The Alps

Switzerland has closed 167 ski resorts since 1980. Austria’s Alps are warming at nearly twice the global average. The Presena Glacier in Italy has been partially wrapped in white geotextile sheets every summer since 2008 to slow melting, and the coverage reduces ice loss by roughly 50 percent during the warmer months. These are not far-future projections; they describe where the Alps already are in 2026. Visiting the Alps now, particularly for winter skiing, requires a much more deliberate approach to resort selection than it did twenty years ago.

This does not mean the Alps are in decline as a destination. It means they are changing, and the places best worth visiting are shifting.

What the Alps are

The Alpine arc spans eight countries from France in the west through Monaco, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria, and Slovenia to Italy in the southeast, covering roughly 1,200 kilometres. Mont Blanc, on the France-Italy border at 4,808 metres, is the highest peak in the chain and in western Europe. The Matterhorn, perhaps the most photographed peak, stands at 4,478 metres on the Swiss-Italian border above Zermatt.

In 218 BC, Hannibal led a Carthaginian army of around 70,000 men, 20,000 horses, and 37 war elephants across the Alps to attack Rome. The precise route remains debated among historians; current research pointing to animal dung deposits suggests his army may have used the Col de la Traversette, a high and exposed pass at about 2,950 metres on the current French-Italian border. He lost roughly half his infantry and most of the elephants in the crossing. The Romans, who had assumed the mountains were impassable for an army of that size, were unprepared for him on the Italian side.

Where to go

Zermatt in Switzerland is the strongest overall choice for combining scenery, infrastructure, and elevation. The village is car-free (private petrol vehicles are banned; you arrive by train from Tasch). The Matterhorn dominates the skyline from almost everywhere in town. The Gornergrat rack railway climbs to 3,089 metres and gives a panoramic view across the Monte Rosa massif with 29 other peaks above 4,000 metres visible on a clear day. Zermatt’s ski area extends to 3,883 metres on the Klein Matterhorn and is one of the most snow-reliable in the Alps precisely because of its high base elevation.

Chamonix in France, at the foot of Mont Blanc, is the other essential Alpine town. The Aiguille du Midi cable car climbs to 3,842 metres in two stages and deposits you on a steel platform surrounded by the highest peaks in western Europe. The view is extraordinary and disconcerting in roughly equal measure. The Vallee Blanche ski route descends roughly 2,800 vertical metres off the back and is one of the most famous off-piste runs in the world, requiring a guide and crampons for the initial ridge walk.

Cortina d’Ampezzo in Italy’s Dolomites hosted the 1956 Winter Olympics and is returning as a co-host of the 2026 Winter Olympics, which brought major infrastructure upgrades to the resort and the surrounding Dolomite area. The landscape here differs from the Swiss or French Alps: the Dolomite rock formations are paler and more dramatically vertical, giving the region a distinct visual character.

Solden in Austria, with glacier skiing on three glaciers, is one of the more reliable snow choices on the Austrian side. The James Bond film Spectre (2015) opened with a sequence filmed on the Rettenbach Glacier above Solden, which brought considerable attention to a resort that was already technically excellent.

The Walker’s Haute Route

For summer visitors, the Walker’s Haute Route from Chamonix to Zermatt is the most celebrated long-distance Alpine trek. The 213-kilometre route takes 10 to 12 days, crosses multiple passes above 2,500 metres, and passes through remote French and Swiss valleys that the ski-resort economy has left largely unchanged. It is classified as a strenuous route, with daily elevation gains of 700 to 1,400 metres. Hut bookings are mandatory throughout and must be made months in advance for July and August dates. Self-guided options start around 1,395 euros per person including accommodation bookings and luggage transfers between huts. Guided versions with a qualified mountain guide run from 1,695 euros per person.

Snow reliability in 2026

The 2025 to 2026 winter season saw below-average snowfall across broad areas of the central and southern Alps, continuing a trend of increasing snow deficits at lower and mid-elevations. For ski holidays, the practical implication is straightforward: choose resorts above 1,800 metres for the village base and above 2,500 metres for the skiing. Resorts like Zermatt, Val Thorens in France, and Saas-Fee in Switzerland consistently outperform lower-altitude alternatives as natural snow becomes less reliable. Resorts heavily dependent on snowmaking face rising energy costs alongside declining natural snowfall.

Where to eat

In Zermatt, the Chez Vrony restaurant above Findeln, reachable by skiing down from the Sunnegga Express or hiking up from the village, serves good local food (especially Valais lamb and raclette) at a terrace with a direct Matterhorn view. It is worth the detour. Budget 40 to 60 CHF per person for lunch.

In Chamonix, Le Cap Horn is a reliable mid-range choice for Savoie cuisine (tartiflette, fondue Savoyarde, crozets) without the tourist-trap pricing that some locations near the Aiguille du Midi lift attract.

In Cortina, Michelin-starred St. Hubertus at the Rosa Alpina hotel in San Cassiano (about 25 kilometres from Cortina) is the most celebrated restaurant in the Dolomites, serving contemporary mountain cuisine by chef Norbert Niederkofler. A tasting menu runs around 250 euros per person.

Getting around

Rail access to the Alpine towns is significantly better than most visitors expect. From Zurich to Zermatt takes about 3.5 hours by direct train via Visp. Paris to Chamonix runs via Geneva and takes around 5 to 6 hours on fast trains plus the Mont Blanc Express from Saint-Gervais. Venice to Cortina is about 2.5 hours by bus from the Cortina station. The Alps are a genuinely rail-accessible destination, and arriving by train is better than flying for anything less than a continent away.

A practical note on altitude

Mont Blanc summit aside, most Alpine visitor activities sit between 1,000 and 3,000 metres. Altitude sickness is uncommon at these levels but not unknown, particularly if you fly in and immediately take a cable car to 3,800 metres. A day of mild acclimatisation in the valley before significant altitude gain is a sensible precaution.