This Idyllic Car-free Town in the Swiss Alps Offers Pollution-free Air, the World's Highest Glacier Palace, and Views of 38 Peaks

"Summer in the city has become sticky and unbearable. What was once the season of patios and long days has increasingly turned into one of heat advisories, wildfire smoke, and smog alerts. A couple of summers ago, I was invited to visit Zermatt, a car-free Swiss town nestled in the shadow of the Matterhorn-and it couldn't have felt further from the chaos of modern summer."

"Zermatt is a pollution-free alpine escape, accessible via a scenic train that winds its way up through the mountains. The air is fresh, the pace is calm, and the views are unreal. While Switzerland is often associated with ski season, summer is an equally great time to visit, too. You'll find fewer crowds, lush, green trails like the 5-Seenweg (a five-lake hike with Matterhorn views), and even summer skiing on a glacier."

Zermatt is a pollution-free alpine town reached by a scenic mountain train. The air is fresh, the pace is calm, and summer brings fewer crowds and lush green trails such as the 5-Seenweg, a five-lake hike with Matterhorn views. Glacier areas offer summer skiing and the world's highest glacier palace is carved into the ice. From a platform above 9,824 feet, panoramas include 38 peaks and 14 glaciers spanning Switzerland, Italy, and France. The town evokes traditional Swiss alpine life—bucolic pastures, cowbells, cable cars, chocolate gelato, and Kinder Surprise eggs—and features romantic historic hotels like the Grand Hotel Zermatterhof.

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