Best ski resorts near Lyon

The Matterhorn watches over every run, and no cars are allowed to spoil the view. Zermatt skis all year on the Theodul glacier, the only resort in the Alps that genuinely never closes.

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 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.

When the rest of the Alps are still green, Tignes is already skiing. The Grande Motte glacier opens in late September, and the link to Val d'Isère gives it the longest dependable season in the range.

Thirteen four-thousanders form a wall around the village, and the glaciers below them hold snow from July to April. Car-free Saas-Fee is where half the World Cup circuit comes to train through the summer.

Off-piste in every direction, a World Cup pedigree, and 300 km of pistes shared with Tignes across the Espace Killy. Val d'Isère earns its reputation on the steep faces of Solaise and in the wild bowl of Le Fornet.

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.

Freeriders make the pilgrimage here for the Xtreme and the merciless Tortin couloir. Verbier sits at the top of the 4 Vallées, Switzerland's largest domain, and the nightlife matches the terrain for sheer intensity.

The quiet, high-value gateway to Les 3 Vallees: from the Maurienne village of Orelle a gondola lifts you to Cime Caron at 3200 m and the whole 600 km 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.

The value gateway into Les 3 Vallées, Les Menuires gives you the whole 600 km domain without the Courchevel price tag. Recent makeovers have softened its functional reputation.

Home to one of the largest skiable glaciers in Europe, Les Deux Alpes guarantees snow on top and serves up a famously big party at the bottom. Summer skiing too, when the glacier reopens for freestyle camps.