Taking advantage of Italian mountain resorts in the summer to hike and trek through lush, green scenery is wonderful, and Cervinia in Italy offers some great routes. From easy walks lasting only a few miles to harder trips doable in a day, here is Europe-Mountains’ pick of the best hiking routes in the Breuil-Cervinia region, in Italy’s Valle di Aosta. You can get details and maps for all of the following at Cervinia’s information centre – these are intended to give you a few ideas.

Easy

Breuil-Cervinia to Lac de Goillet and back – Starting in the town, walk westwards out towards Gold Club Cervino through lush woods and then follow the road to the northern tip of the beautifully blue Lac de Goillet. Walk south along the lake for a while and then walk back towards Cervinia from the southern tip to get a different perpective. This route is easy going and about 6.42 miles with a vertical increase of 534m.

Stazione delle Cime Bianche to Valtourneche – Staz Cime Bianche can be reached by some adjoining cable cars and a bit of walking from Breuil-Cervinia. From there you can hike south down to Valtourneche, bypassing the Grand Lac, and from Valtourneche you can get a bus back to Cervinia. This route is great because it starts with a reasonably gentle incline and then is downhill for about three quarters of the way. The route is 6.96 miles long with a vertical increase of just 163m.

Moderate

Breuil-Cervinia to Zermatt – If you’re not up for a circular route, this moderately difficult hike from Cervinia to Zermatt is a good choice. The route makes its steep way up to the Teodoluspass, and from there meanders entirely downhill in a NNE direction to Zermatt. This walk is 11.46 miles long with a 1103m vertical increase, so pace yourself!

Up to Rifugio Jumeaux – A walk up to a mountain hut is always going to involve some puffing and panting, the difficulty of which tends to be outweighed by the views. This route is a good compromise: it is short in distance at 3.41 miles but has a 766m vertical increase, giving you a challenge if you’re getting used to mountain walking. This circular walk starts south of Breuil-Cervinia, from a point on Strada Statale 406, and branches off up the mountain to the Rifugio. The return route loops back on a different track so you get a fresh vantage point of the mountains.

Hard

Breuil-Cervinia to Lac de Goillet and beyond – If the easy walk to Lac de Goillet wasn’t long enough, try this: Walk from Cervinia up to Plan Maison, then southeast to La de Goillet. Loop down the west side of the lake and then walk east to Refugio y Lago. From there, make your way north to Pie Cervino and then head downhill back towards Cervinia via Plan Maison once more. This is a 13.78 mile route with a vertical increase of 820m, so some stamina and fitness is needed.

Around the Matterhorn – If you’re looking to really challenge yourself, get a cable car to Schwarzsee station (most easily accessible from Zermatt; get a bus there from Cervinia) and from there make your way along a marked trail to Schonbiel Hut. Stay overnight here and the next day hike onwards to Zermatt, getting the bus back to Cervinia from there. This route is about 24 miles long, but if you wish to push it further to about 29 miles you can continue to walk from Zermatt back to Schwarzsee cable car station to complete the loop – this is also feasible to complete in two days.