On the one hand was Breuil, in French, the original name of the place before the tourist settlement was built, derived from Valdôtain dialect Breuill indicating a marshy meadow, or a field where streams are numerous.

In April 2023, the municipal council of Valtournenche unanimously voted in favour of adopting the toponym "Le Breuil", proposed by a toponomy commission of the Aosta Valley autonomous region.

[6][7] In September 2023, a decree of the president of Aosta Valley officially changed the name of the hamlet from Breuil-Cervinia to Le Breuil.

[9] Just 24 hours after the official name change, Mayor Elisa Cicco and President of Aosta Valley Renzo Testolin started the procedure to restore the toponym.

[6][9][10] On March 8, 2024, the municipal council declared that the toponym "Breuil-Cervinia" would be requested, and that the names of all the hamlets would be asked to be reviewed.

[12] Breuil-Cervinia lies at 2,050 m (6,730 ft) above sea level, at the foot of the Matterhorn, in the Valtournenche valley and surrounded by the Jumeaux, the Château des Dames, the Furggen and the Grandes Murailles summits.

The village is divided by the Marmore creek.Breuil-Cervinia being one of Europe's highest ski resorts, its climate features low temperatures and consistent snow falls.

However, in the Middle Ages, the Breuil was an important crossroad for merchants who had to cross the Alps and for the settlement of the Walser community in the near the Ayas and Lys valleys.

Resident shepherds, such as Jean-Antoine Carrel, had long looked upon their home mountain as something attainable, and made the first attempts to ascend the Matterhorn from the south face.

Many European mountain climbers saw the Matterhorn as a great challenge, and the arrival of John Tyndall and Edward Whymper in Breuil began competition for the first complete ascent, aided by Jean-Antoine's knowledge of the territory.

After years of collaboration with Jean-Antoine Carrel, the competition was won by Edward Whymper in 1865, after he realised that the Hörnli ridge was easier to climb.

Amé Gorret asked the Italian Alpine Club to support his project, which resulted the refuge located at the Cravate (4,120 m) of the Matterhorn, inaugurated in 1867.

During the explorations and the first construction of hydroelectric plants in the lower part of the Valtournenche Valley, the entrepreneur and engineer Dino Lora Totino saw in Breuil the possibility of creating a first-class tourist resort.

In 1934, together with other Piedmontese entrepreneurs, Dino Lora Totino founded the Società Anonima Cervino, with the aim of transforming Breuil into an important tourist destination by building modern ski lifts.

1939 also had been the year of a big venture: the highest skilift in Italy was opened, linking Plan Maison with the Testa Grigia at 3480 m (11417 ft), near the Swiss border.

Also in the 1950s, Breuil-Cervinia, Plateau Rosa and the Matterhorn were chosen by the Italian Alpine Club and Ardito Desio as locations to prepare the famous 1954 K2 expedition, which included Achille Compagnoni and Walter Bonatti.

In 1962, the "Lac Bleu" bobsleigh track was completed near the Lago Blu and inaugurated by Olympic champion Eugenio Monti.

In 2006, thanks to regional funding, it was possible to build two modern chairlifts, called Crétaz and Campetto, to replace the old ski lifts.

In 2008, increasing financial difficulties led the Cravetto family, the historic owners of the Breuil-Cervinia ski lifts, to decide to sell its majority shares in Società Cervino.

The architects who oversaw the urban development of the town include important names such as Carlo Mollino, Francesco Dolza, Giovanni Muzio, Franco Albini and Mario Galvagni.

Breuil-Cervinia has hosted the Snowboard Cross World Cup four times, in the 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2022 seasons, making it a fixed stop on the circuit.

Since 1998, Breuil-Cervinia hosts the Cervino CineMountain, a film festival focusing on mountain, adventure, exploring and nature documentaries.

Since 2019, in the month of July, Breuil-Cervinia hosts La Settimana del Cervino, an event that encourages contact with nature, environmental sustainability and respect for the mountain environment with a series of cultural meetings between people from the entertainment industry, athletes, experts on the subject of mountains and nature, as well as evening shows, concerts and walks aimed at raising awareness of the aforementioned subjects around the village of Breuil-Cervinia.