For something simpler, it’s difficult to beat the 10 varieties of rösti (pan-fried grated potatoes) served with different meats, eggs and cheese at Restaurant Furri at Furi.
Endless charm
Before arriving in one of the most scenic corners of the Alps, drivers must leave their cars in the village of Tasch, around 6km from Zermatt, and travel the rest of the way by train. You emerge from the station to be met by electric taxis and horse-drawn carriages to take you to your lodgings.
The village is car-free and that’s a big part of its charming appeal. The buildings are a mixture of ancient chalets and barns, grand 19th-century hotels and modern addresses, mostly in traditional style but some decidedly funky. The oldest, most charming area has narrow lanes and old wooden stores and stables with slate roofs, many supported by stilts to keep the mice out – built in the 16th to 18th centuries they’re unique to resorts, like Zermatt, that have lasted the test of time.
Don’t miss the Matterhorn Museum, which tells the tale of the first ascent of the mighty mountain in 1865, led by Englishman Edward Whymper. Tragically, four of the seven members of his climbing party died on the way down. This year the museum has a special exhibition on 125 years of the Gornergrat railway.