How to get to Gornergrat from Zermatt
Zermatt is car-free, and that decides the whole journey
I sold tickets at the Zermatt station for seven seasons, and the single most common arrival problem had nothing to do with the mountain. People drove towards Zermatt expecting to park in it. You cannot. The village is car-free, so every road journey stops in Täsch, down the valley, and the last few kilometres are done by train. Once you understand that, the rest of the trip is simple, because the Gornergrat Bahn station sits directly across the square from the station you arrive at.
The railway itself climbs 1,485 vertical metres in 9.339 km. It has run since 20 August 1898, it was the first electric cogwheel railway in Switzerland, and 97.3% of the line is on a gradient. Thirty-three minutes up, forty-four minutes down. Nothing about the journey requires planning beyond turning up with a ticket, which is why almost all of the advice below is about reaching the valley floor.
Driving: park at Matterhorn Terminal Täsch
Matterhorn Terminal Täsch has 2,100 covered parking spaces and its own platform. Shuttle trains run to Zermatt every 20 minutes and take 12 minutes each way, from 05:55 to 21:55, then hourly until around 00:30, and all night at weekends. The Zermatt Shuttle return ticket is CHF 17.20. Children aged 6 to 15.99 and Half-Fare Card holders pay half that; under-sixes travel free; holders of a GA or a Swiss Travel Pass need no shuttle ticket at all. The operator does not publish a daily parking rate or a single-leg shuttle fare, so I will not guess at either.
If you are carrying a pass that halves the shuttle, it halves the mountain railway too. That is the largest single saving available on this trip and it is worth checking before you leave home — the full list is on passes and discounts.
Arriving by train from Visp and Brig
Trains run into Zermatt on the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn from Visp and from Brig, both of which sit on the main Swiss network, and the Glacier Express calls here as well. I am deliberately not printing journey times for those legs: they vary by service and by timetable period, and a number that is wrong by ten minutes is worse than no number. Check them on the day. What I can tell you is where you end up, which is a station square with the Gornergrat Bahn entrance on the far side of it.
From Zurich, Geneva and Basel airports
Zurich Airport is about three and a half hours away. Geneva and Basel are about four hours. That is the realistic planning figure for an arrival day, and it is the reason I tell people not to book a same-day mountain ticket off a morning flight. If you land at Geneva and want the mountain without organising any of this yourself, a coach day trip is the alternative to assembling trains: I have written up how that works on day trips to Zermatt.
Finding the base station once you are in the village
Walk out of the main station and look across the square. The Gornergrat Bahn has its own building, its own platforms and its own ticket hall, and the depots are behind it. If you have booked online you do not need the ticket hall at all: the GetYourGuide ticket is a mobile voucher and you board on the platform opposite. Trains leave every 24 minutes from 08:00 through the main season, with the first departure at 07:00, so a missed train costs you less than half an hour. The detail, including the November closure, is on the timetable page.
Stand on the platform early and board on the right-hand side going up. The Matterhorn is on that side of the train, it costs nothing, and it makes more difference to the ride than anything you can buy. See where to sit.
Where to get off, and what that changes
Most people ride to the top and come back down the same way. You do not have to. The line has five usable intermediate stops, the fare falls with every one of them, and a single up with a walk down is both legal and popular. Riffelberg at 2,582 m and Rotenboden at 2,825 m are the two that matter for that plan. I have set out what each station is for on the seven stations, and the fare arithmetic on ticket prices.
Book the return before you travel
The return ticket from Zermatt to Gornergrat is a mobile voucher, valid for one day, with the ZOOOM the Matterhorn exhibition included and free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure. Live dates and prices below.
Frequently asked questions
Can you drive to Zermatt?
No. Zermatt is car-free. You park at Matterhorn Terminal Täsch, which has 2,100 covered spaces, and take the shuttle train, which runs every 20 minutes and takes 12 minutes. The return shuttle ticket is CHF 17.20, and GA and Swiss Travel Pass holders need no ticket at all — the pass rules are on passes and discounts.
Where does the Gornergrat Bahn leave from?
From its own station directly opposite Zermatt’s main railway station, on the far side of the station square. The first train up is at 07:00 and departures run every 24 minutes from 08:00 in the main season. See the timetable.
How long does it take to get to Gornergrat?
Thirty-three minutes from Zermatt to the summit at 3,089 m, and 44 minutes back down. The journey to Zermatt itself is the longer part: about three and a half hours from Zurich Airport and about four from Geneva or Basel.
Can I get to Gornergrat without a car?
Easily, and it is the normal way to do it. Trains reach Zermatt on the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn from Visp and Brig, and a Geneva coach day trip does the whole thing in one booking — see day trips to Zermatt.