Snow Show

Whether you're gearing up for your first skiing adventure, or just looking for a change from your usual resort, Ski+board magazine editor Arnie Wilson has the lowdown on 20 of the best resorts at Ryanair's top ski destinations. Take your pick from Austria, France, Italy and Spain

AUSTRIA

BEST FOR VARIED TERRAIN
BAD KLEINKIRCHHEIM
The home resort of legendary downhill skier Franz Klammer, Bad Kleinkirchheim in Carinthia is on the “sunny side of the Alps” and has everything from mellow nursery slopes to long, steep runs. These include a rip-roaring 4.8km downhill named after the great man himself, known as K70, and in between are 77km of intermediate slopes. As the “Bad” prefix suggests, the resort is a spa town and very proud of its recently constructed Römerbad (“Roman Baths”) Thermal Spa.

WWW.BADKLEINKIRCHHEIM.AT/EN
FLY TO KLAGENFURT FROM FOUR DESTINATIONS, INCLUDING GOTHENBURG CITY. VISIT WWW.RYANAIR.COM

BEST FOR A WEEKEND BREAK
ST ANTON
This superb resort has some of the best skiing in the Alps, and you can cram in all you need in a weekend but still only scratch the surface. It’s a big party town too, so you’ll be tempted to burn the candle at both ends – hoping to recover from an energetic weekend on the way home. St Anton is celebrated for its off-piste skiing, and particularly its bump runs. The relatively short transfer times, high-quality hotels and exhilarating runs make it an ideal location for a weekend break – corporate or private.

WWW.STANTONAMARLBERG.COM
FLY TO FRIEDRICHSHAFEN FROM ALICANTE AND LONDON (STANSTED). VISIT WWW.RYANAIR.COM

BEST FOR LUXURY
LECH
Lech was Princess Diana’s favourite European resort, and Princess Caroline of Monaco often visits. You can see the attraction for royals: it’s about as luxurious a ski destination as you can get, with a handful of five-star hotels as well as an impressive 30 four-star places to stay. The skiing is extensive, although not too challenging. Most visitors are keen to try the Wiesse Ring (“White Ring”) circuit between Lech and its neighbour Zürs, where the longest ski race in the world takes place on 16 January – a 22km course that has gained cult status.

WWW.LECH-ZUERS.AT
FLY TO FRIEDRICHSHAFEN FROM ALICANTE AND LONDON (STANSTED). VISIT WWW.RYANAIR.COM

BEST FOR PARTYING
OBERTAUERN
One of Austria’s higher resorts, Obertauern is built on an old Roman pass and has tonnes of snow. It’s a bit windswept, which gives every reason to crowd into the bars after hours and party. With such a good snow record, the resort has excellent skiing for all levels and, like Lech, a circuit that brings plenty of variety and a sense of achievement. All this makes it perfect for when you’ve completed the tour and are looking for somewhere to celebrate. Like the Obertauern tourist office says: “Get in the mood for the festivities, flirting and fun of the vibrant nightlife.”

WWW.OBERTAUERN.COM
FLY TO FRIEDRICHSHAFEN FROM ALICANTE AND LONDON (STANSTED). VISIT WWW.RYANAIR.COM

BEST FOR FAMILIES
ALPBACH
A perfectly picturesque village with narrow cobbled streets and an onion-domed church, Alpbach is ideal for families. There’s a real Christmas atmosphere, and the mellow, snow-covered slopes are great for beginners. It’s easy to get around too, as the nursery ones are virtually in the village centre. Trained nannies at the Kids Center under the top station of the gondola look after children aged two to four years old on a daily basis, and there are ski kindergarten classes for four- to six-year-olds. Kids under 16 get free lift passes.

WWW.ALPBACH.AT
FLY TO SALZBURG FROM DUBLIN AND LONDON (STANSTED). VISIT WWW.RYANAIR.COM

FRANCE

BEST FOR VARIED TERRAIN
ST MARTIN DE BELLEVILLE
This quaint, rustic village – the only really traditional resort in the vast Three Valleys system – is one of the gateways to the biggest ski network in the world, which includes Courchevel, Méribel, Les Menuires and Val Thorens. Terrain doesn’t get much more varied than this. St Martin itself has mainly easy skiing, but you only need to move on to the La Masse area of Les Menuires or the couloirs of Méribel and you’ll have your hands full of extreme skiing, with everything else in between.

WWW.ST-MARTIN-BELLEVILLE.COM
FLY TO GRENOBLE FROM SIX DESTINATIONS, INCLUDING BIRMINGHAM AND EDINBURGH. VISIT WWW.RYANAIR.COM

BEST FOR A WEEKEND BREAK
BAREGES-LA MONGIE
The beautiful mountains and friendly locals of the Pyrénées may not be as fashionable as the Alps, but resorts like Barèges provide seriously good alternatives. The much more traditional and picturesque ambience stands in stark contrast with some of France’s high-rise mainstream resorts. Plenty of skiing here, with two linked resorts forming the Domaine Tourmalet and, if you think one or two of the runs are steep, think of the poor Tour de France riders who have to cycle up the mountain pass nearby in summer!

WWW.TOURMALET.FR
FLY TO PAU (PYRENEES) FROM THREE DESTINATIONS, INCLUDING BRISTOL. VISIT WWW.RYANAIR.COM

BEST FOR LUXURY
MEGEVE
France’s original posh resort – around long before Courchevel. Baron de Rothschild opened the first luxury hotel in 1921, and now the place is swarming with them! Not as fashionable as it once was, but a delightful town with some unexpectedly good skiing (even good off-piste if you know where to find it). And it’s certainly not behind the times, being a key part of Annecy’s bid for the 2018 Winter Olympics. It has some delectable restaurants and hotels, but it ain’t cheap!

WWW.MEGEVE.COM
FLY TO GRENOBLE FROM SIX DESTINATIONS, INCLUDING DUBLIN AND LIVERPOOL. VISIT WWW.RYANAIR.COM

BEST FOR PARTYING
LES 2 ALPES
Forget skiing! The partying started when Les 2 Alpes opened in late October – and with some 30 bars open till 2am and three nightclubs open till 5am it’s no wonder. The resort has a frontier-town feel, and attracts the snowboarding crowd both for the parties and the big, wide open ski area, with slopes up on the glacier too.

WWW.LES2ALPES.COM
FLY TO GRENOBLE FROM SIX DESTINATIONS, INCLUDING STOCKHOLM (SKAVSTA). VISIT WWW.RYANAIR.COM

BEST FOR FAMILIES
VALMOREL
Valmorel is one of very few purpose-built cooperative resorts from the 1970s featuring stone and wood chalets with slate roofs rather than high-rise hotels. It’s very family oriented, with a safe, pedestrianised main street, links to St François and Longchamp, and plenty of easy slopes alongside the more challenging ones. The Piou Piou children’s village has a creche for ages 18 months to two years old, and instructors help three- to six-year-olds make their first tentative attempts at skiing. Forget nightlife though!

WWW.VALMOREL.COM
FLY TO GRENOBLE FROM SIX DESTINATIONS, INCLUDING BIRMINGHAM AND DUBLIN. VISIT WWW.RYANAIR.COM

ITALY

BEST FOR VARIED TERRAIN
COURMAYEUR
This delightful climbing town has a good variety of sunny slopes, with a really good mix of gentle-to-steep pistes. Those with an appetite for more serious challenges can heli-ski or (with a guide) take the three cable cars from nearby Entrèves to Punta Helbronner and ski the Vallée Blanche from the Italian side, or the more radical Tula Glacier back down to Entrèves.

WWW.AIAT-MONTE-BIANCO.COM
FLY TO TURIN FROM 12 DESTINATIONS, INCLUDING BARI, BRINDISI AND MADRID. VISIT WWW.RYANAIR.COM

BEST FOR A WEEKEND BREAK
CERVINIA
This high-altitude former climbing resort has extensive slopes above the tree line, with really long, wide runs and a link with Zermatt across the border. The snow is almost always in good condition, and the 90-minute transfer time from Turin makes it a top spot for weekenders.

WWW.CERVINIA.IT
FLY TO TURIN FROM 12 DESTINATIONS, INCLUDING BRISTOL AND TRAPANI (SICILY). VISIT WWW.RYANAIR.COM

BEST FOR LUXURY
CORTINA D’AMPEZZO
Italy’s glitziest ski area, this former Olympic resort attracts the local glitterati who love to strut their stuff each night for the traditional passeggiata (“stroll”) down Corso Italia in their furs and jewellery. There’s almost 130km of piste, served by about 50 lifts. But as the Italians ski late and take long lunches, there’s plenty of room on the slopes for the rest of us!

WWW.DOLOMITI.ORG/DENGL/CORTINA
FLY TO VENICE (TREVISO) FROM 20 DESTINATIONS, INCLUDING MALTA (LUQA). VISIT WWW.RYANAIR.COM

BEST FOR PARTYING
SAUZE D’OULX
In the 1980s they called it “Ibiza on the snow”, and the place was filled with winter ravers. Today it’s mellower, but there’s still plenty of partying to be had among the 27 bars and three nightclubs. For those who manage to wake up in the morning there’s a great deal of good skiing, and the resort is linked with many other ski areas in the so-called Milky Way system. These include resorts like Sestriere, which hosted Turin’s 2006 Winter Olympics.

WWW.COMUNE.SAUZEDOULX.TO.IT
FLY TO TURIN FROM 12 DESTINATIONS, INCLUDING BARI AND BARCELONA (GIRONA). VISIT WWW.RYANAIR.COM

BEST FOR FAMILIES
PILA
This little-known but delightful ski resort is reached directly by gondola from the Roman town of Aosta, and boasts breathtaking views from the top slopes across the Gran Paradiso National Park. Lower down, there’s top skiing for all the family through the woods, with easy runs like Baby Pila and Baby Gorraz. Aosta makes a fascinating base, with some of the best Roman ruins in Italy outside Rome.

WWW.PILA.IT
FLY TO MILAN (BERGAMO) FROM 48 DESTINATIONS, INCLUDING BRUSSELS (CHARLEROI). VISIT WWW.RYANAIR.COM

SPAIN AND ANDORRA

BEST FOR VARIED TERRAIN
FORMIGAL
Having spent €120 million on upgrading and expanding, this impressive resort claims to be the largest ski area in Spain. Spread across four valleys, it has just about every variety of run you could wish for – except perhaps anything really extreme. However, you can always take on some serious challenges by touring the backcountry with a guide.

WWW.ARAMON.CO.UK
FLY TO ZARAGOZA FROM FIVE DESTINATIONS, INCLUDING ALICANTE AND MILAN (BERGAMO). VISIT WWW.RYANAIR.COM

BEST FOR A WEEKEND BREAK
PRADOLLANO
This resort in the Sierra Nevada mountain range stands out for its proximity to the city of Granada, and for being the most southerly major ski area in Europe. On a clear day you can see the North African coast from the 3,482m-high Mulhacén peak, and the ski area boasts 36 slopes and great snow. Perfect weekend break stuff!

WWW.GO-SIERRA-NEVADA.COM
FLY TO GRANADA FROM SIX DESTINATIONS, INCLUDING BOLOGNA AND MADRID.
VISIT WWW.RYANAIR.COM

BEST FOR LUXURY
BAQUEIRA-BERET
King Juan Carlos and his family have a home here, so things are geared up for the bigwigs in Spain’s most upmarket resort – with an expensive lift pass to match! The five-star La Pleta hotel with its exotic spa is worth a stay, and the tapas bars are excellent. The skiing is spread across three very different areas, with some excellent off-piste opportunities that have gradients even lower intermediates can handle.

WWW.BAQUEIRA.ES
FLY TO PAU (PYRENEES) FROM THREE DESTINATIONS, INCLUDING BRUSSELS (CHARLEROI).
VISIT WWW.RYANAIR.COM

BEST FOR PARTYING
PAS DE LA CASA
The Principality of Andorra benefits from duty-free status, and it was this that helped the growth of Pas de la Casa, the micro-state’s liveliest ski area. If you don’t mind the unsubtle architecture (mainly apartment blocks) and boisterous ambience, this is the place to party. If you recover in time to ski, the resort is part of the Grandvalira resort network.

WWW.GRANDVALIRA.COM
FLY TO BARCELONA (GIRONA) FROM 64 DESTINATIONS, INCLUDING DONCASTER.
VISIT WWW.RYANAIR.COM

BEST FOR FAMILIES
SOLDEU-EL TARTER
The most charming of Andorra’s ski resorts, Soldeu-El Tarter offers the best location for accessing all points of the Grandvalira region, including Pas de la Casa, Canillo, Encamp and Grau Roig – together offering more than 190km of piste. It caters well for families, as well as beginners. The ski school runs nurseries and has a snow garden for young children, and many of the instructors speak English.

WWW.GRANDVALIRA.COM
FLY TO BARCELONA (GIRONA) FROM 64 DESTINATIONS, INCLUDING HAMBURG (LUBECK).
VISIT WWW.RYANAIR.COM