Holidays to Switzerland Travel Podcast Episode 178 Transcript

Planning your Excursion from Zermatt to Gornergrat: Tickets, Activities and Where to Get the Best Matterhorn Views

You can see the full show notes and listen to this episode > here.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Welcome to the Holidays to Switzerland podcast. If you’re planning a trip to Switzerland, this is the podcast for you. I’m your host, Carolyn Schönafinger, the founder of holidaystoswitzerland.com. And in each episode, my expert guests and I share practical tips to help you plan your dream trip to Switzerland. You’ll get helpful advice about travelling around Switzerland and hear about the most popular destinations, as well as some hidden gems, and we’ll introduce you to plenty of wonderful experiences that you can enjoy as part of your Swiss vacation. Each episode is packed with expert tips, itinerary ideas, and inspiration to help make your Swiss vacation planning easy. So let’s dive in. Hello, Grüezi, and welcome back to the Holidays to Switzerland podcast. If you’re planning a trip to Switzerland and you’re wondering which mountain excursions are really worth your time and budget, today’s episode is definitely for you. I’m joined by Gabriele Aberle from Matterhorn Gotthard Railway, the company that operates the Gornergrat railway, one of Switzerland’s most iconic mountain railways, and one of the best ways to experience breathtaking Alpine scenery and famous Matterhorn views. Today, Gabi is here to tell us what the Gornergrat experience is really like, how to plan your excursion, when to go, and why the Gornergrat deserves a place in your Switzerland itinerary.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Welcome, Gabi. Thank you so much for coming on to the podcast. Please introduce yourself to our audience.

Gabriele Aberle: Hello, everybody. And, Carolyn, thank you for inviting me. I’m happy to be back on the programme for a second time. My name is Gabi Aberle. I’m working for Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn, which owns Gornergrat railway, and I’m the head of overseas markets.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Fantastic. So how long have you worked for the company? And what is it about Gornergrat that impresses you even after all these visits that you’ve had there?

Gabriele Aberle: I’m actually in my 12th year right now working with the company. What impresses me most every time when I’m going up to Gornergrat is just the power of this magic mountain, the Matterhorn. You cannot escape the very special impression you get when you travel up there. You feel the power. And this is new all the time and old at the same time as well.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Yeah. Yeah, and I’m sure that you’ve seen it in so many different moods, I guess, with cloud cover without, when it’s snowing, when it’s not. So it’s always a little different. So when we talk about the Gornergrat excursion, for those listeners who perhaps aren’t familiar with it, what exactly are we talking about?

Gabriele Aberle: What you experience is a trip from Zermatt up to Gornergrat in a cogwheel train. Takes about half an hour to get there, and you travel through different vegetation zones. So you start, let’s say, where you have still all the housings, of course, and trees and stuff like that. And at some times, At some point that changes and you’re going to travel through the open area of the high Alpine scenery which you experience at top of Gornergrat.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Okay, so a little bit of everything. What is it that you think makes Gornergrat stand out from some of the other mountain trips in Switzerland that our listeners have perhaps heard of?

Gabriele Aberle: One of our unique selling propositions, of course, is the Matterhorn. You see, we claim you have the best view to the Matterhorn when you’re travelling to Gornergrat, which I think, of course, is true because it’s a certain distance to the Matterhorn, and I would say 80% of all pictures taken of the Matterhorn are from the area of Gornergrat. Then you have a 360-degree undisturbed view of the surrounding mountains, and you see altogether 29 mountains which are higher than 4,000 metres. And The uniqueness is that you have not a lot of mountains in Switzerland who do have this undisturbed view of 360 degrees. We also operate all year round, which is not the case for a couple of other mountain excursions. You can basically come all year round to Zermatt and have a chance to go up to Gornergrat.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Yeah, and that’s particularly so with cog railways, isn’t it? I mean, a lot of them only operate during the warmer months. It’s great that you can access Gornergrat all year round. Now, I’m sure you’ve been on the train many times with lots and lots of passengers. How would you describe their impressions or their feelings from the moment they get on board the train to when they reach the summit? How impressed are they with the views?

Gabriele Aberle: You will be amazed. What usually happens, you get on board of the train, and by the way, the best seats are on the right-hand side of the train when you board it in the direction of travel, because on the right-hand side, you have the Matterhorn. Again, what happens usually, you leave the train station, and as soon as the Matterhorn comes in view, everybody’s rushing to the windows which can be opened, opens the windows, and then they start taking pictures, taking pictures till they actually are at the top. Because the scenery is changing all the time. Again, we have different vegetation areas we’re travelling through. We travel over a gorge, we travel through tunnels. Okay, you cannot take pictures there, but you get my idea. After the tunnel, you have a new view of the Matterhorn, and then we are going in a six way up to the top, which means the view to the matter of one is changing all the time. I would say at least you have, I don’t know, 10 to 100 pictures when you’re on the top.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Yes, I can vouch for that. It’s definitely something that you just keep doing. You think, Oh, I’ll just take one here, and then around the next corner or around the next bend, it’s an even better view. So yeah, I’m not surprised that so many people are like me. So now that we’ve got a sense of the overall experience, let’s talk about those famous views, because that’s really what the Matterhorn is famous for. Why do you think Gornergrat is such a special viewpoint compared to others that are around Zermatt?

Gabriele Aberle: You mentioned this already. We have a special distance when you’re on the top of Gornergrat towards the Matterhorn. And this iconic view, for example, from the Toblerone chocolate as well, is just from the Gornergrat. And that makes it different from the other mountains where you can also travel up to or the other areas you can travel up to from Zermatt. They’re either much closer to the Matterhorn and the view is different, or they’re further away. The view, again, is different from what you know from, let’s say, a typical postcard. And that makes Gornergrat special because, again, it’s the iconic view you only get basically from Gornergrat.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Okay, great. So I think we’ll talk more about some of the viewing points on the summit in a moment. But are there any lesser known viewpoints or stops along the route that the people perhaps overlook and are definitely worth a look at?

Gabriele Aberle: One, well, not secret, I wouldn’t say that. And in winter, it’s actually close. But in summertime, we do have a small walk around the peak of Gornergrat, which we call Loop. It starts right behind the hotel on top. Takes about 20 minutes. When you do that, you, first of all, lose all the masses. Secondly, you get different views of the Matterhorn and the surrounding areas. That would be one of the Of the hidden highlights, I would say. The other viewpoint, I think is really worth mentioning it, is at Riffelalp. If you walk or get off at Riffelalp, then walk to a little small rustic restaurant, which is called Alphitta. You have, first of all, a restaurant where you can have lunch. It’s very idyllic, and you have the Matterhorn right in front of you. Again, it’s out of the masses. You have, of course, the people who are in the restaurant, but it’s very exclusive and very special. Usually, people don’t walk there unless they want to have something to eat. But the Riffelalp and the Alphitta would be another viewpoint which is special.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Okay, excellent. Do you have a personal favourite where you like to take your Matterhorn photos from?

Gabriele Aberle: It’s actually the viewpoint on top, which I did not mention yet. We do have a viewpoint on top. I still feel because you have the hotel In your foreground, you have the Matterhorn then in the background. So it makes a very special picture where you see how high the Matterhorn actually is, how it really looks like. So my favourite point to take pictures of the Matterhorn is from the viewpoint.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Okay. All right. Well, we’ll get to that in a moment, but let’s talk about some practicalities first, actually getting up there. Now, you already mentioned that the excursion is available all year round. Do you have a favourite season, perhaps, when you think the scenery is the most spectacular?

Gabriele Aberle: You feel that would be autumn. So we’re talking September, October, because then you have all the different colours. You have all the different colours in the valley. Then again, when you go up to the peak, it’s a very special feeling when you get up to the peak of Gornergrat in autumn and you travel by train to the colourful trees you see along the way. That would be probably my my favourite season. And on the other hand, I also feel that spring is a very, very good time to travel up to Gornergrat because then you have spring in Zermatt, but still winter up on Gornergrat, meaning you still have snow there. And usually, snow up on Gornergrat is, till… Depends a little bit of the weather, of course, till May. And you need to take this into consideration when you plan to do a hike or something like that, because then the hikes will not open. So it’s late in the year when all the possibilities or attractions for the summer, all the activities are open due to snow, which we have late into the year on top.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Okay. So how much time should travellers allow for the full experience of Gornergrat, including the time that they spend at the top?

Gabriele Aberle: I feel that Gornergrat is a half-day excursion, meaning you need about four hours time. And four hours time does include already more or less the trip up and down, which takes about one and a half hour. Then you have still time to have a look around at the top, do some of the attractions we offer there, and you get the views, obviously. If you are more into hiking or want to do a little bit more like the hike to the Riffel Lake, where we do have the mirror effect of the Matterhorn, then it is probably or up to a day excursion because you need an hour to walk down, and then you need time to take pictures, and then you might have a drink at Riffelberg. So it extends a little bit, and I would think you need about six hours to do that properly and really enjoy your time up there and don’t rush it.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Yeah, that’s right. Because rushing it would be the worst thing when you’re trying to squeeze too much in and then you get there and you realise, Oh, if only I had more time, I could do this and this.

Gabriele Aberle: Exactly.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Okay, so what about tickets? Do people need to book those in advance? And if so, how far ahead should they do that?

Gabriele Aberle: Good news. We don’t have a limit on tickets, so we don’t have actually limited seats. We do have also, and that’s quite new for 2026 now, we started in December, we have a new timetable. The news about the timetable is that we have a train every 24 minutes now during the daytime, so when it’s most busy, which means we have more seats available now, it’s going to be less waiting time. This also means when it comes to tickets, there is always availability. No, there is no need to pre-plan it, pre-book it, at least as of today. You will get a ticket and you can either buy it online or you can buy it at one of the ticket machines Or one at the sales booth we do have in the centre of Zermatt.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Okay, excellent. Now, I know previously you had a priority boarding option for people that wanted to guarantee that they got a seat on the right-hand side of the train going up. Is that still available or is that not so necessary now?

Gabriele Aberle: One has to say if you’re travelling, let’s say between 7: 30 and 11: 30, that’s peak season for us, and a lot of people are going to travel. And yes, in some cases, especially during the ski season right now, you might even have to stand because a lot of people try to get to the top. And to avoid that, the option still exists that you can do pre-boarding or pre-booking, which means you have a special entrance, a special waiting area, and the doors there open about five minutes prior to all other doors, which gives those people are waiting there enough time to get a seat on the right-hand side with you to the Matterhorn. It guarantees, of course, also that you do have a seat.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Yeah, fantastic. Okay. Now, one thing we didn’t mention earlier is that the train actually stops a few times between the Zermatt station and Gornergrat station. So I’m assuming that most people will just buy a normal return ticket. But if they’re going in summer, say, and they want to take the train up and hike some of the way down, Is there any advantage in them just buying perhaps a ticket for just the exact stations that they’re travelling between?

Gabriele Aberle: It costs you less if you just travel up two-thirds, let’s say, compared to a return ticket. If you want to do that, yes, there is a reduced price rate for that. Most of our overseas guests, however, they do the whole trip to the top and come back. What I would like to mention, you can, of course, get off the train at every stop and then get on again there, or you can either hike down and get back on the train. There is a restriction that you cannot get on one stretch twice, but that’s usually not the case for people who are up there and just doing a hike, let’s say, to Riffelsee. They are walking afterwards to Riffelberg, and that’s not an issue at all.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Okay. Once our visitors arrive at the summit, What are some of the things that they can do there, apart from taking in those magnificent views, of course?

Gabriele Aberle: Quite a variety of options you do have at the peak. One would be the so-called Zooom the Matterhorn experience, which is in an old cable car station established, and it gives you the opportunity to experience Gornergrat when the weather is not so good. There are a couple of days in the year where you have fog and you cannot see Gornergrat. A couple of days in the year, we do have the Matterhorn experience. You do experience in a cinema environment, the four seasons, you get an information about the first climb to the Matterhorn, And you also have the possibility to fly around the Matterhorn with VR glasses on your head. So you get the experience or you get an idea how it looks like when the Matterhorn is actually in view. And it’s becoming more and more popular. A lot of people are doing that. And another option you do have, of course, I already mentioned that you do have a hotel on top. You can actually spend the night there. But if you don’t want to take that time, then you can have lunch there. There are two restaurants. You can have a cup of coffee, a glass of champagne.

Gabriele Aberle: You can go to the viewing platform, which I also mentioned. There is a small shopping mall, well shopping mall is maybe a little bit too much, but there are a couple of shops as well at the hotel. You can have a look around. They have a lot of specific Swiss souvenirs and buy something there. Then really, it’s about the view and maybe start a hike from top of Gornergrat to one of the next stops. That’s one or the other option you do have when you are on top.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Okay. What about, I think there’s something new since you were last on the podcast, way back on episode 51, a new photo spot in a cable car, an oldl cable car. Can you tell our listeners about that?

Gabriele Aberle: We forgot about that because it’s at the same level as the train station. When you get off the train station, there is a walk up to the top. On this walk, you can actually get to an old locomotive which is covered in real gold. It’s dating back to 1890s, as far as I know. This golden spot, we call it golden spot, locomotive in your background and the Matterhorn in the background. You have a fantastic photo opportunity for Instagram, for TikTok, for all the social media. They are out there to take a picture where you can see the Matterhorn in all its glories together with this old cable car.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Yeah. Wow. That would be very special. Now, I’m sure that you’ve convinced all our listeners to visit the Gornergrat. But for those who are still a little bit unsure if it’s the right excursion for them, what would you say to them?

Gabriele Aberle: We think it’s an excursion which needs to be on your bucket list. And yes, of course, the main reason is that I feel that you need to see the Matterhorn in all its glory. I feel that’s something you need to do once in your lifetime, otherwise you missed out. I also feel that you need to be in Zermatt once in your lifetime, because we are talking about Gornergrat right now, but it is also, of course, experiencing Zermatt and the village itself when you are there, because usually it’s not a day trip. You spend a night or two here. I really feel that Zermatt is really, really worth the trip up there because it’s also very impressive. Of course, the best view to the Matterhorn, that’s what you need to do once in your lifetime.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Yeah, absolutely. Okay. Is there anything else that you think our listeners should know about visiting Gornergrat?

Gabriele Aberle: We have a couple of other excursions and offers, for example, Dining with the Stars, when you can see the sunlight at Gornergrat, or a breakfast at the Riffel Lake when the sun rises. So sunrise at Riffel Lake. There is a couple of options. And now in wintertime, we do have snow shoe hiking, we do have winter hiking. Even if you’re not a skier, you will find a lot of things to do, even in winter season. So when you come, have a look at our website, inform yourself what is on offer. I’m pretty sure you might find one or the other offer, which also is to your liking, except for going just up to the Gornergrat.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Can you tell us a little bit more about the NostalChic engine or locomotive or train? Yeah. How does that actually work and how frequent is that service?

Gabriele Aberle: We do a service on Wednesdays right now in summer and in winter season. What I was mentioning, spring and autumn, it’s not operated. Summer and winter, the dates are on our website as well. It is a day excursion. You get together in a historic hotel in Zermatt. Then you have something to eat, something to drink, and you have a guide with you. The guide also takes you for a walk through the old village of Zermatt That talks a little bit about the old times. You arrive at the train station after that little walk, get on board of the train. This train is dating back to 1961, and it’s only this one train we refurbished for the NostalChic class experience. The interior is nostalgic and rustic. You get on board of the train. The train travels up to Gornergrat, and on the way along to Gornergrat, there is a special photostop. Only this train is having, no other train is doing this photostop. You can have pictures which no other is going to take at a specifics for photostop. On top, you go to the viewing platform, always together with the guide who is explaining to you About the history of Gornergrat, and the history of Zermatt.

Gabriele Aberle: After that, you return to Riffelalp, where you do have a four-course lunch. After the lunch, you get back to the village where you arrive at around 4: 00, and you still have time to do a little bit shopping and walking through the village and experience Zermatt.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Yeah. There’s obviously a very few number of passengers that can do that excursion at any one time.

Gabriele Aberle: It’s limited to 22 people, so that everybody does have a window seat. It’s a very small group you’re travelling with, which makes it very special experience because it’s not a huge group.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Yeah, fantastic. Okay, now it probably doesn’t apply to the NostalChic experience, but I know a lot of our listeners will be travelling with the Swiss Travel Pass. Do they qualify for any discount on the regular Gornergrat trains?

Gabriele Aberle: We offer 50% discount when you’re travelling with the Swiss Travel Pass. One needs to know that when you apply for that, that counts at one day on the Swiss Travel Pass. If you have, for example, an eight-day pass, Gornergrat would be one of those eight days. You need to bring the Swiss Travel Pass along, even if you already have the ticket. In case we do a check, you need to show the Swiss Travel Pass.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Okay, that’s very good to know. Before I let you go, have you got any final tips or any other info that you’d like to give our listeners who might be planning to visit Gornergrat for the first time?

Gabriele Aberle: Take your time because the altitude is 3,100 metres, and you’re most likely coming from a much lower level, so you will feel that. And of course, enjoy your time on top. Take a lot of photos, have a drink, take in the view, and come back at some time, hopefully.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Yeah. One visit is definitely never enough. So I’m sure everyone who visits will be planning to return. Thank you very much, Gabi. Where can our listeners get more information about Gornergrat?

Gabriele Aberle: There’s the website, which is www.gornergrat.ch. You have the information, of course, in English. You have the timetables there, the pricing there. You can order tickets there. You have all our other activities there. I would go to that website and get whatever information you’re looking for.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Thank you very much.

Gabriele Aberle: You’re welcome.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Thank you so much for joining today. I hope you found all that info that Gabi shared with us about Gornergrat helpful. Now, if you’re considering a visit to Zermatt, I’ll include helpful links and planning resources in the show notes, including the links to the Gornergrat website that Gabi mentioned. There are also numerous past episodes about Zermatt, too, and the links for those will also be in the show notes. As always, thank you for listening to the podcast, and I’ll be back next week with more Swiss travel tips and inspiration. Until then. Tschüss.

You can see the full show notes and listen to this episode > here.