Things to do in Cervinia: high days under the Matterhorn
A skiing resort first, but some of the best of the rest is free: a child born after 31 October 2018 gets a pass at no cost for as long as the accompanying adult's, and two snowshoe routes start without a lift. With no pedestrian pass, a non skier buys a return to Plateau Rosà, and children of nine and over, under 40 kg, drive their own dog sled.
Cervinia was built for skiing and makes no fuss about it. Off the skis, a week here is about unwinding rather than a full programme, and the best of it is high up. What the resort has is height, sun and the Matterhorn in front of you, which does a great deal of the work on a day without skis.
Start with what is free, because some of it is worth real money. A child born after 31 October 2018 gets a pass for as long as the accompanying adult's, at no cost, and anybody born before 1 November 1946 skis free on showing identity, which makes this a good resort for three generations. Two of the marked snowshoe routes start without a lift, the Lago di Loz loop from Losanche being the quietest, small children can be turned loose at the castle playpark at Cretaz, and the ski bus needs no ticket at all.
For anybody not skiing, the thing to know is that there is no pedestrian pass. You buy a return to a height instead, and Plateau Rosà, the highest of them, is the one people remember. Somebody who has never skied and wants to find out can buy a single ticket for exactly that: one return up to Plan Maison and the two beginner lifts, without paying for a week.
Children do well here. The Kid Zone at Cretaz takes them from the age of one, and at Avouil a child of nine or over who weighs under 40 kg drives their own sled behind two dogs, which is the afternoon they will talk about. Evenings are quiet, but the snowmobiles run late enough to make a night of it, with a guide at each end. For the skiers, Zermatt over the top is a full day on a pass that covers the Swiss side. Sort the dogs and the snowmobiles early in the week.
Free, and worth knowing
Four things that cost nothing: free passes at both ends of the age range, a castle playpark, two snowshoe routes that need no lift, and the ski bus.
Who skis free, and who rides free
A child born after 31 October 2018 gets a pass of the same duration as the accompanying adult's, at no cost, across the whole of Cervino Ski Paradise. At the other end of the scale, anybody born before 1 November 1946 goes free on production of identity, on the daily pass as well as the Explore Pass. Both are confirmed in the winter 2026/27 tariff.
The playpark at Cretaz
A castle structure flying Matterhorn flags, with slides and forts around it, at the foot of the Cretaz chairlift. Nothing to book and nothing to pay, and it is the one place in the village where small children can be turned loose without a ticket. It sits immediately next to the paid Kid Zone Fun Park and the two are separate things.
Cretaz, at the foot of the Cretaz chairlift
The two snowshoe routes that need no lift
Five marked snowshoe routes are published here and three of them start where the lifts drop you. The other two do not. The Lago di Loz loop is 3.7 km with two hundred and twenty seven metres of climb, starting either from the hamlet of Losanche or from the gondola car park, and it is the quietest of the set. The Plan du Bois route starts from Plan du Bois itself.
Losanche hamlet or the gondola car park, for Lago di Loz
The free winter ski bus
Two of the four bus lines in the valley are free winter services rather than ticketed ones: the Green line up to Cime Bianche and the Light Blue line, which is the ski bus proper. Neither wants a ticket, a guest card or a pass. The other two, the Blue trunk route down the valley to Valtournenche and Châtillon and the Violet up to Cielo Alto, are paid and cheap.
On the mountain
Dogs that children of nine and over, under 40 kg, drive themselves, snowmobiles that run after dark, and a park at Cretaz for the very small.
Dog sledding at Avouil
The standard outing runs fifty five minutes all in, fifteen of briefing and forty on the sled, over about four kilometres. The detail worth knowing is who drives: adults take their own sled behind three or four dogs, children of nine and over who weigh under forty kilos drive their own behind two, and the three to eights ride as passengers with the instructor. The premium version is an hour and twenty over about five kilometres, run as a private sunset group.
Over 50 euros · Avouil, Valtournenche, per the operator · Their page
Snowmobiles, including after dark
Two seat machines on groomed marked routes with a guide at the front and another at the back, running from mid December to the twentieth of April. What makes it unusual is the hours: ten in the morning until midnight, so this is one of the very few things here that works as an evening rather than an afternoon. There is an option to stop at a baita and eat.
Price on request · Breuil-Cervinia · Their page
Kid Zone Fun Park
The paid park at Cretaz, next door to the free one. Inflatables, snow toys, sledges, a slide and a carpet lift feeding two descent lanes, with sledges and deckchairs for hire on the spot. It takes children from one to ten.
Under 20 euros · Cretaz, at the Cretaz chairlift base
In the village
How to go up without skis when there is no pedestrian pass, and how to try skiing for one morning without buying a week.
Going up without skiing
There is no pedestrian pass here, which catches people out. What the lift company sells instead is point to point returns, so somebody who is not skiing picks a height and pays for that. Twenty euros gets you to Plan Maison at the top of the first stage, thirty eight fifty to Cime Bianche Laghi, and fifty seven all the way to Plateau Rosà at around three and a half thousand metres, which is the one people remember.
20 to 50 euros · Ticket offices in Breuil-Cervinia and Valtournenche
One go on skis without buying a week
For the guest who has never skied and wants a morning to find out, there is a single ticket that covers exactly that and nothing more: one return from Breuil-Cervinia up to Plan Maison, plus the Campetto chairlift and the Baby La Vieille ski lift, which are the two beginner lifts. Twenty eight fifty for an adult, and less for everybody else.
20 to 50 euros · Ticket offices in Breuil-Cervinia
Nearby
Zermatt, reached on skis over the top, and a full day rather than an afternoon.
Zermatt, over the top
The link is real and people do it inside a day: a long chain of lifts up over Plateau Rosà and down the far side into Switzerland, finishing in a car free village looking at the same mountain from the north. Treat it as a skier's day out rather than a pedestrian excursion, and budget a full day for it rather than an afternoon.
Over 50 euros · Up from Breuil-Cervinia over Plateau Rosà, on skis
These are our own picks, not paid placements. Prices and opening times change, so it is always worth checking before you set off.