A sunny, family-first plateau high above the Mattertal, Grächen sits across the valley from Zermatt with wide nursery slopes and one of Switzerland's gentlest learning areas.
Grächen is a ski resort with genuine ski-in/ski-out hotels in Switzerland, in the Swiss Alps. The village sits at 1619 m and the lifts top out at 2868 m, with 44 km of pistes and 13 lifts. Its BestSnowHotels snow score is 80/100, and the season usually runs Dec 7 → Apr 13.
How we score and classify resortsRun counts and piste kilometres are indicative. Green runs only exist in France, Spain, Andorra, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Japan, the United States, Morocco, Algeria, Lesotho, South Africa, Egypt, Canada, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and Chile; Italy, Austria, Switzerland and Germany start at blue. Indicative average snow depth near the top of the resort, in cm.
A handful of well-rated hotels in and around the resort. Pick one, then compare live prices across Booking, Expedia and Hotels.com.
Excellent · 435 reviews
Moments from the lifts in Grächen, so you can ski back to the door and skip the morning queues.
Guests rate this hotel as excellent (4.7/5 from 435 reviews). It sits about 200 m from the slopes. A upper-scale option for Grächen, with live nightly rates shown for your exact dates so you always see the best price.
Excellent · 368 reviews
A dependable, well-reviewed choice for a stay in Grächen.
Excellent · 249 reviews
One of the highest-rated places to stay in Grächen, with guests singling out the service and comfort.
Very good · 319 reviews
Moments from the lifts in Grächen, so you can ski back to the door and skip the morning queues.
Excellent · 181 reviews
Moments from the lifts in Grächen, so you can ski back to the door and skip the morning queues.
Excellent · 117 reviews
Moments from the lifts in Grächen, so you can ski back to the door and skip the morning queues.
Very good · 213 reviews
Moments from the lifts in Grächen, so you can ski back to the door and skip the morning queues.
Excellent · 73 reviews
Moments from the lifts in Grächen, so you can ski back to the door and skip the morning queues.
Excellent · 49 reviews
Moments from the lifts in Grächen, so you can ski back to the door and skip the morning queues.
Excellent · 37 reviews
A dependable, well-reviewed choice for a stay in Grächen.
Very good · 55 reviews
Strong value for Grächen, with a high guest rating that punches above its nightly price.
Very good · 51 reviews
Strong value for Grächen, with a high guest rating that punches above its nightly price.
Ratings from Google, prices indicative per night. Live availability and rates via our booking partners.
Grächen is a compact plateau village, so a good number of hotels and chalets sit right on or beside the nursery slopes and the main pistes back to the base. It is not a purpose-built ski-in/ski-out resort, but the short, level layout means most addresses are only a minute or two from the snow.
Grächen has quietly been one of Switzerland's best family resorts for decades. Perched on a sun-soaked shelf at 1620 m above St. Niklaus, it looks straight across the Mattertal to the peaks around Zermatt yet keeps its own calm, traffic-limited village and a compact, unintimidating ski area. The nursery slopes and the Ravensburger themed play trails sit right by the base, lifts are short, and the pistes stay broad and sunny, which is exactly what small children and nervous beginners need. Stronger skiers still get long red descents from the Seetalhorn and Hannigalp and some genuinely quiet off-piste, but nobody comes here for a party scene. It is skiing at child pace, with big Valais views thrown in.
Hotels and apartments around the lifts. Compare prices on Booking, Expedia and Hotels.com.
Everything on our site connected to Grächen: its area, the lists it makes, head-to-heads and trip guides.
Grächen offers 44 km of pistes across 13 lifts, from 1619 m to 2868 m. Whether it suits beginners depends on the dedicated learner zones at the base of the slopes, so check the local ski-school options for green and blue run access.
The season runs from Dec 7 to Apr 13, with a snow score of 80/100. The best conditions are usually from late January through February, while spring skiing in March and April brings longer days and softer afternoons.
Grächen is a compact plateau village, so a good number of hotels and chalets sit right on or beside the nursery slopes and the main pistes back to the base. It is not a purpose-built ski-in/ski-out resort, but the short, level layout means most addresses are only a minute or two from the snow.
Grächen has 44 km of marked pistes served by 13 lifts, between 1619 m and 2868 m of altitude.
Grächen counts about 34 marked runs in total. The colour breakdown above shows how they split by difficulty, a good guide to whether the resort fits your level.
The closest alternatives, an easy switch if dates or hotels are tight.
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