Updated on August 2nd, 2022
When we were planning our trip to Zermatt we could not decide, Glacier Paradise or Gornergrat? They are two of the biggest attractions in Zermatt and they are both supposed to be the “best view” of the Matterhorn. At the time of this posting, they are also the same price! So what do two reasonable people do? We decided to do both, and put them head to head in an epic view contest!
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How Do You Get There?
Matterhorn Glacier Paradise
Glacier Paradise is accessed by a series of gondolas and cable cars. It is the highest cable car station in Europe. The first leg is a 6 person gondola and it passes some of the smaller villages between Zermatt and the first station Furi. The second leg is a large cable car and it a pretty typical cable car ride with views of the Matterhorn. It stops at the station Trockener Steg. The final is a smaller cable car, there is a section of unsupported cable that has to be over a mile long. It is terrifying and thrilling at the same time. Our car stopped for about 45 seconds in this section and I thought Andy was going to lose it. The views from all three are fantastic, but only if you are lucky enough to get a window seat. We had empty cars on the way up and very crowded cars on the way down.
Gornergrat
Gornergrat is accessed by cog rail. You may know that we are from New England and we have taken the cog rail to the top of Mount Washington three times now. This cog rail was so much better. Faster, longer, better views. Gornergrat is the highest open-air cog rail in Europe and was also the first in the world to be fully electric! There are five stops on the way up and you can get off and on at each. It takes 33 minutes to get to the top (don’t you just love swiss punctuality?) and just a little bit shorter on the way down. We took the first train up in the morning and there were very few people on board. Our trains on the way back were even less crowded.
Glacier Paradise or Gornergrat?–WINNER Gornergrat
The train was just more comfortable. More places to sit, a more varied view, and windows that open to take pictures and video were all reasons Gornergrat wins this category.
View from the Top
Glacier Paradise
At the top of Glacier Paradise, there is a viewing platform. It wasn’t very crowded when we were there but given its size, I bet it can be. You have a pretty epic view of the Matterhorn and the surrounding glaciers. There are however a lot of obstructions. Below you’ll find a variety of photos from Glacier Paradise. If you watch our video, I think you will get a better idea of what I mean by obstructions.
It also was not easy to get to the viewing platform. With several flights of stairs at nearly 4000m, the view literally took my breath away.
We took a short hike from the Furi station back to Zermatt and those views were so picturesque. Fields of wildflowers with the Matterhorn in the background? I’m not sure it gets more quintessentially Swiss.
Gornergrat
When we arrived at the Tasch Station on our way to Zermatt, they have a huge advertisement for Gornergrat’s 360-degree views. They are not misrepresenting just how beautiful this view is in all directions. It is almost completely unobstructed and with multiple little viewing areas, it felt like we were alone the entire time. Below are some pictures taken from the viewing area.
While the views from Gornergrat were great, I thought that the views from the next stop down, Rotenboden, were even better! We were also told that as the snow melts this stop gets even more beautiful. It’s hard to believe!
Glacier Paradise or Gornergrat?–WINNER Gornergrat
The unobstructed views and cool features like viewfinders that helped name the mountains, Gornergrat is our winner. The buildings around Gornergrat were also much prettier which made it easier to ignore them.
Altitude
Glacier Paradise
Glacier Paradise is at 3883 meters. That’s 12,740 feet or 2.4 miles. That is high. Both of us were really feeling the altitude and at one point I felt like I was going to pass out. Now, this probably isn’t a normal response. I am particularly sensitive to altitude and have previously passed out on long flights or just working out too hard. We also passed a girl who was on the ground receiving medical attention for feeling faint. Just know your limits!
Gornergrat
Gornergrat is at 3089 meters. That is 10,135 feet or 1.9 miles. It may not sounds like much but that 800 meter really made a difference to my comfort. Andy wasn’t feeling the altitude at all and I was just slightly out of breath while walking. It was much easier.
Glacier Paradise or Gornergrat?–WINNER Gornergrat
This one is probably subjective because some people would rather go higher but for us being slightly lower made for a much more enjoyable experience.
Extras
Glacier Paradise
Glacier Paradise has a restaurant at the top and at each of the stations along the way. We did not eat at any of them so we can not speak about the quality of food or service.
The coolest extra at Glacier Paradise has to be the Glacier Palace. It is a tunnel cut into the ice with ice sculptures! We had no idea it was there and it was one of the highlights of our trip to Glacier Paradise.
There is also a theater! Unfortunately, we didn’t get a chance to make it to the theater.
Last but certainly not least, the place looks like it’s straight out of a Bond supervillain lair with the stone tunnels with exposed pipe, flashing lights, and the mid-century feel to the architecture. We loved it!
Gornergrat
Gornergrat didn’t have a lot of “extras”. There is a restaurant at the top and at the Riffelberg, and Riffelalp stops. There is also a hotel at the top.
It also has “Europe’s highest shopping center”, which includes some souvenir shops. From what we could see you could buy watches, knives, clocks, and then a lot of the normal tourist paraphernalia.
Glacier Paradise or Gornergrat?–WINNER Glacier Paradise
The Glacier Palace won us over. We didn’t even get to see all of it!
Over All Winner? Gornergrat!
We also wanted to offer up some tips and tricks to visiting Glacier Paradis or Gornergrat!
- Go early. We waited until it was way too late in the day to go to Glacier Paradise and we felt rushed, and we dealt with crowds that we typically don’t have to deal with when we do activities like this early. We took the very first train to Gornergrat and had the place all to ourselves!
- Dress Appropriately. Even in the summer, it is not going to be that warm at nearly 4000m. We had on so many layers! It was around 40F at the top of Glacier Paradise and nearly 80F in Zermatt! We recommend the following:
- Packable Jackets: We are still loving our Amazon packable lightweight jackets. Over a year of abuse and they are still going strong! Men’s or Women’s.
- Headbands: If you’ve been paying attention you’ve probably noticed I wear these versatile headbands a lot. They double as baklavas, ponytail holders, and we use them in our camera bag to cushion and wrap gear!
- Warm Socks: Nothing slows down the fun like cold feet. I bought these awesome wool socks before we went to Iceland and they have since replaced nearly all my hiking socks! They are lightweight and easy to pack but super warm.
- Take Your Time. We didn’t have nearly enough time at either stop. You could easily spend almost the whole day doing either of these activities and we did both in less than 24 hours. Don’t be like us. Give yourself time to just enjoy these amazing views!
Zermatt certainly was a highlight of our trip to Switzerland! Have you been? Do you agree that Gornergrat is the winner? Comment below!
Thank you so much for sharing the experience and travel tips. They are very helpful!
Thank you for your detailed description! Very helpful.
Very detailed and relevant. Thank you for sharing.
That’s an easy decision, having done both multiple times. Glacier Paradise. Of course, if you are really afraid of heights, Gornergrat. I went up to GP several times when the winds caused the gondolas to pause during the ride. Both are great!!
You won’t regret either one.
For reference, I’ve spent almost a month in Zermatt (Split between two trips) this winter.
Hi! Sounds like you have a lot of experience. I’ll be in Zermatt for 2 days at the end of June.
Right now, we are planning on eating at Chez Vrony at noon. You may know it but if not, it’s a 30 minute hike from Sunnegga to get to it. We’re coming from Grindelwald so we can’t get their any earlier.
So, we’ll have the rest of the day after we eat at Chez Vrony and then another full day. We’re staying in Zermatt that night so we can start very early on the 2nd day if needed.
We’re trying to figure out if it makes sense to try and do both Glacier Paradise and Gornergrat. We could:
– Do one of them the first day after our lunch
– Do both of them the following day
– Only do one of them (obviously varying opinions on which)
– Skip the cool/unique eating experience and do one of the mountain excursions each day
Also, we plan on doing some hiking but probably nothing longer than an hour at a time (so no 5 lakes, etc.).
Any advice is GREATLY appreciated.
We are literally on the Gornergrat cog wheel as I write this, because of your blog. Thank you for the details!!
That is so awesome! I hope you had a great trip!!–Gwen
I’m just researching a trip to Italy and have majorly sidetracked with Switzerland, esp the Glacier Paradise idea! However-our trip is in late March! Was your trip in July ? I think perhaps we need to rethink the temperatures and go with the train? So glad to see your post about this, thanks!
My travel agent currently has us doing both on the same day. Is that trying to do too much in your opinion?
I think they are both about half day activities so I think you’d be fine, but if you struggle with elevation you may want to considering breaking it into two days so you have some time to recover between.
This post was great, thanks for all the advice! I wanted to ask about footwear. I see you put in a link for warm socks, but do you think I would be fine in sneakers like Hokas? I don’t have hiking boots and I will only be in Switzerland for a few days before moving on to other countries in Europe, because of that I didn’t want to buy boots just for a 3 days. What do you think?
Hi Emily! Sorry this might be too late, but you would be fine in sneakers. I wouldn’t recommend open toed shoes, or casual sneakers, but running/walking sneakers like Hokas would be great :-)–Gwen
Hello this post is informative – really helped me in making a choice – I will be going in end August – could you please let me know about how much you have to walk to go to the view points after arriving at the station. Also another unrelated question – is the price of the cogwheel train discounted after using half fare card
Thank you for sharing your experience! Your post is really informative and it helps a lot with planning my trip.
A quick question, did you need to buy tickets for hiking from Furi to Zermatt? Our plan is to visit Glacier Paradise first, then get off at Furi on the returning trip and hike from Furi back to Zermatt. I tried finding information on their official website but it was quite confusing. Appreciate if you could share the details! Thank you very much in advance 🙂
Thank you, the most useful info I’ve read! Really helped to make the decision