Cervinia
A s much as we love skiing in Zermatt, it's awesome being able to ski into a different country. The flattering pistes, sunny south facing slopes and excellent coffee and food make it well worth adding to your Zermatt itinerary.The Ventina piste alone (12km long and dropping almost two vertical kilometres) can be considered a highlight of our ski area.
Although this is generally thought of as a day trip, if you have an international ski pass, you can pop over whenever you like for a run or two.
Pistes
Altitude
Cervinia highlights
Access - Getting to Cervinia
The trip to Cervinia is straightforward. Take the Matterhorn Express and the 3S lift up to Klein Matterhorn.
From the top take the only piste, there is a black run that opens part way through the season too which you can access as you ski down. When you get to the T-bars stay left to cross the plateau to Testa Grigia.
From Testa Grigia you can turn left again and ski the wonderful, and long, Ventina run (7) all the way to Cervinia. Alternatively you can stay Swiss side and turn left slightly further down to cross the Theodul pass. Once you get over the pass you access all the easy blue and red runs to Plan Maison and Cervinia.
Zermatt or international ski pass?
If you plan to go to Italy just once, you can buy a daily upgrade to your Zermatt skipass at the Matterhorn Express ticket office or at Trockener Steg. However, if you plan to head over more than once (even if it’s just for a good Italian coffee) then take the international ski pass.
Getting to back to Zermatt
The route back to Zermatt from Cervinia involves a number of lifts on the Italian side and then a long ski back from the boarder to town on the Swiss side.
It’s important to leave plenty of time to get back. You can check the ‘last lift to Zermatt’ times that are posted at each of the lift stations, so you wont get stuck over there after lifts close.
Should I take my passport?
As you are travelling between counties, you should ‘in theory’ take your passport with you. It’s extremely rare that anyone is asked to produce a passport though, and easy to explain what your purpose of travel is should you not have it with you.
We’d say you’re more likely to lose it than be asked for it so leave it at your hotel or apartment.
There's something magical about skiing over into a diffferent country for the day.
Cervinia piste highlights
We love the Ventina (7), a 11.5km long and uninterrupted run from Testa Grigia to Cervinia. If you are up early enough and are looking for a day flying around the pistes, it’s worth heading all the way over to the Reine Blanche (1) and skiing down to Valtournenche. It is really fun, rolling and winding terrain and always quiet.
If you cross the Theodul Pass from Switzerland to Italy, the piste marked (6 / 6) starts red and turns blue. It’s pretty easy skiing the whole way down to Plan Maison really. Many people end up just skiing the runs around this area without venturing any further. We would suggest skiing slightly beyond Plan Maison and finding the high speed 6-seater chairlift under the Matterhorn’s south face. This accesses some fantastic red and black runs with a quick turnaround.
Wherever you ski in Italy, by the early afternoon, you should probably think about being in the Plan Maison area so you can be relaxed about making it home before the last lift.
The run to get into Cervinia is red, with steeper sections in places. However, if you cross the border via the Theodul Pass, you’ll soon find yourself skiing miles of wide, motorway style runs that can make anyone feel like a hero. These take you all the way to Plan Maison and the high speed chairs in this area make it easy to rack up some miles. Even the runs down to Cervinia are not as challenging as the Zermatt reds.
When crossing back to Switzerland, choose the gondolas and cable car to Testa Grigia to avoid a steep narrow section at the Theodul Pass.
The red run from Klein Matterhorn at 3820m is a big start to your day. If you cross the border to Italy at Testa Grigia, you’ll ski straight into the Ventina (7), one of the best runs in the area. The varied terrain and huge vertical drop (not to mention the fact you’ve already skied in two countries) gives you the feeling of having done a lot of good skiing before you finish your first run of the day!
The next best area for skiing red runs is Valtournenche. There are great runs all over the resort, especially around the Bec Carré chair.
There are 7 black runs marked on the piste map but some of them take a while to open in the season and Piste 59 from the top of the Pancheron chair hasn’t opened for s number of years.
Cervinia’s black runs are dotted around the resort and offer the occasional challenge in an otherwise relaxing day. If you’re looking for more adventurous skiing, we’d suggest staying Swiss side.
Keep an eye on the lifts
Go early! Avoid any queues for the Matterhorn Express (especially if the previous days weather hasn’t been great – everyone then heads over the same day) and have time to explore the area as well as enjoying the Italian cuisine. Aim for the first lift at 0830.
Don’t miss the last lift back (as early as 1500 from Plan Maison), otherwise it’s a 5hr and a few hundred euro taxi ride back (or a night in a hotel). Each lift in the area has a ‘last lift to Zermatt’ time posted.
There's something special about sitting on a sunny terrace having lunch in Italy
Cervinia restaurant highlights
Chalet Etoile (piste 6) is probably the most written about restaurant in Cervinia, it has an enormous sun terrace, great food and friendly team.
If you can’t get a table there, all is not lost. Both Bontadini, also on piste 6, and the ‘Love’ restaurant further down past Plan Maison are excellent alternatives.
There are plenty of other fantastic places to try, from the tasty paninis at Testa Grigia, the stunning views from the Theodul hutte or the delicate and fine dining at Snowflake, you won’t be disappointed.
Head to Valtournenche for lunch
The ‘Foyer des Guides’ near Valtournenche is as far from Zermatt as you can get! It’s a great ski down to it and the classy style and excellent menu make it one of our favourites. You might need an instructor’s help both to find it in the first palce, and also to make the return journey in time for the last lifts back to Zermatt.