2008, by Catherine_Parker

Zermatt: #4 ski town to spend a season abroad

In my humble opinion Switzerland might be the perfect place. They love to ski, like a drink or two and seem to exist solely on cheese. What's not to like? It is also one of the best places to do a season and, Zermatt, I think, is the top resort to work in.

Firstly, Zermatt has the huge and impressive Matterhorn as a backdrop and is completely breathtaking. The facilities here are especially good for more advanced skiers and The Gravity Park on the glacier (one of the very few in the world normally open every day of the year) has an incredible 200m superpipe, large and small kickers, big rails, a wall ride, curved twin rails, kicked box, double kicked rainbow and s rail, c rail and straight rails.

Perhaps the only people not well catered for snowwise are complete beginners. They still get the experience of the magnificent mountain but reaching the glacier takes a series of cable cars which is a bit of a chore without the reward of a huge descent.

However, Zermatt has made my prestigious top five due to the fact that it has a charming and classy atmosphere and is a very relaxed and enjoyable place to work. It has nice touches like The Vernissage Bar and cinema, which was built and decorated by Heinz Julen, Zermatt's most famous artist. The town itself is beautiful, full of attractive wooden buildings in the classic Alpine style. For such a swanky place the atmosphere is surprisingly warm and fun, with people eager to chat on chairlifts, at restaurants, in bars etc and, for those staying for the season, it is a good place to meet people and make friends.
It is just a really nice community to be part of and a relaxing and fun place to work. Its not cheap but in comparison to wages it is more than possible to live and have a few pennies left over. For its charm and friendliness alone Zermatt is up there with the best.

Pros	Cons
Beautiful setting	Expensive
Charming architecture and atmosphere	Not ideal for beginners
Gravity BoardPark/ Good for boarders	Very touristy
Friendly

Zermatt Skiing

Resources:
http://vernissage-zermatt.ch/cms/output.php?id=343

http://www.skijobs4u.co.uk/ski_jobs_zermatt.htm

Zermatt Train

Zermatt Village

* Have you spent a season in Zermatt?
* Would you like to?
* Do you think it belongs on this list (and in the #4 spot)???

Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments here...

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