Best ski resorts for beginners

Three hundred days of sunshine a year have earned it the nickname of the sun terrace of the Alps. Alpe d'Huez is also home to the Sarenne, the longest black run on the planet at 16 km with a 2,000 m drop.

A quiet stone village facing the Grandes Rousses, Vaujany is the insider's way into the vast 250 km Alpe d'Huez Grand Domaine. Hydro-electric wealth gave this tiny place lifts and amenities far beyond its size.

Ten villages, one Olympic bobsleigh track and a glacier at Bellecôte that holds snow into spring. La Plagne is the other half of Paradiski, and one of the surest family bets in the whole Tarentaise.

The original French luxury ski village, created by the Rothschilds as a French answer to St. Moritz. Megève is more about cobbled streets, horse-drawn carriages and Michelin tables than vertical thrills.

A Belle Époque spa town in the shadow of Mont Blanc, Saint-Gervais skis the 400 km Évasion Mont-Blanc domain it shares with Megève. Thermal baths, a working town and grand views set it apart.

Known as the pearl of Mont Blanc, Combloux is a postcard village facing the great massif and plugged into the 400 km Évasion Mont-Blanc domain. Sunny, scenic and gentle, it is a family gem.

Sälen moves more skier-days than anywhere else in Sweden, thanks to four linked resorts and two satellites stitched together across the Dalarna fells. Lindvallen, Tandådalen, Hundfjället and Högfjället share 130 km of piste and 95 lifts, with Stöten and Kläppen filling out the valley. The atmosphere is family-first and refreshingly affordable, three hours from both Stockholm and Oslo.

A handsome slate-roofed market town at the centre of the Portes du Soleil, Morzine keeps a year-round Savoyard life that purpose-built resorts lack. It is the most characterful base for the giant cross-border domain.

More Michelin stars than any ski village on earth, and a western doorway into Les 3 Vallées. Courchevel stacks six villages by altitude, from the palace hotels of 1850 down to the family runs of Le Praz.

Ski to your door in any of four altitude villages, from 1600 to 2000 m. Les Arcs wrote the book on ski-in/ski-out, and the Vanoise Express cable car stitches it to La Plagne to form the giant Paradiski domain.

A car-free, ski-in/ski-out village of striking timber towers, Avoriaz is the French heart of the cross-border Portes du Soleil. Snow gets around on sledges, not cars.

A pretty, traditional Haut-Chablais village twinned with Morzine, Les Gets is one of the most family-friendly entries to the Portes du Soleil. Gentle, tree-lined slopes and a mechanical music museum keep all ages happy.