Zermatt

Q: Can you ski from Zermatt to Italy?

Yes, over the Theodul pass to Cervinia in the Aosta Valley. It needs a supplementary pass, reasonable conditions and enough in reserve for the return leg: the crossing is high, exposed and closes in bad weather, and being stuck on the wrong side means a very long taxi round by road. Do it the first time with someone who knows the route and watches the forecast.

Q: Is Zermatt worth it for a beginner?

The Sunnegga area is genuinely good beginner terrain and the setting is unmatched, so yes — but Switzerland is the most expensive country in the Alps for lessons, typically CHF 90–150 an hour. If budget matters more than the view, Andorra or the Spanish Pyrenees buy far more instruction for the same money.

ValaisSee it on the map

Region

Valais

Country

Switzerland

Local time

Europe/Zurich

Currency

EUR

Zermatt has been car-free for over a century — you arrive by train from Täsch and get around on foot or in the little electric taxis — and the Matterhorn stands at the head of the valley in a shape so particular it became the template for how a mountain is drawn.

The lift system climbs to 3,883 m at the Matterhorn glacier paradise, the highest in Europe. That is why Zermatt is the one place on the continent where you can ski every month of the year: the glacier stays open through the summer, and a good part of the world's national teams train on it in July and August.

The ski area splits into three sectors — Sunnegga, Gornergrat and the glacier — and connects over the Theodul pass to Cervinia in Italy, which together count around 360 km of pistes. Gornergrat is reached by a cogwheel railway running since 1898.

Last reviewed 4 August 2026

Best suited to

Intermediates
Advanced skiers
Off-piste and freeride
Beginners

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Where lessons start

Sunnegga has the sunniest, gentlest terrain and the beginner slopes, reached by an underground funicular from the village — so a first lesson does not start with a long walk carrying skis. Because the village is car-free and the sectors are separate, agree the meeting point with your instructor in advance and allow time: the funicular and the trains run to a timetable.

Resort areas

Sunnegga
Gornergrat
Matterhorn glacier paradise

Suggested meeting points

Sunnegga funicular station

Getting there

You cannot drive into Zermatt. Leave the car at Täsch, five kilometres down the valley, and take the shuttle train — it runs every twenty minutes and takes twelve. Geneva and Zurich are both around three and a half hours by train, and the Swiss rail connection is good enough that most visitors never rent a car at all.

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Qualifications required in Switzerland

Teaching skiing or snowboarding for payment in Switzerland is a regulated profession: an instructor must hold the Snowsports instructor diploma. Instructors listed as certified on Alpine Pal have either sent theirs to us for review or are vouched for by the ski school that invited them.

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Zermatt: common questions

Can you ski from Zermatt to Italy?

Yes, over the Theodul pass to Cervinia in the Aosta Valley. It needs a supplementary pass, reasonable conditions and enough in reserve for the return leg: the crossing is high, exposed and closes in bad weather, and being stuck on the wrong side means a very long taxi round by road. Do it the first time with someone who knows the route and watches the forecast.

Is Zermatt worth it for a beginner?

The Sunnegga area is genuinely good beginner terrain and the setting is unmatched, so yes — but Switzerland is the most expensive country in the Alps for lessons, typically CHF 90–150 an hour. If budget matters more than the view, Andorra or the Spanish Pyrenees buy far more instruction for the same money.