Winter holiday in the mountains is a special atmosphere. After a whole day of skiing or snowboarding, you can stroll through a small village, admire the snowfall and warm up with hot tea or mulled wine. Today we have compiled for you a list of the most cozy and picturesque resorts where it is easy to forget that the rest of the world exists.
Alpe d’Huez, France
Photo: Cyrille Quirtard Photography
Alpe d’Huez is the largest ski resort in the French Alps, the length of one of its slopes, Sarenna, is 16 km and partially passes through a tunnel, this is the longest slope in Europe. But the main advantage of the place is its special microclimate; the ski area is even called “Sunny Island”, because the weather here is clear on average 300 days a year. Despite its impressive size and popularity, the resort retains the coziness of a small Alpine village, especially thanks to wooden chalets and a small stone church.
Season: December – April
Number of tracks: 118
Ski pass cost: 47.50 euros per day
Cost of 1 night for 1 person: from 3,149 rubles
Livigno, Italy
Photo: @livigno
Livigno is a small mountain village that comes alive during the winter months. There are more than 110 km of trails on both sides of the wide sunny valley, but the resort has gained most popularity thanks to its excellent freeride opportunities. In the center of the city, between beautiful wooden houses there is a wide alley with bright illumination and a huge number of duty-free shops, because the entire resort is a duty-free zone. The streets and buildings are decorated with garlands with stars and snowflakes, so the mood here is festive all season long.
Season: November – April
Number of tracks: 78
Ski pass cost: 47 euros per day
Cost of 1 night for 1 person: from 4,199 rubles
Zermatt, Switzerland
Photo: Leander Wenger
The village of Zermatt is located in a valley between the highest mountains of the Pennine Alps. The main and most beautiful attraction of this place is the Matterhorn, the most photographed mountain in the world. It rises above the city with a regular quadrangular pyramid, and in the morning the rays of the rising sun paint the slope of the rock in all shades of pink. In the evenings, there is nothing more pleasant than walking along the cobbled streets dusted with snow, especially since they are all pedestrian, there are no cars here, the city remains environmentally friendly and quiet like a mountain. Well, the most important thing is that this high-altitude resort is open for skiing all year round, however, the most snow here is from November to April.
Season: all year round
Number of tracks: 109
Ski pass cost: 79 euros per day
Cost of 1 night for 1 person: from 1,812 rubles
Diamond Peak, USA
Photo: @hmarsikova
Diamond Peak Resort in Nevada is one of the most picturesque in America. Right from the foot of the mountain and almost to the horizon, Lake Tahoe stretches, and immediately beyond it you can see the Sierra Nevada mountain range. On clear days, the blue of the lake is amazing, but it becomes even more beautiful when clouds gather in the valley: it seems that the lake has risen several hundred meters and turned white. For all its beauty, the resort is not the most popular, so there are no noisy crowds here, and the rest is calm and measured.
Season: December – April
Number of tracks: 30
Ski pass cost: 79 dollars per day
Cost of 1 night for 1 person: from 8,642 rubles
Lake Louise, Canada
Photo: David May
Lake Louise is one of three ski resorts in Banff National Park, the oldest in Canada. It is surrounded by dense coniferous forests and the sharp peaks of the Canadian Rockies stretching beyond the horizon. The slopes of three neighboring peaks formed a round well in the valley with a lake, above which rises a large monumental hotel, built here in 1890. If you prefer the comfort of home, in the village you can live in wooden houses in close proximity to the ski lifts.
Season: November – May
Number of tracks: 145
Ski pass cost: 104 dollars per day
Cost of 1 night for 1 person: from 1,426 rubles
Val Gardena, Italy
Photo: @valgardenadolomites
Val Gardena unites three ski resorts in the heart of the Dolomites in northern Italy. Majestic stone cliffs rise above the city and ski area. In contrast to the warm light of busy city streets, they look especially impressive. They don’t skimp on decorations and garlands; for the New Year they decorate a huge Christmas tree and organize a Christmas fair. This resort is also great for families with children; those under 8 years old can use the ski lift for free!
Season: December – April
Number of tracks: 112
Ski pass cost: 53 euros per day
Cost of 1 night for 1 person: from 8,570 rubles
Mongenevre, France
Photo: europeanbestdestinations.com
Montgenevre is the oldest ski resort in France; in the coming 2018 it will turn 111 years old. Despite the small area, the city has two churches, three chapels and an obelisk, which make it cozy and peaceful. It’s really very calm here – no parties or nightlife, which makes it a great place to relax with children. The resort has very good pistes for intermediate skiers and often experiences heavy snowfall.
Season: December — April
Number of tracks: 52
Ski pass cost: 41 euros per day
Cost of 1 night for 1 person: from 3,968 rubles
Kitzbühel, Austria
Photo: @michaelwerlberger
The ancient Austrian city of Kitzbühel in winter looks like a fairy tale; colored buildings sprinkled with snow look just like gingerbread houses with sugar icing. Almost the entire city center is exclusively pedestrian. The resort, although small, is considered the most fashionable in Austria; moreover, every winter one of the stages of the Alpine Skiing World Cup is held on one of its slopes. 170 km of slopes compete for the attention of skiers with a freeride area of almost the same length. Another attraction of the city — aerial tram 3 S, a carriage ropeway with the longest span in the world – 2705 meters between the bottom station and the first support.
Season: October – April
Number of tracks: 70
Ski pass cost: 50 euros per day
Cost of 1 night for 1 person: from 5,375 rubles
Tarvisio, Italy
Photo: europeanbestdestinations.com
A small Italian resort is located on the border with Austria and Slovenia. This region is famous for its very heavy snowfalls, which attracts lovers of skiing on fresh trails. The city itself is small, and white to match the falling snow. Together with the surrounding dense coniferous forest, which is also constantly covered with fresh snow, the place gives an incredible impression of purity and winter magic.
Season: December – April
Number of tracks: 17
Ski pass cost: 35 euros per day
Cost of 1 night for 1 person: from 1,750 rubles
Niseko, Japan
Photo: skisafari.com
Niseko has become the country’s most popular ski resort thanks to its spacious freeride fields, which is very uncharacteristic for Japan. At the same time, it’s worth coming here for off-piste skiing, thanks to the unique combination of altitude and proximity to the ocean; the snow here has a special dry, crumbly texture. A small cozy town with two hotels and several townhouses is connected to four neighboring resorts by a network of cable cars. And the most beautiful thing is the view from the slopes of the neighboring snow-capped Yotei volcano.
Season: December – April
Number of tracks: 61
Ski pass cost: 45 dollars per day
Cost of 1 night for 1 person: from 1,949 rubles
Heavenly, USA
Photo: Yvette Cardozo/Alamy Stock Photo
Heavenly resort is so large that it is located simultaneously in two states: California and Nevada. Lake Tahoe, overlooked from the slopes, is the only island of calm in this busy place. The freeride trails and fields can be explored from early morning until late evening, but you should save some energy for the dark: this mountain village is full of nightlife. Bars and clubs are open seven days a week, and the highlight of the entertainment program — a huge mobile stage with a DJ station in the shape of a huge snow cat. If you want a big and bright holiday, you won’t find a better place.
Season: November – April
Number of tracks: 46
Ski pass cost: $139 per day
Cost of 1 night for 1 person: from 2,148 rubles
Avoriaz, France
Photo: @evaloha_blog
Avoriaz resort includes five villages built specifically for ski tourism. Inspired by the ideas of the famous Swiss architect, this place was designed in a special style: tall buildings with slanting roofs from a distance are very similar to the mountains surrounding them. The settlements were originally conceived as environmentally friendly, so there is still no transport here except horse-drawn carriages, and all the streets can be driven on skis. However, there are much more snowboarders here than skiers, due to the presence of two snow parks of different difficulty levels and a superpipe for freestyle.
Season: December – April
Number of tracks: 42
Ski pass cost: 52 euros per day
Cost of 1 night for 1 person: from 12,722 rubles
* Accommodation prices are indicated at the time of writing. The cost indicated in the material and the final price may differ.
Preview photo: snowtomamu.jp
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