Breuil-Cervinia

Breuil-Cervinia is a renowned winter sports resort on the southern side of the Matterhorn, at 2,050 m. This guarantees excellent snow conditions; in fact, skiing here is not limited to winter: the glacier-covered slopes of Plateau Rosa (3,480 m) and Klein Matterhorn are among the largest and most attractive summer ski areas in the Alps. A big asset of the resort is the link with the pistes of the Swiss resort of Zermatt, which is especially attractive to skilled skiers looking for bigger thrills. The ski season in Cervinia runs from early November to mid-May. The glacier pistes are also open from June to October. The main slopes are high, wonderfully sunny and almost treeless. Although snow is rarely a problem here, cold, gusty winds are often a nuisance. The glacier pistes total about 25 km. In winter you can ski down from the glacier area into the valley on the Swiss side on a 15 km intermediate piste. Together with Zermatt, Cervinia forms a large linked ski area (245 km of pistes). The run down into the valley on the Italian side is not quite as long (just under 8 km). On the Italian side you reach Plateau Rosa via Plan Maison (2,555 m), the main hub of this large ski arena. The surrounding areas are also fantastic for freeriding. The most dedicated can try heliskiing.