Zermatt

Zermatt draws chic shoppers as well as intrepid explorers

Zermatt is a world-renowned resort with many luxurious accommodations and dozens of fashionable boutiques. You can walk from one end of the town to the other in about 15 minutes, which is handy because no cars are allowed on the local streets. The town does, however, have one of the best networks of alpine cable cars, gondolas, and cog railways in Switzerland -- 36 of them operating in the winter and 21 in the summer.

Because more snow falls on Zermatt than on many other winter resorts in Europe, high-altitude skiing -- especially at the Théodul Pass -- continues throughout the spring and early summer. As for winter skiing, skiers can choose between wide, gentle slopes and difficult runs only for world-class champion skiers.

From Zermatt, you can take one of the grandest and most scenic train rides in Europe. The Glacier Express might be the slowest express train in the world, taking 7 1/2 hours to pass through southeastern Switzerland, but it's the most panoramic. A stunning feat of mountain engineering, the train begins its daily run in Zermatt, heading for the resort of St. Moritz in the Engadine

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