Andermatt is so textbook Swiss you’d know you were here even if you’d never been to the country before. The Lepontine Alps huddle round the town like friends round a fondue, cow bells chime and dramatic mountain passes fan out in all directions around a timber-framed, chimney topped village. Even the petrol station has history – having appeared in the Bond movie, Goldfinger, as Sean Connery fills up his Aston Martin after a car chase on the nearby Furka pass.
Locals used to say mountains here were riddled...
Cable cars on opposite sides of the village lead to the two ski areas above Andermatt; Nätschen to the north-east and Gemsstock to the south, between which there’s some seriously gnarly off-piste that makes up for the fact there aren’t reels of runs. Neither’s lifts are the most modern but that’s half their charm and, for now, keeps the crowds at bay. We love that you can actually take a 10-minute train to Nätschen which, with a little patience, also rolls on to Sedrun and a ton more beginner terrain and o...
Après takes a back seat in Andermatt, but the resort manages to muster a few lively pubs and with the swish new Chedi bar, things have taken a step in the direction of mixologists and champagne. Head to fun, wooden Spycher for pizzas in which you’ll taste the proximity of Italy, or seek out traditional Swiss dishes like egg-topped rösti served by waiters in lederhosen at the Gasthaus Zum Sternen. One of our favourite things about eating out here is that prices tend to be a lot less than you’d find elsewhere ...