Cervinia, the Italian side of the Matterhorn

Cervinia, officially Breuil-Cervinia, is the Italian ski resort on the southern side of the Matterhorn, at about 2,050 m in the Aosta Valley. Its slopes join Zermatt’s across the glacier, so from a chalet in Zermatt you can ski into Italy for the day and back again, as long as your pass covers the Italian side. Together, the two resorts and Valtournenche below form a single area of around 360 km of slopes.

That link is the reason most of our guests come to know Cervinia. They stay in Zermatt, in the car-free village and the house they chose, and keep one or two of the best days of the week for Italy: a run down the sunny side of the mountain, lunch in euros rather than francs, and a ride back over the border in the early afternoon. Done well, it is the highlight of the holiday. Done badly, it ends with a missed last lift and a very long drive round the mountains.

This guide covers the Italian resort itself and the practical side of skiing it from Switzerland. For the village and how to get there, start with our luxury chalets in Zermatt; non-skiers who want to cross by cable car will find the route in our guide to Matterhorn Glacier Paradise and the Alpine Crossing.

Breuil was a high pasture before it was a ski resort. The name means “land of many waters” in the local dialect, a nod to the lakes and streams of the basin, and there were few buildings here until 1934, when the company that would build the lifts was founded. The first cable car, from Breuil up to Plan Maison, followed in 1936. The resort therefore grew up around skiing rather than around an old village square, and it looks it: functional rather than pretty, with the Matterhorn’s Italian face filling the head of the valley.

What it does offer is altitude and sunshine. The village starts at about 2,050 m and the slopes lie on the sunny, Italian side of the ridge. Skiing in Cervinia is mostly long, open cruising on wide pistes, which makes it a favourite with confident intermediates and with families who want mileage rather than steeps. Below it, the runs continue down to Valtournenche at 1,524 m, useful on cold or windy days when the upper slopes are bleak.

Altitudes from the Zermatt and Italian tourist offices and the lift company. The combined area is about 360 km of slopes.

The question most guests ask is not how good Cervinia is, but which pass to buy in Zermatt. The lift company sells a Zermatt pass covering the Swiss side, an international Zermatt-Cervinia pass covering both, and an additional day ticket for Cervinia and Valtournenche. Access to the Italian area is sold on behalf of the Italian lift company. Fares change with the season and are published on the official websites; we arrange the right combination on request.

Ski passes valid for five days or more can be extended once at the end of their validity. Children’s reductions depend on date of birth, so bring official ID showing it. Check the current conditions on the lift company’s website.

There is no customs post on the glacier and you will usually ski across without noticing the frontier, but you are still entering another country. A few small things make the difference between a carefree day and an awkward one.

• Passport or national identity card: carry it in an inside pocket every time you ski to Italy. Checks are possible, and you will need it if anything means you return by road.
• Phone: your phone will switch to an Italian network. Check how your plan charges for data in Switzerland and in the EU before the trip, as the two are often billed differently.
• Insurance: make sure your winter sports cover applies in both countries and includes mountain rescue, including by helicopter.
• Shopping: Switzerland is not in the EU and applies its own customs allowances. If you bring food or wine back over the glacier in any quantity, check the Swiss customs rules first.
• Plan B: if the link closes while you are in Italy, the way back by road is long. Call us rather than improvising; we can arrange a driver to bring you round to Täsch, from where the shuttle train runs to Zermatt.

If all you want is a week of easy, sunny cruising and you are flying into northern Italy, staying in Cervinia itself makes sense: you are on the gentler slopes from the door, and the Swiss side is the day trip. We do not have residences there, and we would rather say so than pretend otherwise.

For most of our guests, the balance tips the other way. Zermatt gives you a car-free village, more varied terrain, the Matterhorn’s classic profile and the choice of Italy whenever the weather is right, without packing up. From Chalet Zeyr, the Sunnegga funicular is two minutes on foot and the Matterhorn Express is reached by electric taxi; Chalet Anelle has its own driver with an electric vehicle, which is handy on the morning of an Italian day. Both have a private chef, so the evening after a long day across the border is spent in the hot tub and at the table, not looking for a restaurant. If you are weighing other day trips from the same base, our guide to Saas-Fee, the glacier village in the next valley, sets out the alternative.