Best Skiing in the Swiss Alps: A Beginner’s Guide

Explore 2 languages, cultures, and cuisines all in one day by skiing the Swiss Alps with Ski Itineraries. This beginner’s guide will have you cross from Italy to Switzerland without getting off of your skis.

Start the day skiing in one country and end up skiing in another country without getting off of your skis. Have breakfast in Italy, lunch in Switzerland, and dinner back in Italy. The Alps offer many resorts that are enormous and much bigger than your typical America ski resort. These resorts span across different villages, valleys, and yes, even countries. After skiing across 3 different countries and visiting over 3 ski resorts in the Alps, I can officially say that the best way to ensure you enjoy your day skiing the Alps is to hire your own personal guide⁠—no matter your ski level. Guides curate the experience for your interests and skill level, give you a great lay of the land, take you on the best trails and spots, and make sure you never waste time getting lost or stuck on the wrong side of the mountain or in the wrong country (which trust me, happens!).

We wanted to make sure we were seeing the right places, going to the right resorts, and getting the best value out of our trip given the expansive nature of resorts in the Alps. Who better to take us on an exploration of each country, history, culture, and land, than Ski Itineraries owner Gianluca, an Italian born and raised who has been skiing the Alps as an instructor since his early teen years. We booked the Ski Itineraries Discovery Package, which takes you through 3 different countries and 3 different peaks in just 3 days. Ski Itineraries gave us the perfect introduction to the Alps, starting with our first day skiing the Swiss Alps from Italy to Switzerland.

The beauty of travelling with Ski Itineraries is that your experience goes beyond just skiing. Your experience becomes an exploration and deeper appreciation of the land, its culture, cuisine, and people. During your discovery of the Alps on skis, you’ll learn a lot about the ski history of where you are skiing. Our day began in Italy where we cross-country skied around the famous Matterhorn glacier. Some of you may recognize the mountain from the Toblerone bar logo! The morning was spent on a slight incline, flat terrain, and large expansive trails with almost no one in sight, circling the Matterhorn and taking in the beauty of the surrounding glaciers.

We eventually made our way across the border skiing the Swiss Alps from Italy to Switzerland. I wouldn’t have even noticed had Ski Itineraries not told us. There was no border patrol in sight. Ski Itineraries pointed out two small buildings in the distance where people have to stop for passport checks in the summer when driving through the Alps. But in the winter? It’s a free for all! Ski Itineraries still had our passports, just in case.

We finally came to a halt across from the Matterhorn. Gianluca had brought us some typical Italian snacks to recharge before continuing any further. It was important for us to stay hydrated and energized given all the terrain we were covering. He had brought us Pavesini, one of my favorite Italian biscuits! A quick pick-me-up with the view of the Matterhorn in the distance made for a picture perfect moment. A small store nearby sold Toblerone bars. I was tempted to buy a bar just to take a picture of the logo next to the Matterhorn, but I was too eager to keep moving.

From here we took an adorable alpine train up to Gornergrat, located 3,094 meters or 10,150 feet above sea level! Gornergrat is considered one of the most beautiful mountain views in the world. From Gornergrat you have an amazing view of the Matterhorn, of course, the Monte Rosa massif, and some of the highest peaks in the Swiss Alps.

After taking tons of pictures of the view at Gornergrat, we spent the afternoon skiing the Swiss Alps all the way down to the Swiss town of Zermatt. Along the way we encountered some beautiful lodges and chalets that offered stunning terrace views of Zermatt and the Matterhorn in the distance. One of the lodges included a super cool alpine Veuve Clicquot bar with lounge chairs and champagne for all. The Swiss know how to live it up!

We eventually made our way down to Zermatt, took one of the electric buses to another ski lift, and got on the highest ski lift in Europe, Klein Matterhorn. We thought the views from Gornergrat were beautiful, but when we got off the ski lift and crossed back into Italy, the sunny side of the Alps, we held our breaths as we took in the beauty of glittering snow-capped peaks.

Following some more stunning pictures, we made our way down to Italy. This was one of my favorite runs. A long snowy trail that led us all the way back down to Italy as we stopped by chalets and people sun tanning and enjoying lunch on terraces. We spent the entire day with our Ski Itineraries guide, Gianluca, crisscrossing between villages with no fear of getting lost or on a route above our skill level. It was absolutely blissful!

At this point we were starved. Gianluca had purposefully brought snacks for us because he wanted to save the best for last. A true taste of Italian Valle d’Aosta alpine cuisine. Perched on the Italian side of the Alps was a beautiful chalet. It didn’t look like much from the outside, but we took off our skis, dug them into the snow and thumped our way on inside with our heavy snow boots. On the other side of this wooden door were incredible floor to ceiling glass windows with spectacular views of the Alps. There were tables available both indoors and outdoors on the terrace.

We ordered our food inside and brought it outside onto the terrace were we enjoyed views of the Alps below us. I had ordered crespelle, a regional dish that was to DIE for. It’s basically layered crepes with melted cheese and prosciutto. I would only eat it after a long and hard-earned day of skiing given it’s calorie count, but my god was it amazing. Gianluca kept reminding us how important it was to carbo-load while skiing, so I let myself indulge. Our ski guide knows what’s best! It was piping hot and stuffed with prosciutto as I gulped it down with some Italian beer. A step below the terrace was a sun tanning area. Italians were lounging around in chairs, sipping champagne, and enjoying the view of the Alps while tanning. So chic. Ski Itineraries had brought us to heart of quintessential alpine culture.

After lunch we made our way down to the Italian resort were we had started. We stopped by an après-ski lounge and ordered some espressos as we watched the sunset behind the mountains. Sure, we probably should’ve ordered a Spritz, but I was still full from my lunch. We watched as the sunset, the rays hitting the peaks of the mountains next to us. The peaks turned from gold to pink in a matter of minutes. As soon as the sun went down, the après-ski partying began. We had the option to stay, but we were exhausted from our day of skiing and wanted to go back to our small village and perhaps enjoy a thermal spa bath or nap before dinner.

But there was one thing left on our to do list…we could not leave the Swiss and Italian Alps without Patrick having his first bite of Toblerone! This was breaking news for me. I was shocked when I found out that Patrick had never heard of Toblerone chocolate or had it before. Before leaving we stopped by a grocery store and purchased a bar. I had to film his first time biting into this chocolaty Swiss goodness right in front of the Matterhorn, the logo for Toblerone chocolate!

The variety of skiing we did, the experiences, stories, people, food, cultures, and even countries we got to wallow in would have been impossible without the knowledge of Ski Itineraries. The bet skiing in the Swiss Alps is from Italy to Switzerland with Ski Itineraries. It was an enriching experience without the added stress of figuring out logistics, planning itineraries, or having back-up plans in case of inclement weather. It was a true vacation for the mind and soul in the snow. It has been by far the best, most efficient, interesting, and FUN time, I’ve ever had skiing. And this was only day 1 of 3 in our Discovery Package. Who knew skiing could be more than just a sport?

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