The ultimate guide to Europe’s best ski season resorts
From big hitters to boutique slopes, fine additions to old favourites, here’s the definitive guide to Europe’s powder, peaks and pristine runs to know about right now
Words: Sean Newsom
02/10/2025
Grand Hotel Belvedere, Wengen. Opening image: skiers take a breather (Jenny Zarins)
Wengen, Switzerland
Best for serenity
Why did we ever stop skiing in Wengen? You can’t help but wonder, when you step off the Jungfrau Railway at this all-but-forgotten village. Perched on a mountain ledge in the Bernese Oberland, it’s car-free, blissfully quiet and home to a network of intermediate pistes set against a spectacular backdrop. The visual drama comes courtesy of the north faces of the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau mountains, while the skiing loops and swoops down broad Alpine slopes towards neighbouring Grindelwald. More pistes await in Mürren, across the Lauterbrunnen valley. For much of the season, these slopes are – by modern standards – empty. But that may change, as two new hotels raise Wengen’s profile. One is the hip and central Braunbär. The other, the five-star Grand Hotel Belvedere, makes a fuss of its restored Art Nouveau architecture and serves sensational food. Go soon before word spreads.
The Ötztal Valley, Austria (Ötztal Tourismus/Roman Huber)
Sölden, Austria
Best for intermediates
Mid-level skiers need more than wide and steady pistes. They also need good, cold snow: the stuff that squeaks under their boots and will hold the edges of their skis as if they’re running on rails. Which is why buzzy, busy Sölden – halfway along the Ötztal Valley – is growing ever more popular. Critical to its success is its altitude. In three separate ski areas, the lifts break the 3,000m barrier - and this season, to speed up access to its snow-sure slopes, the lift company has added two fast, eight-person chairlifts. Even so, if you care about snow quality, stay in a hotel in the mountain suburb of Hochsölden. Here, 700m higher than the rest of the resort, you’ll have a head start in the race to the softest, grippiest pistes each morning.
Four Seasons, Megève
Megève, France
Best for luxury
More Gallic than Courchevel, less reckless than Val d’Isère, Megève is where France lives la belle vie on snow. Gastronomic restaurants dot the landscape, broad, gentle pistes unfurl between the trees and five-star hotels such as L’Alpaga and the Fermes de Marie have become bywords for interiors that mix gnarled timbers with soft fabrics and an unabashed sense of luxe. And so what if the sense of comfort here seems more important than the actual skiing? In a good, cold winter, there’s plenty of the latter if you want it, as the area ripples over forested slopes towards St Nicolas de Véroce – topping out at a modest 2,353m. But with pink Champagne and saffron mandarin cake beckoning at teatime in the Four Seasons hotel, and celebrated chef Marc Veyrat cooking up a storm in his eponymous restaurant, even the keenest downhillers may, from time to time, lose their focus.
Raising a glass at Casa Cook Madonna
Madonna di Campiglio, Italy
Best for Instagram feeds
Unless they’re Italian, most skiers will have never heard of Madonna di Campiglio. Which is a shame: because this cute little ski town, northwest of Trento, hosts a fast and feisty collection of pistes. Five black-rated descents give the area its sense of swagger – and include the Canalone Miramonti, which threatens to pitch you straight down into the middle of town if ever you lose your grip. But there are many easier pistes to ski, as well as gob-smacking views of the Brenta Dolomites, whose towering cliffs and crags edge the eastern horizon. With a stay at luxury stalwart Lefay Resort & Spa or the new, earth-toned Casa Cook Madonna hotel, you have the makings of a very Insta-friendly holiday. Top evenings with a glass of Trentodoc Spumante sparkling wine at the aperitivo hour each evening.
Indoor pool with a view at the Club Med La Rosière resort
La Rosière, France
Best for families
It may look straight across the Tarentaise Valley towards Les Arcs, La Plagne and the Three Valleys, but little La Rosière shares none of their peak-season bustle. Instead, on a quiet, south-facing balcony of snow, you’ll find plenty of easy pistes and nursery slopes, and a long tradition of teaching British kids to ski. Club Med is the pick of the family-friendly hotels here – thanks to its child care, bountiful buffets and prime location between the two main skiing sectors. But there are plenty of less pricey alternatives, including catered chalets and the recently opened four-star Alparena hotel. The slopes are too sunny and warm for an Easter trip, but over the Christmas holidays or at half term, this is a canny place to ski.
The Brave Club at Hotel Ancora Cortina (Giorgio Baroni)
Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy
Best for scenery
There’s no doubting which is the ritziest of Italy’s Winter Olympic destinations. Longtime playground of the Italian elite, Cortina d’Ampezzo is sure to turn our heads come February 2026, when it hosts the women’s ski racing (as well as the curling, luge, skeleton and bobsleigh). But it won’t be because of chic hotels such as the Hotel de Len and the brand-new Ancora Cortina. Or its Michelin-starred restaurants and glittering boutiques. It’ll be the scenery that does it. Cortina’s ring of sheer-sided mountains is second to none in the Italian Dolomites. So, too, is its skiing, which mixes easy-peasy sectors with hair-raising steeps. Go before 10 January or after 15 February to avoid any disruption from big sporting events.
Val d’Isère sits in the Tarentaise Valley
Val d’Isère, France
Best for cocktails
Lately, Val d’Isère’s vaunted après-ski scene has taken a less raucous turn – and its once-famous British bars (The Moris, the Saloon, Bananas, Dick’s Tea Bar) have all closed. But that doesn’t mean it’s dead after dark. At the bottom of the pistes, Cocorico still flies the flag for full-throttle, dance-in-your-ski-boots celebration. Meanwhile the new, four-star Experimental Chalet nearby is pioneering a chatty, drinks-party vibe, fuelled by its almost-endless cocktail list. It’s strong on mocktails, too, – which is good to know if you’re planning to let rip on its pistes the following morning. Many of them, at the top of the ski area, are gentle, broad and confidence-boosting. But anyone who fancies themselves on the slopes will want a crack at the precipitous Face de Bellevarde lower down. For that, the very last thing you need is a hangover.
