In this second part of the list of the ten most beautiful panoramas of the Alps, AlpAddict offers you five destinations in Switzerland, Italy and Austria. As for the first part, all these viewpoints are accessible by ski lift.

These panoramas are of the same level of beauty as the five previous ones, listed in the first article on this subject.

The choice is yours.

Diavolezza, panorama of the Bernina massif

In the central Alps, on the Bernina Pass road which connects the North of Italy, Valtellina, to Engadine, of which St Moritz is the best known town, in the middle of nowhere a cable car station takes you to tickle the 3000 meters of altitude.

This is the Diavolezza cable car.

The landscape around the pass is already quite inhospitable. Beaten by the winds, covered in snow for more than half the year, the Bernina Pass is famous above all for its white lake and its little red train. This, in summer and winter, allows you to reach Val Poschiavo, a piece of Switzerland, even when the snow falls heavily at altitude.

As is often the case in Switzerland, things are not done by chance, and there is a train station in front of the cable car's lower station. Perfect for organizing a day in the High Mountains from Saint Moritz or the rest of the Engadine.

Let's go back to the Diavolezza cable car. The climb is fast through the mountain pastures and the few conifers that defy the cold, before landing at the summit. A restaurant with large bay windows or a sunny terrace await you so as not to miss any of the magnificent panorama of the mountains that is offered to you.

In an arc, the Bernina massif and its many peaks exceeding 4000 meters in altitude, are offered to the view. White, snow, glaciers, but also black and gray, rocks and scree sliding on the glaciers below. A harsh landscape, very high mountains.

Here there are no villages in the immediate vicinity of this massif. Silence reigns uncontested. The flight of the birds of prey materializes the air currents or the winds that circulate along the glacial slopes. Only the clouds move, everything else seems motionless.

A rocky and slippery path allows the most expert to reach the edges of the glaciers, several hundred meters lower, but honestly, we enjoy it very much from the point of view at the arrival at the cable car station.

Jungfraujoch, a magnificent panorama in the heart of the Swiss Alps

Let's stay in Switzerland for another balcony that allows you to admire an extraordinary panorama of the glaciers and the great peaks that have made the history of mountaineering.

The cog railway line of the jungfraujoch is an incredible achievement of the engineers who built it. Up to the last mountain pastures above the Kleine Scheidegg station, whether you come from Grindelwald or Wengen, the route climbs between forests and clearings that give beautiful views of the valleys below and the mountains that rise vertically above our heads. Then a tunnel pierces the mountain to the summit. During the climb, there will be a break to enjoy the plunging view through windows dug into the cliff face. Ideal for taking beautiful photos without taking risks.

It is always in the dark that we continue to gain altitude, which makes the experience of the exit at the upper station even more dazzling.

The view is obviously magnificent. In particular, it overlooks the Aletsch Glacier, the largest and longest in Europe. The view extends into the distance to the peaks of the Valais and those of the Oberland in particular, while to the north the view extends to the Vosges and the Black Forest between France and Germany.

The site is perched on a ridge on a ridge line between the Jungfrau and the Mönch, two quite impressive 4000 meters. Of course, all around there is mostly emptiness, ice and snow. It is therefore useless to imagine being able to descend from up there on foot.

On the other hand, several activities are offered.

A palace carved out of ice will take you to an imaginary kingdom and a zip line suspended above the glaciers will make you shiver with cold and fear.

In any case, and in all weathers, you can enjoy the view from the summit thanks to an immersive film that shows you what is around you, even when the clouds envelop the mountains.

Let's say it's a good initiative because the price to go up is still quite expensive. It's the price to go up to the highest railway station in Europe in a unique glacial landscape. An experience not to be missed by mountain lovers.

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Col Checrouit in Courmayeur, panorama of Mont Blanc

The Col Checrouit offers a magnificent panorama, facing the summit of Mont Blanc, on the Italian side.

The Mont Blanc massif is rocky and vertical on the Italian side. When you go up the Dora Baltea valley, the massif appears as an impassable vertical wall.

From the bottom of the valley, whether you are in Courmayeur, Val Ferret or Val Vény, it is sometimes difficult to discern the different peaks of the massif. It is necessary to take a step back, and above all, to gain height.

Just like in Chamonix, you could choose to enter the massif itself thanks to the Skyway which takes you to the 3470 meters of altitude of the Pointe Helbronner. Glacial world, view of the summit of Mont Blanc and all these peaks so dear to mountaineers. From there, we can even continue towards the Aiguille du Midi by crossing the glaciers for one of the most beautiful experiences in the Alps.

But our choice is for a slightly more withdrawn point of view.

Since Courmayeur, or from Dolonne, you can go up by cable to the Plan Checrouit plateau. From there, another cable car takes you to the 2200 meters altitude of the Col Checrouit. You can also go up on foot, from Dolonne. The climb is tough, but the pleasure on arrival will be tenfold!

On the pass, the view opens up over the entire Italian side of the Mont Blanc massif. You can clearly see the summit, but also the glaciers overlooking the Val Vény and the legendary peaks overlooking the Val Ferret, such as the Dent du Géant or the Grandes Jorasses.

Looking in the opposite direction, towards the East, the peaks of the Aosta Valley can be seen in the sky.

In winter, this is the Courmayeur ski area. Other lifts take skiers higher, and the view will be even clearer over the mountains and the valley.

In summer, a beautiful walk, with little difference in altitude, takes you to Lake Chécrouit, a small body of water in which the summit of Mont Blanc is reflected. It is better to come early in the morning to avoid the budding clouds on the highest peaks, and especially the hordes of tourists who come to invade the place for a picnic and especially for a photo with family or friends.

You can go back down to Courmayeur, via Dolonne or back down to Val Vény. The latter is a longer option but will keep you in contact with the massif all the way down, in a chaotic moraine valley where torrents flow noisily among rocks and scree.

Lake Checrouit
Mont Blanc from Lake Checrouit

Seceda, panorama of Val Gardena and the Dolomites

Val Gardena is one of the most beautiful valleys in the Dolomites. Seceda offers the best overall view.

We leave the valley floor at Ortisei and in two sections we reach the 2500 meters of SecedaThe landscape that opens up before your eyes covers all the mountain ranges that give Val Gardena its reputation.

The sharp peaks of the Odle massif open the show towards the East, the Sella massif and its plateau summit block the valley above the village of Selva Wolkenstein. We can see the notch of the Passo Sella, before admiring the incomparable silhouettes of the Sasso Lungo (Langkofel) and Sasso Piatto (Plattkofel). The gaze follows the ridge line to the Sciliar, while a little further down spreads the large plateau of the Alpe di Siusi.

The panorama of the Alps is open towards the West, at the outlet of the Val Gardena, and the view extends far to the peaks of Ortles/Ortler and Adamello, as well as the entire border area between South Tyrol and Tyrol.

A skier's paradise, on well-oriented and sunny slopes, in winter Seceda becomes a hiker's paradise in summer. Numerous trails allow you to crisscross these high mountain pastures before descending towards the charming little villages of Val Gardena.

Lovers of the Dolomites will appreciate this magnificent panorama.

Top of Tyrol, in the Stubaital, the highest viewpoint in Austria

Not far from Innsbruck, heading south, stretches the Stubai Valley, Stubaital in German. This flat, green valley, whose villages lie at an average altitude of around 1000 metres, gives no hint of what awaits the visitor when he reaches its end.

The valley is transformed, it changes its name: first Unterbergtal and then Mutterbergtal. At its highest point we are already at 1700 meters above sea level and the slopes have narrowed around the road. This is the starting point of the first of three sections of ski lift that take you up to the Top of Tyrol, located up there at an altitude of 3210 metres, a hundred metres lower than the Schaufelspitze, one of the three peaks which block the Stubai Valley.

The area is first and foremost a ski resort. Facing due north, the area is of course extremely well snowed in, and you can ski there until almost the end of May.

However, pedestrians can also find advantages there, both summer and winter.

This is the highest point of the Tyrol, accessible by ski lift. The high mountain landscape with more than a hundred peaks over 3000 meters visible from the platform suspended above the peak quickly gives you the impression of being an eagle watching over its domain.

You can also stop at one of the intermediate stations, Eisgrat at 2900 meters for example, and set off on hikes along the edge of the glacier and back down to the valley.

Top of Tyrol is easily accessible, with the Stubaital being well served by public transport from Innsbruck, making it one of the key destinations when visiting Tyrol.

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