Cervinia to Zermatt by Cable Car - Matterhorn Alpine Crossing 2026/27

Can you take a cable car from Cervinia to Zermatt for lunch and be back in Italy for dinner? Since July 2023 you can, without skis and without a car. The Matterhorn Alpine Crossing links Breuil-Cervinia and Zermatt by cable car around the Matterhorn, and the operator puts the journey at about 90 minutes.

Two things are worth knowing before you plan a day around it, or a week split between two countries. The route closes for maintenance in the middle of winter. And since November 2025 it has carried luggage as well as people.

The route

How the cable car from Cervinia to Zermatt works

From Breuil-Cervinia, at 2,050 m, the lifts climb through Plan Maison and Cime Bianche Laghi to Plateau Rosa. There you change onto the newest link, the Matterhorn Glacier Ride II, which rises from 3,458 m to 3,821 m in four minutes and arrives at Matterhorn Glacier Paradise on the Swiss side. The Zermatt lifts then carry you down through Trockener Steg, Schwarzsee and Furi to the village.

• Time: about 90 minutes from Zermatt to Cervinia, by the operator’s figure.
• The border: crossed at nearly 3,500 m. The Plateau Rosa station stands right on the Italian border, but entirely on Swiss soil.
• The cabins: designed by Pininfarina, 28 people in each.
• Access: the change at Plateau Rosa is a few metres, and the operator says the whole route can be travelled in a wheelchair.

Winter 2026/27

When the Matterhorn Alpine Crossing is open

The ski season in Breuil-Cervinia runs from 24 October 2026 to 2 May 2027. The crossing keeps a timetable of its own: it is closed for maintenance until 23 October 2026, and closed again in the heart of the season.

On the day itself the weather decides. The highest part of the route is above 3,400 m, and the operator publishes the last ride in each direction on its website — look it up on the morning you travel.

A day out

Can you go to Zermatt for lunch and come back?

Yes, with a return ticket and an early start. Ninety minutes each way is about three hours on the lifts, so lunch in Zermatt takes up most of the day. The village at the other end is car-free: only electric vehicles are allowed in Zermatt.

• Pick a clear day. The views over the glacier are much of the reason to go this way.
• Leave a margin before the last ride back to Cervinia, and know the time before you sit down to lunch.
• Book lunch ahead if the restaurant matters to you — we can reserve it with the rest of the trip.

Two countries, one trip

Moving from Cervinia to Zermatt with your luggage

The crossing also works for a trip in two halves: a few days on the Italian side, then Zermatt. Since 1 November 2025 the cable car operators have run a luggage service between the two valley stations, so the cases do not ride over the glacier with you.

• Two runs a day in each direction: check in by 10:00 to collect from 12:00, or by 14:00 to collect from 16:00.
• In Cervinia luggage goes in at the Cervino ticket office at the valley station; in Zermatt, at the Matterhorn Express valley station.
• Collect by 16:45 at the other end. Nothing is stored overnight.
• Each guest registers in person, and bags may only hold personal belongings: customs rules apply.
• Skis and ski bags longer than 171 cm are not accepted and travel with you.
• A text message confirms when the luggage has arrived.

We book both stays, set the day of the move around the luggage times and arrange the transfers at either end.

On skis

Skiing from Cervinia to Zermatt

For skiers the two resorts were joined before the new cable car, as Cervino Ski Paradise. From Plateau Rosa you can ski down towards Zermatt without taking your skis off, or come back to Cervinia on the Ventina, an 11 km run from 3,480 m to the village. The Italian side has 157 km of runs, and the Aosta Valley tourist board counts 352 km for the whole area with Zermatt.

With the route and the dates in place, one question is left before booking: where to stay on the Italian side.

Where to stay

Hermitage, Breuil-Cervinia

Hermitage is a large mountain chalet of stone and wood at 2,050 m, run by the Neyroz family since it opened in 1975, a member of Relais & Châteaux since 1994 and part of the MICHELIN Guide hotel selection. The lifts are about 300 metres away.

It also makes a good slow half of the trip. The spa pool is fed by the hotel’s own spring, private dinners are served in a cellar cut into the rock, and at La Chandelle the meat is cooked on an open grill in the dining room.

The 38 rooms and suites range from Classic Rooms with balconies to Master Suites with terraces facing the Matterhorn or the Grandes Murailles, and families can take connecting rooms for up to six. Every category, with photographs, is on the hotel page.

On the Swiss side

Where to stay in Zermatt

For the second half of the week, our Zermatt pages include Riffelalp Resort, Hotel Schweizerhof, Chalet Zermatt Peak and Christiania Residence. The Zermatt resort page covers the slopes and the village.