Cable cars in the Alps: you are guaranteed to get dizzy here

• Gondolas are the most comfortable way to soar into the sky.
• In the Alps, those with a head for heights have numerous opportunities to let themselves be carried by cable cars to the highest peaks.
• It's not just the mountain panorama that takes your breath away when you drive in the most spectacular cable cars.

Wire to the sky: Seeing the world from above without getting on a plane – there is nowhere more convenient than with a gondola. Nowadays, cable cars glide majestically, quietly and gently to the highest peaks in the Alps and offer sensational views. We show the most spectacular cable cars in Europe's mountains, which, due to daring constructions, trigger more than a tingling sensation in the stomach.

1. The highest: Klein Matterhornbahn, Switzerland

Nowhere in the Alps can you get closer to heaven by cable car: the highest mountain station in Europe is located at almost four thousand meters, more precisely at 3883 meters. In Switzerland, in Zermatt on the Klein Matterhorn, the cable car leads over a length of 8.8 kilometers over three sections to the famous summit in Valais. In doing so, it overcomes an altitude difference of 2249 meters. What is spectacular about the gondolas, which opened in 1979, is that they lose height after the last pillar because the span up to the mountain station is so long and there is a slack to cross.

From 2018, the ride on the highest cable car will be even more exciting, because the old gondolas will be replaced by new cabins from the Ferrari and Maserati design company "Pininfarina". Then the passengers not only sit in an elegant gondola called "Symphony" with sophisticated lighting, special ventilation and loudspeaker concept, but can also reach the Matterhorn in just nine minutes. In the so-called three-cable gondola lift, the cabins are pulled by a pull rope and roll on two suspension ropes. This system also makes the construction more wind stable. The 25 gondolas can then transport up to 2000 people per hour to the Klein Matterhorn with its summer ski area.

The glacier's viewing platform offers a breathtaking 360-degree panoramic view. 38 four-thousand-meter peaks are all around.

2. The most spectacular: Stanserhornbahn, Switzerland

Only flying is better: the world's first open double-decker cable car opened on Lake Lucerne in 2012. The gondola lift is two-story and has an open top, a kind of convertible lift. Think of it like this: a spiral staircase leads from the cabin to the open upper deck.

The unique cable car leads over a stretch of almost two and a half kilometers to the Stanserhorn, the mountain station is at an altitude of 1,850 meters. A maximum of 60 passengers can get into the daring construction and let the fresh air blow around their noses for six minutes while flying high – just like driving a convertible.

The technical masterpiece in the central Swiss canton of Nidwalden cost a good 28 million Swiss francs, i.e. around 25.6 million euros.

3. The oldest: Predigtstuhlbahn, Germany

Nostalgia in Bavarian: In the brine spa town of Bad Reichenhall, in the far south of the republic, there is the oldest cable car in the world that has been preserved in its original state. And the best thing about the Grande Dame of the Alps: She's still driving! And that is 2.5 kilometers up to the 1614 meter high Predigtstuhl. From 1925 to 1928 the railway in the Berchtesgaden mountains was built. At that time it was regarded as the model of a perfect cable car that was exemplary in terms of speed, silence and safety. In terms of aesthetics, too, the railway with its twelve-sided "salon pavilions" was a sensation.

Today, almost 90 years later, one can justifiably claim that the Predigtstuhlbahn is the oldest large cabin cable car in the world that has been preserved in its original form and operates all year round. It is now even a listed building.

Today, as then, a machinist in the mountain station ensures that passengers take the train to overcome a height difference of 1,150 meters. The mountain station is just below the summit, at an altitude of 1583 meters. There is also a small museum here, with a lot of information and stories from the time of the “Golden Twenties” about the creation of the Predigtstuhlbahn.

4th The longest without intermediate support: Aiguille du Midi-Bahn, France

In the French winter sports resort of Chamonix, the Télépherique, built in 1955, leads up the impressive rocky spur of the Aiguille du Midi. The cable car is only Europe's second highest, but its second section from 1035 meters to 3777 meters is spectacular. Because this cable car section is the longest in the world that was constructed without intermediate supports – the rope hangs completely in the air until you reach the extremely steep north face of the Aiguille du Midi.

And there are more superlatives to follow: During the journey from the middle to the mountain station, a mountain panorama opens up, the natural beauty of which is hard to beat. Huge glacier fields glitter in white and ice blue, while the gondola heads straight for the Aiguille du Midi rock spur.

At the top of the terrace of the mountain restaurant, the Alps show their intoxicating side: The view of Mont Blanc and the French, Swiss and Italian Alps and their highest peaks is unique.

5. The most agile: Titlis Rotair, Switzerland

Really crazy: The Titlis Glacier is located in Engelberg in central Switzerland. The first rotating gondola in the world, the Titlis Rotair, screws itself up to a height of 3020 meters. During the five-minute journey, the gondola rotates once on its own axis. However, the 360 ​​degree rotation is so gentle and comfortable that no one has to get dizzy. You do notice the turn, however, because the view is constantly changing: there are always different steep rock faces, deep crevasses and snow-capped mountain peaks in the distance.

6. The youngest: Wildspitzbahn, Austria

Tyrol's latest highlight: Austria's highest cable car and the highest café in the country opened on the Pitztal Glacier in 2012. The Wildspitzbahn is a masterpiece both architecturally and technically. It is one of the detachable single-cable gondolas, has an inclined length of 2,008 meters and overcomes a height difference of 591 meters. A total of 61 aft cabins with large glass fronts and heated seats bring passengers to the mountain station, which is at 3440 meters, in just under six minutes.

The Vorarlberg architect Carlo Baumschlager has set the mountain station on the slope like a gently curved snow plow including a floating terrace with a glass front and a bright restaurant. A fascinating sight not only for architecture fans and skiers, but also for tourists who can enjoy the highest breakfast in Tyrol up here – with a 360 degree mountain panorama and a view of Austria's second highest peak, the 3768 meter high Wildspitz glacier.

In the video: The most exciting viewing platforms in Austria