Valtournenche ski resort guide & reviews Ski area, apres-ski, things to see & do in Valtournenche
Overview
Valtournenche is a high altitude resort sitting at 1524m sharing the ski area with its larger neighbour Cervinia. The resort is dominated by the iconic Matterhon mountain which is where the summer skiing takes place at 3883m.
The town is compact and the streets are dotted with shops, bars and great family runrestaurants. Other than the skiing in the winter, there is a sports centre with swimming pool, sauna, gym and tennis courts.
Après-ski
The nightlife is fairly relaxed and is more about enjoying the local cuisine in the many restaurants around the centre of the resort. However, there are several bars which do get very lively especially at the weekends when the locals from Turin and Milan escape the city. Cervinia is just 9kms up the valley and offers an extensive and lively apres-ski scene.
Valtournenche ski area guide
The Breuil-Cervinia Valtournenche Zermatt area is one of the largest in the Alps with 360km of pistes across three valleys in Italy and Switzerland. The vertical is huge and ranges from 3883m down to 1524m in Valtournenche.
Snow is guaranteed and not just because of the glacier up on Plateau Rosa but also because 178km of pistes across the whole area have snow-cannons.
From Valtournenche, the ski area is accessed via a gondola located 1km north of the village and serviced by a ski bus. Being the only route to the slopes, the lift queues can get lengthy!
| Key information (whole area) | |
|---|---|
| Altitude | 1524m |
| Top lift | 3883m |
| Family | |
| Beginner | |
| Intermediate | |
| Expert | |
| Piste (km) | 360 |
| Longest run | 17 km |
| Off piste | |
| Cross country | 13 km |
| Season | Dec - May |
| Snowboard parks | 1 |
| Heli Skiing | ✔ |
| Summer skiing | ✔ |
| Glacier skiing | ✔ |
| Babysitting | ✘ |
| Creche | ✔ |
| Apres ski | Relaxed |
Beginners
There are many wide, open and gentle pistes around Valtournenche for beginners. The village nursery slope has a long moving carpet and chairlift and this is where complete beginners start and progress to the excellent flat area around Plan Maison and the gentle blue runs above.
Intermediate
A paradise for intermediates especially if you like touring with literally more piste than you could possibly cover in a week when you venture over in to Zermatt. One of our favourite runs is the 13km cruise down in to Valtournenche that has superb scenery.
Advanced
Not too much for experts on the Cervinia - Valtournenche side hence the exodus to Zermatt where the terrain gets considerably steeper and the off-piste will challenge any expert. Heli-skiing is therefore very popular as the back-country trails flowing off the high peaks are some of the best in the Alps.
Snowboarding
As Valtournenche has many wide and gentle pistes and few draglifts, it is an ideal resort for beginner and early intermediate boarders. However, there are some long, flat parts particularly around Plan Maison so be prepared for some walking! More advanced boarders will enjoy the terrain park as it's one of the best in Italy.
Things to see & do in Valtournenche
- Tobogganing
- Ice skating
- Ice carting
- Snowshoeing
- Hand-gliding
- Parapenting
Children
Valtournenche has some excellent childrens clubs which provide half and full day care with skiing lessons if required.
Featured ski chalets
The self catering accommodation in Valtournenche is of a very high standard and the ski chalets and apartments are mainly from private owners which tend to get booked up very quickly especially during school holidays. There is also self catering accommodation further up the valley in Cervinia.
See all rentals
Our view on Valtournenche
We think Valtournenche is a great family resort with the kid's especially well looked after. You are spoilt for choice in terms of where to ski and during the summer, the resort transforms itself in to a fun and action packed adventure resort.
- Try the Matterhorn ski safari which takes you through 10,000m of vertical without sking the same run twice
- Ski over to Zermatt for the day but don't forget to take your international lift pass
- If you like good food then why not try one of the mountain restaurants for lunch or even dinner (and sled back in to town after!) Remember to book in advance as they tend to get extremely busy in peak season
