Snowsure: 4.8
- Occasionally gets enough snow for skiing
- Is often closed due to a lack of snow
- Occasionally suffers from a lack of snow
- Rarely suffers from a lack of snow
- Breuil-Cervinia Valtournenche is snowsure even in the poorest seasons
Visitor reviews for Breuil-Cervinia Valtournenche Ski Resort
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(NOTE: Reviews may be edited by our content team for the purposes of ensuring accurate and relevant information)
(NOTE: Reviews may be edited by our content team for the purposes of ensuring accurate and relevant information)
Most useful
April 09, 2026
bradley from
United Kingdom
bradley from
United Kingdom
Went Easter 2026
Yes, it's ugly and the lift system is prone to close in high winds. We went late March/early April and the first 3 days were all impacted - late openings, links to Zermatt shut. But you suck it up because the altitude means decent skiing in late March/April. Best thing to do is check weather forecast, and if you can, come here April if there's fresh snow.
Some piste tips:
Cieloalto - small, quiet area just to right of base. A couple of decent blacks.
Valtournenche - red 1 is a long, interesting run right to the base. 3 lifts to the top, 2nd is achingly slow, but the reds from Cime Blanche are excellent
Palteau Rosa - assuming it's open, its a 3 stage haul to get here. Project Cervino (due 2029/30) will provide a fast single telecabin. Until then, it's a bind, but at the top, you have red 7 all the way back to the base
Take the 2 chairs (2nd is kid friendly at Plan Torette) and some decent runs, but go off-piste under the chair. Black 59 is on the map, nut doesn't appear to be there anymore, but the off-piste version is worth exploring.
April 02, 2023
Etienne Pieterse from
S. Africa
Etienne Pieterse from
S. Africa
Just landed back in SA after a trip to Cervinia.
The good points: great for low intermediates, brilliant views (possibly the best I have seen), excellent snow and linked to Zermatt. The far from good points: expensive lift pass (watch these people they try upsell passes and check your change too!), expensive restaurants and the towns architecture is ghastly. Spent a day next door in Zermatt, which is truly a world class beautiful village, clean, charming etc. Cervinia has potential but lots of work is required to get to 50% of Zermatt
November 12, 2022
Joel Nick from
United Kingdom
Joel Nick from
United Kingdom
Just found this great site so thought I would add my review too.
Cervinia is a two tone resort-high altitude so good snow, lovely easy runs and super views. But it is really not a pretty town, the lift system is somewhat outdated and it is nearly as expensive as Zermatt where I was 4 years ago. Zermatt is in a different class. It's pristine, varied and frankly not much more expensive.
April 11, 2022
Anthony Ellard from
United Kingdom
Anthony Ellard from
United Kingdom
January 28, 2022
walt from
France
walt from
France
Cervinia has high altitude and great views of the mountains. Mountain restaurants are really good but far from cheap, especially for Italy. The skiing is easy, fun and the slopes are well groomed.
However, the lift company really tries to up-sell ski passes, attempting to get you to buy the Zermatt connection, which is often closed due to wind. The ski pass is also not really great value as the lifts are confused. The main road of the village is nice but that is it, the town is truly ugly.
In a good snow year you have much easier connections to Austrian or French resorts (or pretty Courmayeur in Italy). Personally, I will not return here. I enjoyed Lech 3 years ago so much more and the price difference was not that much.
January 19, 2022
martin from
S. Africa
martin from
S. Africa
Cervinia is really a two tone resort. It has slopes that are good for beginners and low intermediates and the snow is good due to the altitude. However, the town is really a mess with a poor layout and architecture with no atmosphere. It's everything that classy Zermatt, on the other side of the mountain, isn't. The ski pass is poor value, the lift system not decently linked and I am afraid to say this but you really have to watch your pockets with the lift company, restaurant, ski hire shops etc. Yes, the Swiss are more expensive but scrupulously transparent and honest. I really recommend skiers to rather go to Zermatt and pay (slightly) more for sheer class, efficiency, and atmosphere.
May 12, 2020
Stefano from
Switzerland
Stefano from
Switzerland
February 29, 2020
Zbynek from
Switzerland
Zbynek from
Switzerland
We had a good week in Cervinia. We had good snow, weather was moderate. If you skied in different resorts before, you should be aware that Cervinia is a little different.
We stayed in Cielo Alto area. We rented an apartment there because of the view at Monte Cervino, which was amazing, and were aware that it is not located close to base station. We knew that we have to take gondola to Laghi Cime Bianch in order to be able to ski there. What we did not expect was that the gondola to middle part of the area would be in operation only 2 days out of 6. The first day when the gondola did not operate we went for bus, as all the others living in the area. We all did not get on the bus; I had to drive back down to pick rest of the family. Next day when it happened I rather walked up the slope from base for the car. The problem is that the company operating the lifts shows every morning status orange as On Standby so you hope it will be in operation. Then between 11 and 12 they change it to red and even if the weather improves later, they do not open it. The other option to get to to Cielo Alto could be to take the chair lift from Plan Maison (if in operation) and the "green" slope to Laghi Cime Bianch, which requires about 10 minutes of moderate climb on a groomed track. You can also drive down to the village. There were free places next to base station during weekdays, but the parking lot was full during weekend. You may need chains, especially after a snow day.
We looked at forecast and decided to buy 6 days international ski pass and we were aware that we may not be able to get to Zermatt every day. The cost is similar as if you buy 3 days International and 3 days Cervinia. In reality, the way to Zermatt was opened only one day, to Valtournenche valley only 2 days. It can be difficult to buy passes every day, because except of one day, each morning Zermatt was announced until 11am as On Standby. You could check weather forecast and look on web at lift status for few days to get an impression before you go there. I checked the lifts status 2 weeks after we returned back, it seemed to follow the same pattern.
The lifts did not operate one whole day because of wind. We got voucher for one day for next season.
Overal, we have a good memory for the week; views of Monte Cervino are amazing from any side. I’d say it is worth of visiting.
December 26, 2019
Kev from
United Kingdom
Kev from
United Kingdom
Visited 15th to 22nd Dec 2019, Although there was lots of snow, the link to Zermatt was closed all week, despite the information boards displaying 'scheduled opening' on 2 mornings. Can't help thinking this was done to encourage skiers to upgrade their pass? Without the link open, the skiing is limited, which then leaves lots of other options open. Not sure I'll be returning which is a shame because it's a fairly nice resort.
January 31, 2019
Sam RB from
United Kingdom
Sam RB from
United Kingdom
The justification for my review is explained in depth below. The short version is that if you are anything beyond a novice skier, this is not the resort for you. If you are in the process of picking a resort for an upcoming ski trip, you will find far better places for the same cost.
Hugely disappointed with Cervinia. Having skied a significant number of resorts across France, Switzerland, Austria etc. never have I been quite so frustrated.
Given the location and access to Zermatt, this should be a gem. However, even when conditions at the highest lifts in Cervinia were fantastic (blue sky and absent wind), the Zermatt links were still not opened. On the one day when the Zermatt link was opened, there was clearly no rush and it took until 10:30am to open it all. This reflects the general attitude of the resort staff. Lifts advertised as opening at 8:20 or 8:30 were often not open until well after 9am. Some days upper lifts were closed until gone 10am. Lifts were even closed earlier than advertised with staff clearly just wanting to leave as soon as possible. Even the piste bashing seemed half-hearted; for whatever reason they just were not of a quality found in other resorts. Staff in the ticket office all seemed unable to give the same figures for what the unnecessarily confusing pricing system was and misled us to our financial detriment. When confronted they were extremely rude.
Advertising the resort as a truly linked ski area with Zermatt is almost misleading. The odds of getting across the border are low.
The lift pass for just the Cervinia side is massively overpriced. Having spent the previous week in Ischgl, the lift passes are basically the same cost for 6 days. However, at Ischgl you get a hugely extensive well kept resort, extremely modern and efficient lift system, polite and hardworking staff, beautiful surroundings and town. Indeed the pass was comparatively expensive compared with many resorts I have visited recently including St Anton, Val d'Isere, L2A.
The pistes themselves are fabulous for total beginners but even intermediate skiers will become bored quickly. Black slopes are very straight forward, the reds that proliferate the resort would, in many cases, be blue elsewhere. The terrain is such that runs are mainly long flat sections interspersed with the odd downhill. This combined with the slow, exposed lifts makes for sheer tedium.
The lift system is by far the worst I have experienced anywhere in a major European resort. As other reviews have noted, the lift buildings in some cases look like something from war torn Aleppo. The lifts are excruciatingly slow, often without covers despite being exposed. Gondolas are slow and outdated, sometimes without proper seats. To get to the top of the resort/to Zermatt requires either 3 separate gondolas or a gondola and three separate chairs. In any modern resort the top would be reached by one or, at the most, two lifts.
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