Courmayeur

...Chamonix or down to Courmayeur (actually, to Dolonne, accross the river from Courmayeur and a free shuttle bus drive away). Gigante and Internazionale are lovely long steep and wide red pistes that I highly recommend.

There are lots of cafes, bars and restaurants all over the area and they serve really good food at very reasonble prices - 1.2 Euros for a cappucino, 6-8 Euros for a pizza, 1.3 Euros for a half litre of water. Mulled ...
...area and very different to Courmayeur (higher, wider, easier, fnatastic panoramic views).

The Ski pass also lets you ski a day in Chamonix (France) and in Pila (Italy - 40 minutes away) - unknown outside Italy, but a fantastic little place to go nevertheless.

For non-ski days, pretty Aosta and Chamonix are less than an hour away, Turin, a little further. There's also a sports centre with an ice rink and wall climbing ... more

I've always thought of Italian resorts as lacking the charm you get in Austria or Switzerland but Courmayeur, in the Val D'Aosta, is a lovely little chocolate box place that is as pretty and atmospheric as you could wish for. While it's actually in Italy, the locals see themselves as much French as Italian and this is reflected in their family names and village names - Pre st Dider etc.

I went with a 4 year old skiing for his first time and two other adults in February 2005.

It's only 90 minutes from Turin or Bergamo in Italy or a couple of hours from Geneva (via the Mont Blanc Tunnel) and most of the journey is motorway so it's a good place to drive to yourself.

The village is centred around Via Roma which is lined with designer shops, bars, restaurants, pizzerias, butchers and bakers. We stayed at Lo Scoiatello hotel which is at the opposite end of Via Roma from the Cable car - a pleasant 10 minute walk.

The 1st Cable Car is at 8.20 and runs every 5 or 6 minutes until 4.30. This takes you up to the Plan Checrouit base camp where there are numerous rental places, lockers, ski school, a kindergarten, (13 Euros an hour!), the kiddies nursey slope, 7 or 8 pizzerias, cafeterias, bars, restaurants etc. The Ski pass is about 180 Euros for a week plus a refundable 5 euro deposit for the magnetic pass itself which allows hands free access to the lifts (you just keep the pass in your pocket and walk through the sensors).

The kindergarten is very good but the Ski school suffers from having large classes (11 in ours). Our 4 year old skiing for the first time was a little intimidated by the fact that everyone else in his class was Italian (well it was Italian half-term) ; most British families seem to head to France.

From base camp, there are two chair lifts and a gondola to take you to the many pistes of which there are only 4 blacks (and only 1 real hard black: 'Orso') and 4 or 5 beginner blues, the rest are easy to slightly less easy reds. Addittionally, you can Ski into Chamonix or down to Courmayeur (actually, to Dolonne, accross the river from Courmayeur and a free shuttle bus drive away). Gigante and Internazionale are lovely long steep and wide red pistes that I highly recommend.

There are lots of cafes, bars and restaurants all over the area and they serve really good food at very reasonble prices - 1.2 Euros for a cappucino, 6-8 Euros for a pizza, 1.3 Euros for a half litre of water. Mulled wine/gluwein is called Vin Brulee. Its apparantly the cheapest place in the Alps to eat on the mountain- and probably the best. Aostan food is heavy comfort food - polenta, stews and game: great to keep you going on cold days.

You can also ski in La Thuile for 2 days on your ski pass (a 30 minute free shuttle bus ride away). From here, you can ski into the French resort of La Roisiere. In high season, it can be a bit of a bun fight to get on the bus - especially the 4.20 return. But it's worth it if the weather is good because it's an excellent ski area and very different to Courmayeur (higher, wider, easier, fnatastic panoramic views).

The Ski pass also lets you ski a day in Chamonix (France) and in Pila (Italy - 40 minutes away) - unknown outside Italy, but a fantastic little place to go nevertheless.

For non-ski days, pretty Aosta and Chamonix are less than an hour away, Turin, a little further. There's also a sports centre with an ice rink and wall climbing and for a fee, you can use the heated outdoor pool at the Royal & Golf hotel on Via Roma (with stunning views of the Mont Blanc) or take a full body massage.

Apres ski is limited. There's one night club (Jimmys) and the American bar, Poppys and Bar Roma are always busy (the latter being a real tourist trap - they pay commission to instructors to bring in their students and then charge 9 Euros for a beer). The Guides bar is a little quiter and does a mean Bombardino (Advocaat, Milk, Brandy, cream).

In summary, it's not the place to go for big apres ski or for experienced skiers looking for lots of off pistes and black runs. It's not the best place for complete beginners (but if it ticks all the other boxes, don't be afraid to go as a novice) and certainly not as good as many resorts in France or North America for kids. The chair lifts aren't as modern as they are in France, the ski school is no more than average and the place is a lot less cosmopolitan than many others (it's very Italian). And you can only ski down to the outskirts of town from where you need to take a bus to cross the river.

But, the snow record is good (and they have loads of snow cannon - unlike neighbouring Chamonix), the food down in the village and on the mountain particularly, is very good and remarkably cheap. The views are nice, the pistes are protected from the wind, the resort is very pretty and compact, the transfer is short, the atmosphere is nice, it's not as busy as nearby French resorts, you can Ski in the very quiet resorts of Pila & La Thuile (no queues), you can keep your skis & boots up on the mountain and not need to lug them around, you can ski into France.

An excellent place for intermediate skiers.
 

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