What to do in Cervinia on winter weekends

In front of one of the most beautiful mountains in Italy, you're sure to want to get stuck in yourself. If you’re not a confident skier, you can take lessons at one of the ski schools in the area before venturing out into the snow to enjoy downhill or alpine skiing.

If you were born to ski, the thrill of off-piste skiing and heli-skiing awaits: a helicopter will take you to the top and follows you in the air until you return to the valley.

Less reckless but equally fun activities include dog sledding or twirling around on ice skates for a few hours. You can also challenge your friends on the Ice Kart track, driving a Go Kart... on ice!

Cervinia also offers plenty of outdoor activities that don’t involve snow. Ever tried paragliding?
Or for a less daring flight, you can choose the scenic helicopter tour, which offers spectacular views of the peaks, including the Matterhorn.

If you prefer to keep your feet on the ground, you’ll love the many hiking trails. The unmissable, 30-km Jean Antoine Carrel Path starts and ends in the village of Perreres, in a loop that crosses the Breuil basin and reaches the Oriondé shelter at 2,808 metres above sea level. Several trails also start from Chamois, accessible by cable car.
The most beautiful is the one leading to the village of La Magdeleine.

Cervinia is also home to the Alps’ only mountain bike trail. At 10 km long, it starts at an altitude of 3,500 metres, on the snowy Plateau Rosà, and finishes in Cervinia at 2,050 metres. A few kilometres from the village is the Blue Lake, from which you can admire the Matterhorn reflected in the turquoise water. Between Valtournenche and Breuil Cervinia is Gouffre de Busserailles, a ravine carved by the Marmore creek and accessible via a steel footbridge.

After a morning of skiing or forest trails, there is nothing better than a few hours relaxing at one of Cervinia's wellness centres.

Choose between a rejuvenating treatment or a restful sauna, an invigorating whirlpool, a steam bath or a sensory shower.

There are countless activities to enjoy around Cervinia.

Torgnon is home to the Petit-Monde Ethnographic Museum, which recounts the mountain traditions of the hamlets of Triatel, Etirol and Ronc, which are like a whole different world.
The Maison de l'Alpage in the hamlet of Paquier is an interactive museum in a historic rascard that tells the story of Alpine agro-pastoral life.

Near the museum is the village of Cretaz, with its traditional wooden houses. Cheneil, which lies in a basin at an elevation of 2,000 metres, is accessible by lift or on foot from Cretaz, following a mule track through the woods.

From Plateau Rosà, accessible in half an hour by cable car from Cervinia, you can visit the Little Matterhorn, at 3,883 metres, and Europe's highest Ice Cave. It is right there as you depart the cable car, on the Klein Matterhorn glacier. The play of light created on the cave walls is truly astonishing.

Nearby is the highest museum in Europe, “Una montagna di lavoro” (“A Mountain of Work”), which tells the history of the first ski lifts in the Breuil basin. It is accessible on foot from the cable car station. On the panoramic terrace, a wind rose indicates the highest peaks in the Aosta Valley and Valais (Switzerland).

Book a dinner at a traditional, high-altitude Alpine kitchen to sample all the delights of Aosta Valley cuisine. You can head there by cable car or snowmobile to enjoy a cosy evening watching the sunset and chowing down on local specialities.

Be sure to try the cheese platters, accompanied by potatoes and sweet chestnuts, and the fondue, with the main ingredient being PDO fontina cheese from the Aosta Valley. Polenta is served with fontina cheese and melted butter or with chamois civet.

Finish your meal with tegole, thin hazelnut and almond biscuits served with local coffee, with grappa and orange and lemon peel. It is served in a special container with a spout called a “friendship cup”, because it is meant to be shared with friends.

Cervinia in winter is always a good idea.