you want a resort with more lazy skiers for that. The plus side with better nightlife is less competition in the morning for good skiing.

-someone who likes a bottle of Montagnard and a good book for nightlife

[Hicks]

Does Cortina have equal ski experience/village? We do want a lot of off-piste skiing like in St. Anton.

Cortina, as many of the other Dolomites resorts, has some GREAT backcountry skiing if snow conditions are favourable. The steep chutes there for example are world class and famous. Search for some of Horizon's and others TRs here. Coming from the States you would want local guidance though to avoid getting cliffed out - that can quite easily happen.

The village itself is typically Italian and has quite a bit to offer - would be a great experience for sure. It's the only town there you would consider for a honeymoon.

As mentioned before main problem is that snow levels is a hit or miss there even more than in other places to the north and west. During an average year storm cycles aren't frequent at all but you need a decent base for all the rocky terrain there.