Cervinia, on the Roof of the Alps

A wonderful summer holiday at the foot of the Matterhorn in the resort of Cervinia. We chose an option that would give us more independence and a low cost, and we opted for the Residence Cielo Alto, located about 800 metres from the centre of Cervinia. A lovely small apartment, with a fully equipped kitchen corner for complete independence. It's not in the centre of Cervinia and to do the shopping you have to take the car, but that wasn't really a problem. The Residence is just a few metres from the ski lifts (obviously open in the winter season). The village is very nice but rather pricey for those, like us, on a limited budget. We ate out only once, to have a plate of polenta with venison. Otherwise dinners and lunches were do-it-yourself.

Wonderful were the chances for superb walks both towards the Matterhorn and on the Plateau Rosa (the little Matterhorn, where the cable car arrives, exceeds 3,800 metres!). Obviously at Plateau Rosa you can ski in summer too, but only in the early hours of the morning because afterwards the snow becomes soft and skiing becomes dangerous. Hiking in the mountains is an experience hard to describe, but the trails on the Matterhorn are breathtaking. All easy and for every level: we're not mountain people and we always felt fine. The only real anxiety was the cows!! And yes, where there are cows there are also dogs, and on a few occasions we found ourselves surrounded and it wasn't exactly fun!! The weather was rather good, but you have to count on the odd storm.

We also took a pleasant trip to Valtournenche, where there's a lovely mountain lake (but on that one occasion it was pouring with rain!). Otherwise, all that remains is to wish you a good holiday!