Best ski destinations in Europe

Best ski destinations in Europe

Courmayeur, Italy

For a gourmet escape

This elegant Aosta Valley town on Italy’s French borders has excellent skiing for intermediates and off-pisters, and superlative views of Mont Blanc — a stellar backdrop that’s more than matched by its starry culinary credentials. Along with Italian ski regions such as Alta Badia, Courmayeur has an impressive dedication to culinary festivals, fine wine and great food. Up on piste, head for gourmet mountain hut Chiecco where menus include locally made organic polenta, and Fassona beef along with house-made pasta and gelato. Also slope-side, Capitan des Alpes is the place for suckling pig, a favourite with Heston Blumenthal, co-founder of Courmayeur’s annual spring Mountain Gourmet Ski Experience — two nights of Michelin-starred mountain feasts prepared by big-name chefs. Peak of Taste is another chef-led spring food festival focussed on special dining events. Take the Skyway aerial tram for reach-out-and-touch views of Mont Blanc complete with the ‘vertigo walk’ viewing platform. Steady your stomach with excellent pizza at The Tunnel base station. Down in town, at Cadran Solaire the Garin family serve up such Aosta specialities as mocetta (lean-cut bresaola-like salumi) and ‘flan’ with local fontina cheese and spinach.

Lech, Austria

For low-key luxe

Beloved of European royals eschewing the glitz of St Moritz, this Austrian beauty is all about traditional Alpine charm. Accommodation is in timber chalets, the town and its onion-domed churches spilling gently down the mountain around the curve of the Lech River. Part of Ski Arlberg, Austria’s largest connected ski area, Lech is one of the country’s snowiest resorts. Its low-key slopes, perfect for intermediates, join with St Anton for livelier après and more challenging pistes. With winter hiking, cross country and snow shoeing, Lech is not just all about the downhill, and food is very much a focus, year round. The region has an abundance of small producers and a disproportionate number of gourmet restaurants (see also the nearby ski resort of Ischgl for culinary credentials). An hour’s hike from town, Restaurant Klösterle’s menu is hyper local, much of its ingredients foraged in summer and preserved for winter, with fish including trout from Lake Constance and grass carp from Niederösterreich. While on the slopes, The Wolf serves warming curries alongside traditional schnitzels and broth-based fondues in a sleek mountain hut setting. In town, make a fine-dining beeline for the spruce-panelled restaurants at Almhof Schneider and Hotel Arlberg.

Glenshee, Scotland

For skiing on your doorstep

The mountains are wild, views across the Glens epic and, prevalent winds aside, skiing in Scotland can be magical. Of the five Scottish resorts, Glenshee, in the Cairngorms National Park is by far Britain’s largest snow sports area with some 40km of skiing. The resort’s website is an invaluable resource for updates on the weather and how many ski lifts are operating. On good snow/low wind days arrive well before the lifts open to bag a car park space – and to beat the traffic along the A93 ‘snow road’ through the national park. Lessons and equipment hire are available on site (again, book ahead) and don’t miss a black pudding bap at base lodge, Tea@TheShee. Within dashing distance of Balmoral Castle, good for bad weather excursions, Glenshee is located between Blairgowrie and Braemar. Stay in the latter, a traditional Highland town where The Fife Arms (pictured below) offers boutique accommodation, a pub, posh dining room, cocktail bar and, for the ski season, a fondue hut, all drawing on local produce from gamekeepers, farmers and fisherman; while The Bothy at Braemar is the spot for a full Scottish breakfast.

Bulgaria

For beginners and bargain hunters

Bulgaria’s modest-sized ski resorts offer great value for novices who want to dip their toes into a snow sports holiday. The country consistently ranks as the bestvalue European ski destination. Bansko, Borovets and Pamporovo are the three most well-known resorts, Bansko having seen the biggest recent investment in facilities. With pretty, forested slopes, efficient lifts and modern accommodation, Bansko is also Bulgaria’s largest resort, with some 70km of runs, lots of bars and restaurants, and the broadest choice of accommodation. Borovets, Bulgaria’s second largest winter sports hub, has less places to dine out but a purpose-built resort focussed on catered ski-in ski-out chalets, which avoids the usual minibus transfer to the lifts. It’s also just an hour from Sofia airport (Bansko is two). Try a hearty plate of Bulgarian meatballs, mash and smoked peppers with a piste-side panorama at The Terrace Lounge in Borovets. In Bansko, slope-side dining is pricier than in town. A hearty staple found in most mehanas (traditional tavernas) is kapama, meat and vegetables stewed in an earthenware dish. Package trips offer the best Bulgaria bargains, many incorporating half-board stays in locally run ski chalets with homecooked food, such as those from Balkan Holidays and Crystal Ski.

Ski area of Bansko resort in Pirin Mountains

Sölden, Austria

For luxury mountain-top dining

Due to its high altitude and two glacier ski areas, the ski season in Sölden runs from October to May. You will find 144 kilometres of slope of all difficulties, which means beginners and pros can take advantage of the immaculate slopes. Families will love the 7.3km toboggan run which takes you through snow-clad winter forest and magical mountain views – it’s also lit up on Wednesday evenings for night-time adventure seekers. Even in peak season there are next to no queues for gondolas, two of which are the most powerful in the world, with a capacity of 4,500 people per hour. Sölden has plenty to offer outside of snow season or on bad weather days, the restaurant Ice Q is perched at 3,048 metres and is also featured in Spectre – it’s easy to see why this striking building with unrivalled views was selected for a Bond film. The chef’s table menu here is four courses of excellence and guarantees you a window seat. Wine lovers would do well to sample the Pinot Noir 3000, matured on the summit of Gaislachkogl in oak barrels, and a speciality of the restaurant and luxury spa hotel Das Central. In April, local and international chefs and renowned winegrowers come together for Wein am Berg, a wine and gourmet food festival where you can book to join a wealth of foodie events, including high-altitude wine tasting and sampling dishes from a range of talent.

Verbier, Switzerland

For advanced skiers

Cherished by keen skiers and off-pisters, Verbier is home to renowned ski schools including the venerable Warren Smith Ski Academy. Skiing may be front and centre but Verbier is a proper Swiss town in its own right. Surrounded by the farms of the Valais, this region is the home of Hérens cows whose milk is used for raclette cheese. It’s also great wine country. Host to a new summer festival celebrating wines from across the Alps, in winter a great place to taste varieties made with grapes grown on the Valais vertiginous slopes is 67 Pall Mall. The outpost of the London member’s club has a 3,500- strong wine line, a third of which is Swiss, and its downstairs bar is public access. An import from New York, Black Tap offers mammoth gourmet burgers and super-sized hot chocolates in a space-age dome structure at the top of the Mont-Fort ski lift. For classic fondue comfort food, head to cosy mountain hut Ô Caboulis, and the buzzy Le Dahu for wood-fired pizza and loaded crêpes. Down in town, new opening Hôtel de Verbier has boutique rooms and its La Nonna restaurant serves Italian-Swiss fare, including organic house-made pasta and ossobuco with Swiss veal.

Tignes and Val D'Isère, France

For miles of fun

Accessible by direct train from the UK, and with slopes that stay open until May, the linked French resorts of Tignes and Val d’Isère offer a long season and almost endless terrain. Tignes has excellent off-piste plus glacier skiing on Grande Motte (at a whopping 3,456m), both offer a choice of runs from beginners through to advanced skiers across some 190 miles of slopes. For budget and self-catering accommodation, Tignes is top, although 2022 openings Le Diamond Rock and Club Med have added to its high-end hotel offering, while Le Panoramic is the world’s highest Michelin-starred restaurant at 3,032m, with a menu of wood-fired dishes. Val d’Isère has some increasingly smart stays and chic places to eat, including two Michelin starred L’Atelier d’Edmond, headed up by chef Benoît Vidal, a boon for those seeking delicate fish and veggie dishes. Hunt out good value hearty eats (burgers, steaks) on piste at Les Marmottes mountain hut near the terrain park and Borsat Express chair lift. While the Alps’ original afternoon party landmark, La Folie Douce, now has a stylish self-service spot upstairs (affordable pasta, roast chicken and salads).