Zermatt accommodation and length of stay

Give yourself at least two full days, as a hedge against bad weather.

When in July? If very early, you may benefit from early-season rates. With a 3-night stay, you may be able to score an apartment if you stay 3 nights. Much less expensive than hotels. Try the search engines at Zermatt.com and Zermatt.ch. A few yours back we got a beautiful 2-bedroom "sleeps 6" apartment in Winkelmatten ( far end of Zermatt village, with gorgeous Matterhorn view) for 240 CHF a night. That was a find!

But at some point in July they may switch to one-week minimum.

In any case, Zermatt is worth 3 nights, especially if you are hikers. Lots of good hiking there. Early in the summer the weather can change several times in one day. We hiked in a blizzard one day, then departed the next day, the day of the Zermatt marathon, under blue skies and full sunshine.

Thanks for your responses.

It will be the 2nd week in July that we will get to Zermatt. I think I will put three nights on the itinerary. The last time I was in Switzerland (1st week of June 2011) it rained a lot and we only saw the mountains the last few days of the vacation, so I understand how disappointing it can be when you can't see the mountains through the clouds. That is why this time I am going in July (before the schools break in Europe) and am spending extra nights in the mountains just in case the weather does not cooperate.

It will be interesting to hear of your impression of Zermatt after your stay in Murren. Murren is stunning, breathtaking, so as you can imagine when I arrived in Zermatt it was all rather a let down for me - Horribly touristy and loaded with expensive shops.

Really almost ANYWHERE compared to Zermatt but especially Muerren. Zermatt, due largely to its natural resources, has turned into Switzerland's 'Bourbon Street'. Almost a caricature of what it used to be a long time ago. If you go there make sure to make use of those natural resources ;)

Nendaz has a festival towards the end of July that is very 'Swiss'. And cheap (which is not Swiss) and up in the mountains (though not in view of the Matterhorn).

Is there any way you can switch the order of your trip to go to Zermatt before Murren? We went to Zermatt first and loved seeing the Matterhorn (only two nights with not great weather but we got lucky), but it is very developed and touristy compared to Murren. It may be very disappointing to see Zermatt after Murren.

I have already provisionally booked my accommodation in Murren. So a switch is not really possible. I have always wanted to see the Matterhorn and in three trips to Switzerland over the years (starting in the 80's) I have not seen it. I wondered if Zermatt had got more commercialized. I think it will still be on the agenda, but may choose to stay outside. We do like it a little quieter. Any suggestions for staying in nearby towns/villages would be helpful. How would staying in Tasch work?

As long as your expectations are realistic, you should be fine with Zermatt. I was thrilled to see the Matterhorn. Hopefully you'll have better weather than we did and can get up into the mountains to do some hiking. I'm sure it's beautiful.

I'm sorry I can't offer any suggestions on places to stay outside of Zermatt. We stayed in Zermatt at Romantic Hotel Julen, which we loved, but it's not a budget option.

Forget all these comments about Zermatt... you don't go for the town itself, you go for the mountains (that's true just about anywhere in the Alps). And once you ascend up the lower slopes in Zermatt, the mountain scenery that opens up above you is like nothing anywhere else in the Alps. The peaks soar far above you, but because of the contour of the lower slopes, you can't appreciate this until you go up.

And why should the OP "forget" all those previous comments? The OP wanted information and this forum is called "information sharing" which is exactly what's going on here. Being informed is a good thing, Tom.

I do appreciate all the comments and honesty - thats what I love about this forum. When I thought about what Tom said, he is right, I am going to see the Matterhorn ( I have missed it on past trips). Thank you to the other comments for provided me with a good idea on what to expect of the town itself. Its not going to be a quiet village experience but thats OK. I may just find a hotel with a good SPA at the quieter end of town with a great view of the Matterhorn. Extra money, but we are friends who like a little luxury once in awhile, and we will be sharing the cost of the room.

I am just happy to be going to Switzerland - Its one of my favorite places in Europe.

I would not 'forget' the true and helpful comments regarding Zermattt. I would also keep in mind that everyone who has posted about Zermattt has actually been there.

While the Matterhorn is beautiful and iconic it is not the end-all of all Swiss alpine scenery. If you have a unique place to stay outside of Zermatt, like up in the mountains (we did the Basecamp Matterhorn in 2014), you can enjoy the mountains without all of the hassles of the city. As for scenery, there are many places as pretty, or Swiss, as this area without the crowds.

I do repeat, though, everyone who is commenting has been there. Some folks think it is too this or that (me included) and some people don't, but we all took the time to go there for one reason or another and see it. To me however, if you aren't 'going up' I would skip it. I wouldn't have even gone in 2014 but the Basecamp on the Hirli was only up for 30 days and you had to go THERE to see it:) Difficult/expensive to get to, expensive to stay in, crowded shoulder to shoulder at the end of September (I can't imagine summer tourists!), Disney-esque, expensive to eat in.

Either way have a good trip!

If you take the cable car up to Scharzsee you can see the Matterhorn and stay in the mountains at Hotel Restaurant Schwarzsee (http://www.schwarzsee-zermatt.ch/). I haven't stayed here but I have eaten here 'on the way'. It looks nice and is IN the mountains.

We were in Switzerland in July and stayed in Zermatt for 2 nights, 3 days which was perfect. It rained briefly on our first day there and the rest of the day was overcast so we spent that day walking around town. We also went mountain biking. Yes, the town is touristy, but we didn't even notice it because we were in awe of the surrounding mountains. The 2nd day was sunny so we went up to see the Matterhorn, which was the main reason we went to Zermatt. We were speechless throughout the ride up to the top - just couldn't get enough of the Matterhorn! We stayed at Hotel Julien - the staff was very courteous and helpful. We had a room that had a view of the Matterhorn. Would stay there again.

After Zermatt, we stayed in Murren for 4 nights/5 days - WOW, that's all I can say, WOW. I agree with others here. Visit Zermatt before Murren, otherwise you will be disappointed. (It's like going to Honolulu/Waikiki before going to Kaui). Can't say enough about Murren and the Bernese Overland. Even with 4 nights, we felt it was not enough time to explore the many things to do and see in the area. We plan to go back in 2017, about the same time. Yes, it's expensive but definitely worth it.

We finally made it to Zermatt for 3 days in 2010 just to see the Matterhorn and for us it was very much worth it! We'd been to the Lauterbrunen Valley on two previous trips so this time we approached Zermatt from an area in Italy, north of Stresa, where we were staying once we saw that the rain was leaving and sunny days were predicted. As bonus our visit fell over August 1st, Swiss National Day and the town was super crowded. We weren't deterred and took it in stride because it was so worth it to see the beautiful clear Matterhorn peak from every vista in town including our hotel roof where we watched the August 1st fireworks.

I'd say go for it!

EDIT: We were fortunate to be able to book a last minute room at Le Petit CHARME - INN.