The entrance of the Matter valley - and thus the route to St. Niklaus - is via the Rhône valley
in the north. The access point into the Rhône valley from the west is at Lake Geneva.
The access point from the south is via the Simplon pass and from the north via the
Lötschberg tunnel (for trains and cars). Distances and travel times from selected destination are:
Genf - St. Niklaus:
215 km
(2:30 h)
Mailand - St. Niklaus:
215 km
(2:50 h)
Zurich - St. Niklaus:
190 km
(3:40 h)
Frankfurt - St. Niklaus:
500 km
(6:45 h)
Paris - St. Niklaus:
640 km
(7:00 h)
From St. Niklaus, the hike up to the Riedji mountain retreat takes one to two hours
(luggage is transported by cable car). Alternatively, a helicopter can be chartered
for about CHF 300 to take guests from the valley below to the retreat.
For train routes and travel times see the website of the Swiss railway company SBB
www.sbb.ch
Genf - St. Niklaus:
3:00 h
Mailand - St. Niklaus:
3:00 h
Zürich - St. Niklaus:
3:00 h
Frankfurt - St. Niklaus:
7:00 h
Paris - St. Niklaus:
6:30 h
A comfortable way of traveling from cities further north is by night train
(see www.citynightline.ch).
Services are being offered from Berlin, Dresden, Hamburg or Amsterdam.
A massive tunnel of 35 km (the Lötschberg Basistunnel) was inaugurated in 2007
and connects the Valais to the European fast speed rail network.
The main train station of the region is Visp at the entrance of the Matter valley.
The closest international airports are Geneva, Milano and Zurich.
Smaller airports can be found in Bern and in Sion, with additional airfields for
smaller planes in closer proximity. For those with a loose budget constraint,
helicopter transportation from any of those airports can be arranged through Air Zermatt.
(www.air-zermatt.ch).
Visitors with more time on their hands can walk to the Riedji along the historic Walser route
(Grosser Walserweg) that runs from Zermatt via Liechtenstein to Mittelberg in Austria.