Highest ski resorts in Europe

At 2,300 m, no village in Europe sits higher, and few hold their snow this dependably. Val Thorens is the roof of Les 3 Vallées, the world's largest linked ski area, and the lifts keep turning from late November to early May.

The southernmost major ski resort in Europe and the highest in Spain, Sierra Nevada rises above Granada to nearly 3,300 m. Expect bright Andalusian sunshine, a lively purpose-built village at Pradollano, a long season and excellent value for money.

The Matterhorn has an Italian side too, and Cervinia owns it. With the highest village base in Italy and a cross-border link to Zermatt, you can ski 22 km from Plateau Rosà to the valley floor in one go.

High on the French border, Pas de la Casa is the lively, high-altitude gateway to Grandvalira, the largest ski domain in the Pyrenees with around 210 km of pistes. Famous for snow-sure slopes above 2000 m, duty-free shopping and a legendary party scene, it draws a young, budget-minded crowd looking for big mileage and even bigger nights.

Built high for snow and speed, Sestriere is the highest village in the western Alps. It anchors the Via Lattea, a domain that runs from Italy across to Montgenèvre in France, and hosted the alpine events of the 2006 Olympics.

The highest resort in the Pyrenees, Boí Taüll starts at 2020 m in a remote corner of Catalonia and is prized for dry, abundant snow. It sits beside the UNESCO Romanesque churches of the Vall de Boí.

The highest village resort in Austria at 2020 m, Kühtai is small, snow-sure and ski-in/ski-out by design. A quiet, high hideaway 40 minutes from Innsbruck.

An hour and a half from Nice, Isola 2000 is the snow-sure high point of the Maritime Alps, where you can ski in the morning and see the Mediterranean by afternoon. Built at 2000 m, it is compact, sunny and reliably white.

The easternmost resort in the Pyrenees, Vallter 2000 sits in a high glacial cirque where, on a clear day, you can see the Mediterranean. Snowy, scenic and small, it is a Catalan favourite.

A car-free balcony in the Valais at 1,950 m, perched above the Aletsch glacier, with a UNESCO panorama at the door and 104 km of piste in the Aletsch Arena.

The northern, wildest sector of Andorra's Vallnord, Ordino-Arcalís has the best snow and freeride terrain in the country. North-facing and high, it is a powder-hunter's secret.

Ordino-Arcalis is the northern, scenic and freeride-friendly sector of the Vallnord area in the Andorran Pyrenees. Quieter and more rugged than Andorra's mega-domains, it rewards skiers with wide-open off-piste terrain, dramatic high-altitude views and around 30 km of well-groomed pistes.