The iconic Cervinia ski resort, located in Italy’s Aosta Valley, continues to consolidate its reputation as one of Europe’s top ski destinations and one of Italy’s best ski resorts. And in order to stay at the top of the world, it has announced an ambitious project and heavy investment: the construction of a new funicular line that will connect directly to the Plateau Rosa, one of the highest and most spectacular areas of the ski area.
Zermatt invests and Cervinia doesn’t want to be left behind
After major investments on the Swiss side of the ski area (with the two futuristic Matterhorn Glacier Ride cable cars, which reach the 3883-metre summit of the Little Matterhorn), major investments have now also been made on the Italian side and more are planned for the coming years.
Zermatt has invested in improving the connections between the Italian and Swiss ski areas, as the lower part of its ski area is already close to excellence. In Cervinia, however, priority has been given to improving connections to the Valtournenche commune (1,524m) at the bottom of the resort. The reason is clear: it is the first point of access to the resort thanks to good connections with the Italian A-5 motorway connecting Turin to the Mont Blanc Tunnel.
We would like to digress for a brief recommendation if you are in Valtournenche. We encourage you to discover villages such as La Magdeleine and naturalistic gems such as the Blue Lake, the Marmitte dei Giganti and the Grotte delle Busserailles, as well as the Lake of Maen and the Lake of Lod. And now we move on.
There have been many investments in recent years. First with the new six-seater Gran Sometta chairlift, which opened in 2022 and reaches 3,090m, and then with the great novelty for the 2024/2025 season, the Goillet chairlift, also six-seater. Two lifts built by the Athens-based company Leitner, which promise to improve the flow of skiers, reduce travel times, improve comfort and optimise consumption.
Valeria Ghezzi, speaking to ANEF, confirmed that “Cervinia is one of the jewels in the crown of alpine ski tourism, and the recent investments herald a real change of pace. Eis an example of how connections between ski areas, which in this case also cross national borders, are an important driver for the tourism development of mountain resorts“. Cervinia also demonstrates that, even when you have reached levels of excellence in terms of attractiveness and turnover, continuing to invest is the key to keeping up with the best world standards.
Cervinia is part of the Matterhorn Ski Paradise: one of the largest ski areas in the Alps that you can find in our definitive guide to ski resorts in Italy. It has 350 km of slopes between Switzerland and Italy on the edge of one of the most beautiful mountains in the world, the Matterhorn. It is also part of the exclusive group of ski resorts where you can ski all year round thanks to the numerous high-altitude slopes and the Teodulo glacier, where summer skiing is practised.
In addition to these investments, the lift line (two cable cars and a gondola lift) connecting Breuil – Cervinia with Plateau Rosà will also be renewed in the near future, as Federico Maquignaz, President and CEO of Cervino Ski Paradise explained to ANEF: “We are looking to the future with the desire to do even more to ensure the harmonious development of the ski area. The coming winter season will see the inauguration of the new Goillet chairlift and numerous interventions have been carried out on the snowmaking systems and the improvement of the slopes. Even more important is the start of the procedure to replace the Breuil-Cervinia (2,050m) – Plateau Rosa (3,480m) line“. This line, which is active 11 months of the year, is a major asset for the resort in both winter and summer.
A strategic advance for tourism and sport
This new project is part of a larger strategy to modernise the resort’s facilities, increasing its capacity and improving accessibility to the highest areas of the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise, in the cross-border area between Italy and Switzerland. This summit, located on the Swiss side, represents the peak with the highest ski resort in Europe at 3,883 metres above sea level from which 38 four-thousand-metre peaks and 14 glaciers can be seen. There is no doubt that the ambitious projects being carried out in this enormous ski area are bearing fruit. The Matterhorn Glacier Ride II, which allows you to travel from Zermatt to Cervinia via the highest border crossing in the Alps, is worth mentioning.
On the Italian side, the Plateau Rosa (Testa Grigia) at an altitude of 3,480 metres, acts as a “bottleneck” for all skiers who want to access the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise.Currently, access to this area is already possible but requires combining the Plan Maison gondola lift to the Cime Bianche Laghi (2,812m) and then linking up with the cable car up to Plateau Rosa.
The new project will allow a more efficient connection between Plan Maison (2,555m) and the pass to Switzerland, via a gondola lift to Theodulpass (3,301m), reducing waiting times and improving the experience for skiers. This will not only benefit athletes looking to enjoy Cervinia’s famous slopes, but also visitors interested in summer skiing on the glacier.
A promising future for the Matterhorn Ski Paradise ski area
The Plateau Rosa is one of the jewels of alpine skiing. With its location on the border between Italy and Switzerland, it offers a unique landscape where skiers can enjoy breathtaking views of the Matterhorn (or Cervino, as it is known in Italy), one of the most famous mountains in the world.In addition, the Plateau Rosa is part of one of the largest glacier systems in Europe, making it an attraction not only for skiers, but also for mountaineers and tourists looking for a high mountain experience.
During the summer, the glacier remains skiable, allowing visitors to enjoy skiing at any time of the year, positioning it as a benchmark in European summer skiing.The development of this new infrastructure reinforces the position of Cervinia-Valtournenche-Zermatt as one of the most attractive and accessible ski areas in the world. Matterhorn Ski Paradise, with more than 360 km of slopes connected between Italy and Switzerland, has established itself as a benchmark in winter sports, not only for the quality of its slopes and the beauty of its surroundings, but also for its focus on innovation and sustainable development.
With the new projects, Cervinia hopes to attract more international visitors, enhancing both the skiing experience and the year-round tourist offer. Summer skiing on the Plateau Rosa glacier will be strengthened, further consolidating its reputation among snow lovers around the world.
