First, I apologize if somebody manages to find this answer in another post. I already checked, but didn't exactly find what I was looking for.
My friends are coming to Zurich to visit and I am taking them to Zermatt for just a day trip (using the day pass) and need some advice for what to do. Skiing is not really something we are interested in because we only have the day down there. I heard if you take the cable cars up to some of the other peaks there are things to do. Any recommendations to which ones? And what to do once we are there? Thanks for the help!!

Zermatt is very beautiful there are no cars allowed and the shops are lovely we bought some very nice things there that i havent seen in zurich and st.gallen before. We spent a weekend there and just spent our time walking around in going into the shops, admiring the views, and taking lots of pictures. I hope you have a wonderful day and your friends are very lucky that you are taking them.

10hours of travel for 2 hours stay?
do you think it is worth it?

10 hours? I just checked on the SBB site and found it to be closer to 7 hours.

Leaving Zurich HB at 6am gets you to Zermatt for 09.14. Then leaving Zermatt at 19.13 gets you back into Zurich HB at 22.56.

7 hours travelling is still quite a lot, but just about do'able and at least the scenery should be nice.

Agreed... Zermatt would be more a weekend destination, and from Zurich easier to get to by car then public transport.

Having said that, it is a really nice town, with views of the Materhorn from some of the streets. You could easily pass a few hours wandering the streets, going for a winter hike on some of the hiking paths. Go snow shoe walking. Take a cable car up to the ski area and enjoy the view.

If you are going to do the cable car thing, then Saas-Fee would be better. There is a rotating restaurant on top of Allain. It turns 360deg in one hour and provides views of the surrounding mountains (including the highest mountain in Switzerland, Dom) and glaciers.

Well worth the trip... its even better if you enjoy the nearly 2000m ski/snowboard decent back to the town, but you can take the cablecar too.

if ýou go to interlaken instead you can take the railway up the jungfrau.... surely a cooler thing to do with your long day?

highest moutain railway in europe.

Tiring,, but if you are lucky with weather, a trip to remember. Zermatt is a special place to be, with the views of the Matterhorn and as someone else said if you do a lot of walking - you will have a great day and your friends are real lucky. Shopping is also good there.

Maybe you're forgetting about the recently-opened Loetschberg base tunnel? I don't see how you could beat the train time of 3 hours 15 mins in a car. Plus, even if you take the car then you still have to switch to the train for the final 5 km or so.

Zermatt is certainly nice to visit, even if only for a few hours, but also for a day or many. Last summer, we took the cog train up to Gornergrat, which is above 3,100 metres - not much lower than the Jungfraujoch. I took a series of photos and turned them into a 360 degree panorama with the mountains labeled, which you can see on my website here. If you want to compare, then a similar panorama that I took from the Jungfraujoch is here. A friend of mine has taken the cable car from Zermatt up to the Kleine Matterhorn, and said that the view was very nice and the ride there was pretty impressive because he got to sail high over the glaciers below.

As others have said, you can easily spend several hours just exploring the town, the shops, and the restaurants. If you're feeling more adventurous then you can try out one of the winter walking trails. You'll be walking along on groomed snow, and although many people feel the need to wear snowshoes often a reasonable pair of walking/hiking shoes is all that is really necessary. The Zermatt tourism website should have a map with these "winterwanderwegs" marked.

As some of the posters have mentioned, it's nowhere near 10 hours travel return now that the tunnel has opened, and you can nearly 10 hours in while down there...

Anyway, I'd say go for it - it's expensive there - so a day trip can significantly alleviate your costs. Also, just to look at the Matterhorn, one of the (if not the) most classic images of Switzerland will make it worth your while.

Actually - have you seen those postcards they sell in Zurich? Big imposing Matterhorn just beyond the lake. So why bother going all the way to Zermatt?

I agree with the rest of you that it's better to spend more than one day there - and I plan to at some point, just not this time. We took advantage of the Migros' 2 for 1 day cards that somebody posted about on the forum a few weeks ago, so the 8 of us can get there and back for 216 CHF total - that def. makes it worth spending 7 hrs on a train in my book. I am also in favor of seeing the other places people have mentioned, however my friends are being big tourists and wanting to see what good old Swiss land is known for. I just want to make sure we don't get down there and have no clue where to go. Thanks so much for all the advice!!! I will be sure to look into it more before going

abzurich,

I've visited Zermatt only once so far as a day trip and I think it was worth it. I just wish we had set out earlier in the morning, but the late-morning views from the train were fantastic, too.

Taking a winter hiking trail requires you to be able-bodied, but isn't too demanding. Like others have mentioned, the panoramic view from Kleine Matterhorn is breathtaking if the weather cooperates.

Have fun! I'm taking advantage of my own Migros Day Card Duo to visit Zurich this weekend.

ChrisW, WOW!! how did you do that panoramic photos!! i've tried taking photos 360 but am never successful with piecing them together with photoshop! great work!