 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi Snowheads, need your advice, please.
I live in US and am planning a trip for March 2024 to ski a week in Alps. There are just two of us, though my wife doesn’t ski any more. That’s why I’m looking for a ski resort with big enough village/town where she could walk around and spend her time, while I’m skiing. I also would like this place to be ski-in/ski-out, with skiing area big enough to not repeat the same pistes every day. I only skied in Europe once, in Val Thorens Club Med and it was one of the best ski trips in my life out of 40+ years of skiing. I just checked the rates for one week skiing in March at Club Med Les Arcs Panorama in France - $5,100 without transportation, but don’t know if it worth paying for two when only one will be skiing. And it looks like this hotel is not near any town, so there will be nothing to do for my wife.
I also wonder if there is such a thing as a group guided skiing (no coaching, just guiding) - don’t want to waste my time with constantly reaching a trail map. Any tips? As far as my skiing ability, I’m fine with any ski run/slope, though lately prefer to stay on groomed pistes.
Can anybody recommend a place that would meet my requirements?
Thanks
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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ski in/out can't be much fun for pedestrian
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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If you have the budget look at Lech, otherwise some of the Swiss places might suit for instance Wengen or Davos. All these are very different to Val Thorens (which in my view is a not particularly attractive housing estate high up in the mountains great for skiing not much else, others probably think differently) and would offer a winter holiday to those that dont ski plus great skiing for those that do.
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@munich_irish, +1. Wengen would be my choice. A bigger area to explore than Lech and possibilities for meeting the skier up the mountain for lunch, using the trains. And it's nice to be in a car-free village. Also agree about VT.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Val D’Isere would probably meet your needs a little better than your wife’s but I know of successful skier/non-skier trips there.
A lot depends on the kind of activities your better half would want to do during daytimes.
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@luv2sk1, Welcome to 
CM in Les Arcs is ideally situated for skier and a very good ski area too with wide variety of piste surrounding the location for you. As noted though, not much in the way of places to wander around for your wife. Unsure how it's connected to Arc 1600 village though (I've only used the ski facilities not local travel) as 1600 has direct funicular access to Bourg St Maurice, this the principal valley town of that region with decent sized commerce etc to help that aspect. This may give your balance.
Similarly, CM in Samöens has that aspect, with location up on the slopes but gondola accessible down to the principal village of Samöens itself.
Both of these offer balance, favouring ski in/out but with good access for non skier for that interest.
Other places that may suit could be Champèry village in PdS, centred in a really good village but with excellent large cable car direct from village centre straight to higher altitude piste. Opposite of the others, but very good skier access nonetheless.
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@luv2sk1, As you are coming a long way there is only really one place to go although it’s very expensive , Zermatt, your wife would love it and suit her as a non skier it’s got huge amounts of high altitude skiing in a vast area .
I’m a lover of France but nothing beats opening the curtains in the morning and seeing the Matterhorn overlooking the village .
BTW the Val call isn’t a bad idea or possibly look at some of the options in the Dolomites .
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Grindelwald (same area as Wengen).. absolutely beautiful. Also Megeve has a beautiful VERY upmarket town. Both of them allow non skiers to meet you for lunch easily. You might need to sacrifice ski in ski out. Oberlech is good for that, Lech is lovely but not quite as much going on as the ones I’ve mentioned.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Grindelwald (same area as Wengen).. absolutely beautiful. Also Megeve has a beautiful VERY upmarket town. Both of them allow non skiers to meet you for lunch easily. You might need to sacrifice ski in ski out. Oberlech is good for that, Lech is lovely but not quite as much going on as the ones I’ve mentioned.
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I would suggest Val d’Isere isn’t a great option for a non skier - we went once when I was pregnant and not skiing but I thought I would just relax, meet up with my husband for lunch and so on. Having only previously been there as a skier I had never thought of it from a pedestrian perspective and to be honest it wasn’t great at all from that point of view. I still had a nice week, but spent much more of it in my own than intended as meeting up on mountain was not really feasible.
I would absolutely second the recommendation of Zermatt as perfect for both of you, a number of other Swiss resorts are well suited to mixed groups too, and I suspect the Dolomites are also worth investigating further.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@luv2sk1,
I think you are going to have to decide a little on what compromises you wish to make. There are many great choices but not many of them will have absolutely everything you want.
Val Thorens which you enjoyed is part of the largest densely interlinked ski area in Europe and if you want something very similar you will probably be looking at a French purpose built area most of which are not particularly appealing to non skiers. Val d'Isere possibly being the pick of them for a non skier.
Other areas in Europe have access to large ski areas but are a little less interlinked or the areas are a bit smaller but still big enough for most.
The Dolomites are very popular on this site and I personally love the skiing there as well however they are a little more spread out than the French mega resorts and lend themselves better for exploring for the day if you want to see the area rather than returning to meet with your wife for lunch. They are probably the most scenically beautiful ski region in Europe which will generally appeal to both skier and non skier.
Ski in ski out is a speciality of French purpose built resorts it is generally possible in most other ski areas though you may have to hunt a bit to find the accommodation and it may be less well suited for the non skier. There are some traditional villages where a fair bit of the accommodation is on the slopes like Oberlech in Austria which again serves a large ski area though less well linked than the French mega resorts.
I usually go skiing with friends/family and am not that familiar with trying to find others to ski with. Club Med is certainly a possibility. Colletts run holidays to the Dolomites where you may find like minded skiers. The Ski Club of Great Britain have reps in resort to facilitate skiers skiing together.This website runs several trips a year to decent resorts where you can ski with like minded skiers on bashes.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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@Rob Mackley, @Soozm, both mountains are magnificent from a distance but, speaking personally (and this is very subjective) I don't like staying in Zermatt or Grindelwald because of the way the Matterhorn and Eiger loom so close and threateningly over the town.
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| ski3 wrote: |
@luv2sk1, Welcome to
CM in Les Arcs is ideally situated for skier and a very good ski area too with wide variety of piste surrounding the location for you. As noted though, not much in the way of places to wander around for your wife. |
I can't actually think of a worse place for a non skier!!!! Maybe La Mongie in the Pyrenees?? Hey, perhaps you want to advance your divorce.
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You know it makes sense.
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@luv2sk1, If it's just a week, somewhere - as suggested above - like Wengen would work well. It's a car free resort, easily reached from either Geneva or Zurich by train, very picturesque, definitely things for the Mrs to do including excursions by train, you have the Jungfrau area so you won't ski the same thing every day and e.g. can take the train across the valley to Mürren ... and reasonably snow sure. I have no disclosures to make !!
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Perhaps you could invite your wife to contribute to this thread, @luv2sk1, and talk a bit about what she'd like to do. You've only said she'd like to be able to "walk about" which doesn't give us much to go on. She can do that in all the places mentioned - and hundreds of others. You also haven't given any guidance on your budget. Places like Lech are seriously expensive.
One practical point - if heading to France, best not go until after 10 March, the end of the very busy 4 week French school holiday period.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| pam w wrote: |
Places like Lech are seriously expensive.
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It's quite a while since I've been and there is not the rental accommodation that allows you to shove six in a shoebox but when I have been it has been no pricier than many of the major French resorts.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Thank you ALL for helping me to make a decision. I think I should clarify my ski-in/ski-out requirement; I’d like to stay at least within walking distance from a gondola/lift (if not ski-in/ski-out), as well as being able to walk to restaurants/shops/bars. As far as my budget – it’s somewhere between $5,000-$5,500.
I guess I can narrow down my choices now to two destinations: Zermatt or Dolomites. Additionally, my IKON season pass will work at these two places.
- Out of these two destinations, which one has easier (less complicated) transfer from major airports: Zurich airport to Zermatt or Venice airport to Dolomites?
- If it is Dolomites, what town would you recommend to stay in? Cortina d’Ampezzo? (this is the only one I heard of)
- Can anybody give recommendation for good locations in both places, the area within which I should look for accommodation (walking distance to gondola/lifts/restaurants/shopping)? Or maybe hotel names?
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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@luv2sk1, you hadn't mentioned IKON ...
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| Quote: |
there is not the rental accommodation that allows you to shove six in a shoebox but when I have been it has been no pricier than many of the major French resorts.
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No pricier than the top end of Courchevel or Val d'Isere, for sure. But there isn't a wide choice. I've rented two French gites for a family week 1 - 8 April where there will be 15 of us (aged from 2 to 76) in two gites which between them sleep 25 (all in bedrooms, none in living areas). They are not "shoe boxes" (photo of one of the dining rooms attached) and are roomy and well equipped. 7 bathrooms. Cost is £266 per person/week. And there's plenty of cheaper accommodation if that was what we wanted.
I always fancied Lech and used to look at options there back in the day when we did package holidays before we had our own place. It was never anywhere near affordable.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@pam w, looks lovely
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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@luv2sk1, Or Geneva to Zermatt , you catch the train from the airport and then you have the lovely mountain train that takes you into the centre of Zermatt before getting the electric Taxi to your Hotel . It’s really magical . Zermatt is very compact .
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@luv2sk1, not sure where in the US you are coming from, but for Zermatt I would suggest you look at Zurich or Geneva and go with the best fare for you. Both have roughly equal travel time to Zermatt, both involve a train from the station in the airport, with one change at Visp. You buy a Saver day pass for each day of travel, on sale 60 days out, gets more expensive the closer you get to the date of travel.
Since your pass is covered with Ikon, you have a healthy budget for two in Zermatt in March. This would be in budget for example
https://schonegg.ch/en
The hotel has a small spa, and reciprocal access to the larger pool and spa at the Hotel National. Right next to the Sunnegga funicular, with access to winter walking trails and lots of great restaurants at Findeln, accessible to skiers and pedestrians. Buses and taxis right there to the lifts at the other end of the town up to Klein Matterhorn.
Right near the town centre with access to shops/bars/restaurants.
Hope that helps.
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I will put a vote in for Lech, which was mentioned above. Yes it can be a very pricey place,
but there are also quaint little pension/B&B's which can be had for maybe $200 USD per
room per night.
If you can master the ski area and your wife can master the bus schedule, there are multiple
villages along the way (Zurs, Stuben, St Christoph, St Anton) where you could meet for lunch.
Or Oberlech (take the gondola) or Zug (walkable from Lech).
From the St Anton train station, it's an hour train ride to Innsbruck, so the option for a day trip
is there, which is not possible from most of the other resorts discussed so far. 2 hours to
Kufstein or 3 to Salzburg as well.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Thank you. We do have direct flight from Los Angeles to Zurich. In terms of choosing the dates to travel, is there a particular week(s) between mid February and 20ths of March, that I should avoid, when Zermatt gets too crowded? Or which week would be the best?
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Swiss school holidays vary by canton, but I think most of the ‘sports holidays’ will be done by the end of February. That said, I don’t know to what extent these holidays affect the slopes in Zermatt, or indeed if anything else does, so this information alone is not that useful I’m afraid!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@luv2sk1, Fasching is a big holiday in the German speaking world, and that is mid February next year. Dutch visitors are also a significant constituency in Zermatt and I think their school holidays are also mid February next year. British holidays are similar. I would suggest early to mid March might be best for you?
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| pam w wrote: |
| Quote: |
there is not the rental accommodation that allows you to shove six in a shoebox but when I have been it has been no pricier than many of the major French resorts.
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No pricier than the top end of Courchevel or Val d'Isere, for sure. But there isn't a wide choice. I've rented two French gites for a family week 1 - 8 April where there will be 15 of us (aged from 2 to 76) in two gites which between them sleep 25 (all in bedrooms, none in living areas). They are not "shoe boxes" (photo of one of the dining rooms attached) and are roomy and well equipped. 7 bathrooms. Cost is £266 per person/week. And there's plenty of cheaper accommodation if that was what we wanted.
I always fancied Lech and used to look at options there back in the day when we did package holidays before we had our own place. It was never anywhere near affordable. |
Looks lovely, and reasonably priced. All I can say is that last time I went to Lech I went with family to a B&B and it was way less than anything I could get in Val D'Isere or the likes at a half term. A bit more expensive than Serre Che where I had been before but not ridiculous.
(My daughters bedroom still has a signed photo of the owners mother who won several olympic skiing golds and helped with breakfast)
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@luv2sk1, Zermatt certainly is a lovely place and pretty easy to get to from Zürich (Swiss trains really do work). I would also look at Lech as it too is pretty easy to get to from Zürich by train (taxi for last few miles) it doesnt have the Matterhorn but it does usually have more snow (the Arlberg is the snowiest part of the alps) and perhaps a better layout (might be wrong about that as only been in summer) in terms of getting to lifts etc, Oberlech is genuine ski in / out (no issue for non skiers as it is linked to Lech by both road and cable car). Zermatt does have the attraction of being able to ski to Italy (assuming the wind behaves) though I would suggest there is more variety of skiing in Lech. All the dates you mention are high season, possibly mid March will be a bit less busy but I dont think it will make much difference, in Lech or Zermatt you arent going to find the hordes of French schoolkids that invade some of the French resorts or Dutch kids in some Austrian resorts for half term.
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You know it makes sense.
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But, but, if you already have a ski pass for Zermatt (and Cervinia?) or Dolomiti, thats’s quite the economic incentive, no?
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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OK, almost decided - it's probably Zermatt. Though I'd like to see any comments on Dolomiti destination, in particular what town would be recommended to stay and how easy to get there from Venice airport. Thank you!
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Poster: A snowHead
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@luv2sk1, you mentioned your IKON season pass works in Zermatt and Dolomiti. So I assume it doesn’t work in the Arlberg??
There’s a huge amount of information on other snowHeads threads about the Super Dolomiti ski area. I gather from other threads that there are no direct flights from USA into the airports that usually serve this area, eg Venice, Innsbruck, Milan. So you’d be faced with a flight change in one of the major hubs, eg Heathrow, Schiphol, CDG.
One attraction of the Dolomites is the proximity of Venice. If you haven’t both visited there before then it’s a pretty impressive add on to a ski holiday. It’s about 2 to 2.5 hours drive from ski towns.
Personally I don’t think the Dolomites offers quite such a good compromise as other places mentioned. Undoubtedly the scenery is magnificent and the food is great and more affordable than most. Selva would be the liveliest town to be based that has direct easy access to the Sella Ronda ski circuit. Cortina is a more historic town but not a great base to ski from. Otherwise there’s not much more than large villages, of which Arabba is probably the best compromise base, though much more suited to skiers.
As others have pointed out, if we had more information about what your wife would like / dislike it might be easier to suggest more specific places.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Welcome to Snowheads, @luv2sk1
I'm in Zermatt for 4 days at the moment and it is absolutely stunning. From my cheap (by Zermatt standards) single room at Hotel Gornergrat Dorf , I have a clear view of the Matterhorn and do not tire of that. Just sneaked a peek of it as the morning light is just starting to appear. Mont Blanc has nothing on this!
Wouldn't recommend it for you and your special trip, as lovely as I have found the staff and as quaint as it is, but wouldn't hesitate to stay here again or recommend it to others on a more limited budget, especially solo travellers.
I got the train here from Geneva Airport, 3h50 mins with 1 change at Visp and if you're lucky, from Zurich Airport you can do it in 3h30 with a single change at Visp too. You'd want to buy Saver Day Passes (not including Half Fare Travelcard) when they become available 60 days before travel from the SBB website or app (the latter of which I find to be excellent) for 52CHF per person.
Whilst there are ski-in options, I expect the ski-out side is more limited and might not be suitable for your other half. I'm right by the train station in the center of town and the Gornergrat railway. From leaving the hotel, it can be a little over half an hour until I'm clipping into my bindings up by the Gornergrat itself.
I went to Italy yesterday: took a bus to the bottom of the Furi gondola, rode that to Trockener Steg where you change to the new, quick and comfy monster gondolas to Matterhorn Glacier Paradise. All in all, that took about an hour, but the views were stunning.
From October this year, there will be a new cable car opening between Matterhorn Glacier Paradise and Plateau Rosa / Testa Grigia, where the border between Switzerland and Italy is located. This means that for the first time, pedestrians will be able to travel between Zermatt and Cervinia / Cervino in Italy.
You'll need to decide for yourself what location really works best for both of you, but whilst the piste map might imply that the Sunegga funicular and the Matterhorn Express Gondola are very far apart, in reality it's a short direct bus ride or walk, although I wouldn't recommend it in ski boots.
It's starting to get quite warm on the lower slopes of the sunny Italian side by lunchtime, but
temperatures are due to drop this weekend and the snow might be returning once more. I mention this just to state the obvious about the one element you won't be able to control.
Oh and there are plenty of other North Americans here, which may or may not be to your liking. Don't worry, you won't struggle to hear them, so will be able to head for or avoid them, depending on which you prefer 
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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This season I've done Zermatt, Lech and Saalbach with my non skier OH. Planning ahead for winterweg hiking trails for her and gondolas to take so we can meet at lunch time. All three had a sunny pass for pedestrians
Of them all, Saalbach Hinterglemm had the best hiking trails and bus connection. Yet she enjoyed Zermatt the most due to the views and the possibility to walk between the village and the forest.
BTW, the new Club Med in Tignes Val Claret might be the best answer to your first post regarding your skiing needs.
Perfect location for ski in/out, perfectly connected to reach Val d'Isere and Tignes Le Lac/1800 excellent skiing areas, guided groups to ski with so you won't waste time on maps, a small village with shops/pubs/bars and some apres, free bus to take your wife to the next ski resort Tignes Le Lac and return by foot on a path by the frozen lake between them.
But it's a French concrete site and not a Swiss chocolate box resort, so you'll have to decide between your basic needs or your wife's. 
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Thanks again for the latest posts. I’m leaning toward Zermatt.
When choosing location to stay in Zermatt, should I try to get as close as possible to the Sunnegga or Zermatt gondola station? How do you usually get to gondola if a hotel is not within walking distance? Are there shuttle buses?
Also, are these two ski areas interchangeable? If I take Sunnegga gondola, can I ski to Furi or if I start with Zermatt gondola, can I end up at Sunnegga?
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Check the ski map at skiresort.info.
We stayed at Excelsior wanting to be as close to the main street as possible.
Sunnegga was reachable by 5 min. walking or a free city bus, for the other side I took the bus (station on the bridge by the hotel).
A few minutes queue for the return bus in the afternoon, nice (loud) apres ski bar nearby
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I would suggest (based on more years than I care to count of trips to Zermatt) that a location close to the Sunnegga funicular would suit you both best. Staying by or on the Main Street (Bahnhofstrasse) is convenient for shops etc but not near any of the lifts. Staying by the Klein Matterhorn lift at the southern end puts you very near that lift but furthest away from bars/shops/restaurants etc.
Staying by Sunnegga is convenient not only for that lift, but also only a few minutes walk from the Gornergrat train (the highest cog railway in Europe, a must do at least once). Right outside the Sunnegga funicular is the bus stop for buses to the Klein Matterhorn lift (buses free with lift pass) and also an electric taxi stand if you prefer
Based on your ski level as described, you will easily be able to ski across all three ski areas which are interlinked. Your non skiing wife can walk from Zermatt village up to Sunnegga, if she’s very keen, or get the funicular up and walk around when up there. Similarly she can catch the Gornergrat train with you, and can also walk up to Furi from Zermatt or get the lift up. The lift system is really very good and all interlinked. The final lift up to Klein Matterhorn is relatively new, and an incredible feat of engineering. By next March, non skiers will also be able to access the new lift due to open this Summer which crosses over to the border with Italy. In short, staying near to Sunnegga doesn’t hamper your access anywhere in the mountain, and will give you easy walking distance to all the village attractions. However, it’s really not that big a place, so most places are easy enough to walk to.
Hope that helps!
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| luv2sk1 wrote: |
| OK, almost decided - it's probably Zermatt. Though I'd like to see any comments on Dolomiti destination, in particular what town would be recommended to stay and how easy to get there from Venice airport. Thank you! |
The Dolomiti Superski area is equally easy to access from Munich or Milan as Venice, albeit with a longer transfer of 4hrs vs 2.5. Both are good places to spend a couple of days beforehand getting over jetlag & sightseeing & you can also go by train - highly scenic highspeed rail routes, with a taxi or bus for the final short-ish leg
When accessing via Munich (or Innsbruck, or Milan) Val Gardena is most convenient (whether by road or rail) and as others have mentioned, Selva di Gardena/Wolkenstein would be your best base within that valley. Val Gardena has an excellent bus system and the largest village in the valley, Ortisei, is less convenient for skiing but has more to occupy a non-skier - it has a postcard pretty pedestrianized village centre. Your wife could also take a bus down to Bolzano (1hr) for more sightseeing/museums/shopping: There's a local transport pass sold at the tourist office that's very inexpensive and versions of it give access to all local museums too. Your budget would comfortably cover Hotel Sun Valley, a 4* hotel that is close to both the major gondolas/lifts.
From Venice, there is the very convenient Cortina Express bus that goes from the airport to the ski villages in Alta Badia, which is the next valley over from Val Gardena. Corvara is the village that would best suit you as the largest, plus it connects directly to the Sella Ronda. There is a real sense of journeying when you ski in this area (and Val Gardena) although much of the skiing is not demanding. There is very good valley level walking in Alta Badia, the bus network is good (just not as frequent as in Val Gardena) and your wife could take the bus up to Brunico, a charming large town at the head of the valley that is like a mini-Innsbruck. Hotel Arkadia or Hotel Marmolada would fit your budget & have lot of spa/swim/gym facilities to help keep your wife occupied.
Many of the ski schools offer guided skiing with a different major route each day - the long ski tours are a major draw for skiing the Dolomites & these are a major feature of the area. Not just the Sella Ronda (which you can ski clockwise or anticlockwise) but there is also a WW1 ski tour that incorporates the "Hidden Valley" ski run, which is easy to search on this forum.
The winter walking network will be excellent whether you choose Zermatt or the Dolomites, so you wife would be able to meet you for lunch on the mountain and get to share a bit more of your experience (inc the amazing views) regardless of where you choose to ski.
Some general observations as a fellow N.American:
- Ski-in/out convenience is not as necessary in many European resorts. There is invariably a ski rental place at the major gondolas that will have a well-appointed, clean place to change out of your skiboots & offer overnight storage. I was so impressed with the lockers at the Boe gondola in Corvara - built in boot & glove driers! (Plus, ski rentals are at least 1/3 cheaper at least than over here - the range of skis can be quite different, if your home mountain is like mine where everyone seems to be on >100mm waist freeride skis).
- Price is not correlated as strongly with quality for hotel choices. Many modest places are still extremely comfortable, impeccably clean, and offer great service and a very tasty breakfast. While I've posted 4* places above, I find that a 3* hotels in the Dolomites offer extremely good value for money - they will lack a swimming pool but still have a nice sauna/wellness area, for example, and have excellent food. People in this forum have spoken very highly of Hotel Villa Tony in Corvara, a 3* that is ski-in (but not ski-out!) & there are lots of threads with hotel recommendations. Almost all the hotels are still family-owned - with the result that you see some very familiar names from the Olympics cropping up as owners!!! (e.g. Isolde Kostner runs a very hip looking 3* garni in Santa Christina, one village over from Selva.)
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Wow, thank you so much for so detailed info!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| scotsgirl wrote: |
| I would suggest (based on more years than I care to count of trips to Zermatt) that a location close to the Sunnegga funicular would suit you both best. Staying by or on the Main Street (Bahnhofstrasse) is convenient for shops etc but not near any of the lifts. |
I bow to @scotsgirl's better judgement.
Although my location VERY close to the base station of the Gornergrat railway did mean I could make a last minute decision to head back up after the pistes closed for sunset yesterday.
On my way up there, I discovered there was a pedestrian route from Rotenboden to Riffelberg, so on the way back down, I got off the train at the former and spent a leisurely 45 minutes walking between the deserted pistes to the latter, enjoying the silence and the views (and spotting some very interesting off-piste sections). So much so, that I'll probably do it again this evening!
As much as I try to take the time to appreciate the scenery during the day, this was even more special. The only sounds being the crunch underfoot of the snow were glorious 
How many free days do you get on your iKON pass, @luv2sk1?
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@jebroni3_16, oh I didn’t mean to suggest you weren’t staying in a great location!! I was really just thinking about the skier/non skier combination and what might work best for them - hope you didn’t take offence!
As you’ve clearly discovered anyway nowhere in Zermatt is that far away from anywhere else and I have to say your afternoon trip sounds amazing - we are coming out this weekend and your Post really got me looking forward to it!
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