Popular ski resorts

Skiing holidays

prices start from: £104

Although we list more than 200 ski areas, perhaps ten percent of them receive more than half of all ski trips made by Britons each winter.

Some of these are dominated by British visitors, but the largest attract large numbers of skiers from all over the world, perhaps more than two million people each winter.

Of course these resorts have to be both big, and have a lot to offer skiers and boarders. They include resorts that most the experienced skiers will have on their ‘wish list’ that they must ski at some point during their lives.

France

France receives nearly half of all ski holidays made by Britain’s 1.3 million active skiers. Apart from the country’s close proximity to the UK, nearly all the popular resorts boast the world’s largest ski areas and biggest verticals. Affordable family apartments are also common.

The most popular resorts here include:

Alpe d’Huez: A southerly resort with a big vertical, big ski area and spectacular skiing.
Avoriaz: A futuristic high altitude resort in the centre of one of the world’s largest ski areas, with 650km (407 miles) of piste crossing over in to Switzerland on your doorstep.
Chamonix: One of the world’s most famous resorts, some of the world’s best skiing, the iconic Mont Blanc, Europe’s second biggest lift served vertical and the famous Valle Blanche, the world’s longest lift-served ski run.
Courchevel: France’s most exclusive resort, although you can choose to stay in one of the lower of its five bases – but the glitz and most of the facilities are in the top one at 1850. Part of the Three Valleys, the world’s biggest ski area.
Flaine: Particularly popular with the British, located in a snowy bowl with a big ski area, Le Grand massif.
La Plagne: One of the world’s biggest resorts with a dozen different bases and attracts more than 2 million visitors each winter.
Les Arcs: Linked to La Plagne in the Paradiski area. A budget destination for groups of young people and families and a huge ski area of 250km on your doorstep.
Les Deux Alpes: Another French ski resort with a big vertical and big ski area, glacier skiing here which is open in the summer.
Meribel: In the heart of the Three Valleys, the largest lift-linked ski area in the world with 600km (375 miles) of piste. Established by the British 60 years ago it is still dominated by British guests.
Morzine: Large chalet style village below Avoriaz. A big ski area linked to a traditional resort.
Serre Chevalier: Increasingly popular area in the southern Alps with 250km (157 miles) of ski runs shared between four base resorts.
Tignes: Lift-linked to Val d’Isere in the Espace Killy, huge ski area, huge vertical, glacier on the top.
Val d`Isere: A famous haunt of the well heeled, picturesque, high altitude village. Alpine world Championships host for 2009.
Val Thorens: Europe’s highest resort, also in the Three Valleys, the largest ski area in the world.

Austria

Austria once the most popular destination for Brits in the 1970s and early 1980s, the country has dropped to second with about a sixth of the British market. Resorts and summits are mostly lower; architecture traditional and homely; cuisine and night life hearty.

Innsbruck: The capital of the Tyrol offers high value winter holidays and a lift pass covering eight ski areas that surround it. Great for ski and city breaks. Call %number% for more details.
Kitzbuhel: The country’s most famous resort, glitzy and well equipped with off-slope facilities, now at the heart of one of the largest ski areas in the Alps.
Mayrhofen: Popular year round resort in the Ziller valley; beautiful scenery, strong British associations for many years.
St Anton: One of the world’s original ski resorts, spectacular skiing, spectacular après skiing.
Westendorf: One of eight resorts on the Ski Welt, Austria’s largest lift-linked ski area with 250km (157 miles) of piste. A traditional village that has been voted the most beautiful in Europe.

Italy

Italy is Britain’s third most popular destination country, top choices here include:

Cervinia: High altituide, chic resort, linked to Zermatt with one of the biggest ski areas in the world and the continent’s highest lifts.
Courmayeur: An atmospheric old resort centre and spectacular skiing on the Italian side of Mont Blanc.
Livigno: Duty free Mecca with good intermediate skiing.
Sestriere: Altitude resort, linked to Montgenevre in France and other resorts on the 400km (250 mile) Milky Way pass. Europe’s biggest snow maker and the continent’s original purpose built resort as well as a 2006 Winter Olympic host.
Val Gardena: A classic valley of chalet style resorts like Selva, linked in to the huge Sella ronda network.

Switzerland

Swiss resorts largely come under the tag of ‘exclusive’ so you are unlikely to find large numbers of Brits, but there are a few exceptions:

Verbier: Chalet style buildings and a key location on the huge 4 Valleys pass (400km/250 miles), popular with everyone from Richard Branson to Victoria Beckham.
Zermatt: Spectacularly located close to the Matterhorn, with a huge ski area crossing over the border to Cervinia in Italy and the world’s biggest lift served vertical.

The Rest

Andorra is losing its popularity, mostly as it is no longer marketed as a budget destination. However Pas de la Casa and Soldeu (now combined as the Grandvalia resort) and Arinsal (now part of VallNord) continue to draw crowds.

Bulgaria rose to prominence in the late 1990s as investment boosted the quality of its resorts in a post Socialist-era but kept prices low. Most popular resort by far is modern Bansko.

Finland has also rose to prominence in the late 1990s and the most popular resorts there are Levi and Yllas, both as much for their non-ski activity options as much as their skiing.

In North America, Whistler in Canada still takes the lion’s share of the market, clocking up more than two million visitors each winter. It will host most winter Olympic ski and board events in 2010. Another popular Canadian choice is Banff.

In the USA Breckenridge in Colorado is the most popular choice, with the resort that owns it, Vail, also up there.

Of course there are resorts too in Japan, Norway, Sweden, Slovenia, Spain and Romania but none of these command the kind of large visitor numbers of the resorts listed above.

For a full guide on all the ski resorts we feature, please see our ski resort guides.