A Skier's Road Trip through the Swiss, French & Italian Alps

When we decided to visit Ski Paradise—the famous ski resort that straddles the Italian and Swiss borders and offers views of the iconic Matterhorn—I wanted to build a road-trip itinerary that would be equally as memorable. Geneva and Milan are the two airports closest to the resort, making this the general road trip route.

We picked up our rental car at the Geneva airport, had some lunch on the lake, and then drove about two and a half hours to Aosta, Italy. The route took us through Chamonix, France, the Mont Blanc Tunnel, and Courmayer, Italy. We stopped in Aosta for the night before heading up to the resort the following morning.

The ski area spans both Italy and Switzerland with the famous Zermatt, home of the Matterhorn, sitting at the foot of the mountain on the Swiss side. We stayed on the other side in Cervinia, Italy. Cervinia is more reasonably priced and, unlike Zermatt, allows cars. If skiing is not on your personal itinerary, you can buy a daily lift ticket and take the Matterhorn Express over to Zermatt for the day. I made a day trip to Zermatt for shopping, spa, and spritzes at Schweizerhof Zermatt, and I took the Gornegrat train to meet my husband on the slopes for a cocktail before heading back over to Cervinia.

Our last leg was Cervinia to Milan, with a quick stop in Lake Como. We dropped off the rental as soon as we got into Milan, and stayed right on Via Monte Napoleone. It was also just a few blocks down from Duomo di Milano, so it was a great location for just having two short nights in Milan.

There is not a lot about this trip that presented challenges, but here are some things to flag.

First, The Matterhorn Express has many stops between Cervinia and Zermatt, and it's a mix of skiers and pedestrians. It takes about two hours to get between Cervinia and Zermatt; however, the lifts stop running at 5 p.m., so it's really important that you prioritize timing.

Next, the car rental was a one-way between two countries, so it was about twice as much as it would be to do a round trip. (A round trip out of either city would still make for a beautiful itinerary.)

Also, driving in Italy is doable, but you need a confident driver. Locals can be impatient, and if you get into Milan (or any metropolitan city) during rush hour traffic, you can get into some stressful situations.

For more inspiration and insider recommendations, visit our Europe page.