Ah the Glacier Express. It is indeed a scenic trip FR. I suppose it is as good a way as any to decide where to go on a first trip to Switzerland. But if you are REALLY into hiking then I would focus more on suggestions as to where you could indulge in that activity. You can do so as I said from Zermatt or St. Moritz, you'll just pay more for hotels, etc. to stay there.

Hasliberg was just a suggestion, there are many places to stay that make a great base for hiking. Maybe a bit more research is needed. Here are some good websites to start with.

http://www.myswitzerland.com/en-ca/home.html

https://www.google.ca/#q=best+day+hikes+switzerland

Here is a typical hotel we like to look for when on a hiking holiday in Switzerland. It's in Hasliberg but I give it only as an example, I'm not trying to suggest that the Hasliberg is the only or best place to hike in Switzerland.
http://www.gletscherblick.ch/

Family run, friendly and helpful with hiking suggestions, good food. The good food is important in a place like this since there is nothing much nearby and opting for 'half board' makes a lot of sense.

In Tasch, just down the valley from Zermatt, we liked the Walliserhof. The second reviewer wrote exactly what illustrates my point re the difference between Tasch and Zermatt if you really don't want to be in Zermatt itself.http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Hotel_Revi...wiss_Alps.html

Tasch is a 12 minute train ride from Zermatt, runs every 20 minutes and as I wrote, you can easily go for a couple of hours if you want to. OR you can hike from Tasch to Zermatt instead. Look at this site and then download the PDF Panoramic hiking map to see how many ways you could hike from Tasch to Zermatt. http://www.zermatt.ch/en/page.cfm/ex...ivities/hiking

This kind of information can be found for just about anywhere you choose to go in Switzerland.