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1. Zermatt




Zermatt, in southern Switzerland’s Valais canton, is a mountain resort renowned for skiing, climbing and hiking.
The town, at an elevation of around 1,600m, lies below the iconic, pyramid-shaped Matterhorn peak.
Its main street, Bahnhofstrasse is lined with boutique shops, hotels and restaurants, and also has a lively après-ski scene.
There are public outdoor rinks for ice-skating and curling. It lies at the upper end of Mattertal at an elevation of 1,620 m (5,310 ft), at the foot of Switzerland's highest peaks.
It lies about 10 km (6.2 mi) from the over 3,292 m (10,801 ft) high Theodul Pass bordering Italy.
Zermatt is the southernmost commune of the German Sprachraum.
Zermatt is famed as a mountaineering and ski resort of the Swiss Alps.
Until the mid-19th century, it was predominantly an agricultural community; the first and tragic ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865 was followed by a rush on the mountains surrounding the village, leading to the construction of many tourist facilities.
The year-round population (as of December 2020) is 5,820, though there may be several times as many tourists in Zermatt at any one time.
Much of the local economy is based on tourism, with about half of the jobs in town in hotels or restaurants and just under half of all apartments are vacation apartments.
Just over one-third of the permanent population was born in the town, while another third moved to Zermatt from outside Switzerland.


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