Countries

Nowhere else links so much skiable terrain under one lift pass. Les 3 Vallées, Paradiski and the Espace Killy turn whole valleys into single playgrounds, and the high French resorts hold their snow long after the rest of the Alps have given up.

The postcard version of the Alps: the Matterhorn over Zermatt, car-free villages, grooming you could land a plane on. You pay for it, of course, but nothing else in the range feels quite this polished.

This is where alpine skiing was more or less invented, and it still feels that way. Snug villages where you ski back to the door, the Arlberg technique, and an après-ski scene that starts at three in the afternoon and does not ask permission.

Skiing the Italian way means a long lunch is non-negotiable. The Dolomiti Superski puts 1,200 km on one pass, Cortina hosts the 2026 Olympics, and the Dolomites turn every chairlift ride into a postcard, all of it cheaper than you would expect.

The Spanish side of the Pyrenees gets the sun the French side misses, and Spain skis like it: late lunches, later nights. Baqueira-Beret is where the royal family goes; Formigal is where everyone else goes to dance in ski boots.

A tiny country that punches far above its size: Grandvalira is the biggest ski domain in the Pyrenees, and the duty-free prices mean you can kit out the whole family and still come home under budget. The easiest place in Europe to learn.