Top 5 European Ski Resorts
If you’re planning a winter adventure on the continent, ski holidays are difficult to beat. There’s no shortage of amazing locations to explore, but a handful of them stand out as difficult to beat. Let’s consider a few of the most popular resorts, and see whether any of them match with your ambitions for your next on-piste adventure.
Courchevel, France
Courchevel is part of the world’s largest skiing area, the famous ‘Three Valleys’. It caters to those seeking a luxurious holiday, with plenty of designer shops in the town and a few Michelin-starred restaurants, too. If you’re looking to come off the slopes and enjoy an unrivalled apres-ski experience, and you’re willing to spend a little extra to get it, then this resort is difficult to beat.
St. Anton, Austria
This Austrian resort is part of the wider Arlberg area, which collectively provides more than two hundred miles of groomed piste. It’s in this part of the world (more or less) that skiing as we know it today was first conceived. As you might expect, there’s an impressive array of runs, but there’s also a unique apres-ski culture, thanks to famous bars like the MooserWirt and Krazy Kanguruh.
Zermatt, Switzerland
This resort is to be found on the slopes of the famous Matterhorn. Here, you’ll get a chance to take a cable car up to the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise, which is the highest cable car station anywhere in Europe. Skiing on the glacier is possible even during the height of summer – but obviously, to get the best from this resort, you’ll want to visit during winter.
The village itself forbids the use of cars, which gives it a character that’s unique among these destinations. You’ll find luxury chalets, world-class restaurants and plenty of snow.
Val d’Isère, France
This resort sits just beside Tignes, and forms part of the Espace Killy ski area. Collectively, these resorts offer some of the best pistes on the continent, and cater to both experienced skiers and novices. Crucially, the lift infrastructure has recently undergone significant work, as has the snowmaking equipment – so you can be sure that you’ll get to the top, and that the chance of a run closure is minimal.
Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy
Nestled in the Dolomites we find this amazing resort, which is set to host the Winter Olympics in 2026. Along with a range of runs and plenty of world-class facilities, you’ll find a significant buzz in the area, as the locals gear up for the coming games.
While the resort is slightly smaller than many of the others we’ve listed, offering just 75 miles of piste, it makes up for it with shopping, dining and bar culture.
