Best ski destinations
The mountains worth crossing a continent for — the standout ski areas in each of the great ski countries, grouped so you can choose the country first, then the resort.
Every resort below is a full destination guide in its own right, not a thumbnail — the terrain and who it suits, the lift pass, getting there, where families leave the kids, what non-skiers do, and what a day on the mountain actually costs. Pick a country, then a mountain.
France
The Alps’ biggest linked areas and purpose-built, ski-in/ski-out resorts — efficient rather than quaint. The skiing is the point; the villages are the means.
Chamonix, France
The birthplace of alpinism, under Mont Blanc.
Val Thorens, France
Europe’s highest resort — snow-sure, and the gateway to the world’s largest linked ski area.
Val d’Isère, France
High-altitude, serious skiing with a village that actually feels like one.
Morzine, France
A real Savoyard town and the gateway to the vast Portes du Soleil.
Austria
Traditional Tyrolean villages with serious skiing attached — Austria invented the ski holiday and still does it with more charm, better food and later nights than anywhere else in the Alps.
St. Anton am Arlberg, Austria
The birthplace of ski instruction and Austria’s most legendary off-piste.
Kitzbühel, Austria
A medieval town with a World Cup downhill and 800 years of alpine charm.
Sölden, Austria
Two glaciers, three 3,000 m peaks, a James Bond villain’s lair and the World Cup opener.
Ischgl, Austria
The Ibiza of the Alps — 239 km of cross-border skiing and Europe’s wildest après.
Switzerland
The highest, most spectacular and most expensive skiing in Europe — glacier-draped peaks, car-free villages and trains that turn the transfer into the first highlight of the trip.
Zermatt, Switzerland
Car-free village under the Matterhorn, with year-round glacier skiing.
Verbier, Switzerland
Switzerland’s off-piste capital — steep, sunny and expensive.
St. Moritz, Switzerland
The original winter resort — sun, snow and the Cresta Run.
Davos, Switzerland
A real Swiss town with six ski mountains and Europe’s largest natural ice rink.
Italy
Dolomite spires, Matterhorn glaciers, Olympic pistes and the best mountain-hut lunch anywhere — Italian skiing pairs dramatic scenery with food that makes French resort restaurants feel institutional.
Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy
The Queen of the Dolomites — Italian glamour, UNESCO spires and a 2026 Olympic makeover.
Cervinia, Italy
The Italian side of the Matterhorn — wide, high, snow-sure and half the price of Zermatt.
Val Gardena, Italy
The Sella Ronda, the Saslong World Cup and the best rifugio food in the Dolomites.
Sestriere, Italy
Europe’s highest purpose-built resort, the 2006 Olympic downhill and the best-value big area in Italy.
Japan
The driest, lightest powder on earth, onsen baths after every run, and food that puts most resort restaurants to shame — Japanese skiing is a different game, and it costs far less than the Alps.
Niseko, Japan
The powder capital of Japan — 15 metres of dry Hokkaido snow and onsen after every run.
Hakuba Valley, Japan
Ten resorts, one pass, and the 1998 Olympic downhill — Japan’s biggest ski valley, three hours from Tokyo.
Nozawa Onsen, Japan
Thirteen free onsen, a fire festival, and 10 metres of powder — the anti-Niseko.
Furano, Japan
A real Hokkaido farming town with FIS World Cup piste, cheese, wine and the driest powder in Japan.
United States
Huge resorts, reliable snow machines, and a scale the Alps can’t match — American skiing runs from Colorado’s I-70 corridor to Wyoming’s Tetons and Utah’s dry powder, with the Epic and Ikon mega-passes tying it all together.
Vail, Colorado
The biggest single ski mountain in the US, with seven legendary Back Bowls.
Aspen, Colorado
Four mountains, a real town and the most glamorous ski culture in America.
Park City, Utah
The largest ski resort in the US, 35 minutes from Salt Lake City.
Jackson Hole, Wyoming
The steepest, most serious inbounds skiing in the US — under the Tetons.
Canada
From Whistler’s vast coastal snowfall to the Rockies’ cold smoke and Quebec’s snow-gun-backed charm — Canadian skiing spans three mountain ranges and two languages, with some of the deepest powder and longest verticals in the world.
Whistler Blackcomb, BC
North America’s largest ski resort — two mountains linked by the PEAK 2 PEAK Gondola.
Banff & Lake Louise, Alberta
Three resorts inside a national park — dry Rockies powder and scenery that stops you mid-run.
Revelstoke, BC
The longest vertical drop in North America — a powder town that went big.
Mont Tremblant, Quebec
Eastern Canada’s best ski resort — a colourful Quebec village with snowmaking that never quits.