Explore ski resorts in Europe & North America
1. BANFF (CANADA)
Banff is a resort town in the province of Alberta, located within Banff National Park. The peaks of Mt. Rundle and Mt. Cascade, part of the Rocky Mountains, dominate its skyline. On Banff Avenue, the main thoroughfare, boutiques and restaurants mix with château-style hotels and souvenir shops. The surrounding 6,500 square kilometres of parkland are home to wildlife including elk and grizzly bears.
2. BRECKENRIDGE (USA)
The Colorado town, Breckenridge, is located at the base of the Rocky Mountains’ Tenmile Range. It's known for its ski resort, year-round alpine activities and Gold Rush history. The Victorian core of this former mining town is preserved as the Breckenridge National Historic District, running primarily along Main Street, with colorfully painted buildings from the 1880s and '90s housing shops, galleries and restaurants.
3. CORTINA (ITALY)
Cortina d’Ampezzo is a ski resort in northern Italy. It’s part of the Dolomiti Superski area, which encompasses the Falzarego Pass, with its downhill runs. Sites from the 1956 Winter Games held in Cortina include the Ice Stadium, the Eugenio Monti bobsleigh run and the disused ski jump Trampolino Olimpico Italia.
4. ISCHGL (AUSTRIA)
The ski resort village, Ischgl, is situated in western Austria’s Paznaun Valley. Many of the lifts and cable cars converge on the Idalp plateau, and provide access to the larger Silvretta Arena ski area. The town is known for its lively après-ski scene. Trails in the surrounding mountains lead to Alpine lakes like the Vidersee.
5. MORZINE (FRANCE)
Morzine is a ski resort in the French Alps, close to the Swiss border. It’s part of the Portes du Soleil ski area, linked by lifts and cable cars. The Col de la Joux Verte pass climbs from Morzine to the higher-altitude resort of Avoriaz, near the Hauts-Forts mountain. In the village, restaurants and bars cluster around Route de la Plagne.
6. SAAS FEE (SWITZERLAND)
Saas-Fee, a resort village in the Swiss Alps near the Italian border, is known for its proximity to mountains more than 4,000m above sea level, or 4-thousanders. It's a gateway to more than 100km of pistes for skiing and snowboarding, plus sledding and toboggan runs. The Mittelallalin Ice Pavilion is a frozen grotto carved into the Fee Glacier.
7. TIGNES (FRANCE)
Tignes is a group of villages that form a high-altitude ski resort in the French Alps, near the Italian border. With nearby Val d’Isère, it’s part of the Espace Killy ski area, linked by a network of lifts. Val Claret and Tignes Le Lac villages are lively hubs, with restaurants and shops.
8. VAIL (USA)
The small town of Vail, Colorado, lies at the base of Vail Mountain, home of the massive Vail Ski Resort. Set within White River National Forest, the town is a gateway for winter sports such as skiing and snowboarding.
9. VAL THORENS (FRANCE)
Val Thorens is a ski town in the Tarentaise Valley in the French Alps at an altitude of 2,300 m (7,500 ft). It is located in the commune of Saint-Martin-de-Belleville in the Savoie department. The resort forms part of the Les Trois Vallées ski area which, with over 600 km of slopes, is one of the largest linked ski areas in the world.
10. VERBIER (SWITZERLAND)
TheAlpine village of Verbier is located in Switzerland’s Valais Canton and it’s the gateway to the 4 Vallées ski area. Trails on Mont Fort Glacier have views of the Matterhorn and Mont Blanc. Mont Gelé is known for its off-piste ski slopes.
11. WHISTLER (CANADA)
Whistler is a town north of Vancouver, British Columbia, that's home to Whistler Blackcomb, one of the largest ski resorts in North America. Besides skiing and snowboarding, the area offers snowshoeing, tobogganing and ski jumping at the Olympic Park, a venue for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. The hub of Whistler is a compact, chalet-style pedestrian village at the base of Whistler and Blackcomb mountains.
12. ZERMATT (SWITZERLAND)
Zermatt, in southern Switzerland’s Valais canton, is a mountain resort renowned for skiing, climbing and hiking. The town, at an elevation of around 1,600m, lies below the iconic, pyramid-shaped Matterhorn peak. Its main street, Bahnhofstrasse is lined with boutique shops, hotels and restaurants, and also has a lively après-ski scene. There are public outdoor rinks for ice-skating and curling.
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