At the end of the Tarentaise Valley, Val d’Isere is a popular
resort among those more keen for what comes after the skiing than
the skiing itself. Zip down the Grande Motte glacier or test your
mettle against the back-rated pistes of Face de Bellevarde before
rewarding yourself with a hard-earned trip to La Folie Douce (the only
mountainside bar) or Dick’s Tea Bar for an evening filled
with live music.

From cosy corners to pumping clubs, Mont-Tremblant has you
covered for all kinds of après. Largely considered the best
après-ski bar in the world, Le P’tit Caribou is the place to
stop by for cocktails on the terrace or drinks at one of the five
bars inside. For something more warming, head to Le
Shack for mulled wines perfectly paired with heaped plates of
burgers and fries.

After a day spent competing against snowboarders and high-level
skiers at Sölden’s Big 3 Rally (three 3,000m peaks), winners seek
celebratory pints (and losers may search for something stronger).
Head to the outdoor ice bar at Après Ski Philipp for drinks overlooking the pistes
or, if you fancy yourself a bit of a James Bond on the slopes
(think Daniel Craig in Spectre), head to Ice Q for
a drink in settings suave enough for any secret agent.

Bulgaria’s gentle Balkan slopes are the perfect place to learn
how to ski. It’s known for drawing in unpretentious families and
chilled out snow-seekers, so there’s no added pressure of watching
others rocket down slopes and leaving you behind. There are plenty
of green pistes, so you can get to grips with your elongated feet
before trialing out Bansko’s soft blue and red runs.

Drawing in those looking for a more chilled-out skiing
experience, Sierra Nevada’s gentle slopes are perfect for
beginners. Tentatively trial the resort’s 19 green runs and head on
to blues as your confidence grows. Decide skiing’s not for you? The
resort has plenty of cosy tapas joints in which to feast as you
wait for friends to come down the slopes. Alternatively, take a day
trip to Grenada, only 40 minutes ‘drive away.

With similar vibes to Sierra Nevada, Masella offers equally
gentle slopes in an even more relaxed atmosphere in the Spanish
Pyrenees. These scenic pistes are the perfect excuse to take a
break from all the hard work and soak up the views. Better yet –
Masella’s Cerdanya valley is a popular nighttime ski area, ideal
for those feeling the pressure of trying not to fall in front of
too many people.

Zermatt’s snow-capped slopes are made even more appealing by the
resort’s famous culinary reputation. Reward your hard work with
buckets of cheese fondue, platters of charcuterie and as much Swiss
chocolate as you desire. Dine at Chez Vrony for a sophisticated lunch in the
shadow of the Matterhorn, or Findlerhof for rustic Swiss
charm.

Delve into the valleys that link France and Italy to find Sauze
d’Oulx. Split up your ski sessions with walks in the village’s old
town in which you can wander through cobbled alleys to stumble upon
charming restaurants serving traditional Italian dishes, perfect
for reviving tired limbs. Try La Griglia for wood-fired pizza or
Michelin-starred Naskira for an elegant lunch with views over the
Dolomites.

For those with a refined palette, Megève is the resort for you.
Break up the day with trips to restaurants in Haute-Savoie – we
recommend three-Michelin-starred Flocons de Sel. Head back to the pistes with a belly
full of food and one eye already searching for the next restaurant
to try.

At the heart of the sprawling Three Valleys, the world’s largest
linked ski area, Méribel offers a jaw-dropping 600km of glorious
pistes to tear up. Put your thighs to the test by lapping the
entire area in a day, break it up with lunch in Courchevel or Val
Thorens or simply follow the epic 3km-long red Combe Saulire piste
in Courchevel – the opportunities are endless.

The fact that our American cousins call the art of piste
preparation “grooming” rather than “bashing” speaks volumes.
Picture standing at the top of a mountain with immaculate carpets
of snowy corduroy stretching out beneath silver birch forests and
you have Aspen Snowmass. With some 500km of piste spread across
four mountains, each offers a daily “noon groomer” – a piste that’s
freshly prepared at midday and perfect for squeezing in fresh turns
before lunch.

This Austrian beauty deserves to be better known, though fans
are keen to keep it off radar and continue lording over the empty
slopes. Linking four attractive towns, the ski area encompasses a
generous 270km of pistes, the majority of which are blues and reds.
That’s not to say it’s all easy cruising; plenty of the reds offer
a decent challenge and doing a full circuit will have you covering
72km of pistes and 12,500m in altitude – not bad for a day’s
skiing.

Chamonix is the classic weekend ski destination; just an hour’s
transfer from Geneva, it delivers the whole package. There’s epic
skiing across four mountains, including the legendary Vallée
Blanche off-piste route – the world’s longest off-piste itinerary
is 20km long and descends the beautiful Mer de Glace glacier from
the precipitous tip of l’Aiguille du Midi – and pumping nightlife
in an attractive, historical mountain town. Enough said.

Reached within an hour by train from Innsbruck, Mayrhofen is the
place to be for those who want a weekend of hard skiing and
partying. Its diverse, if relatively modest, ski area (159km of
pistes) is more than enough to keep skiers of all levels
entertained over a weekend, particularly freestylers, who’ll
gravitate to the Vans Penken terrain park. Home to the annual
Snowbombing music festival and a winter-long party scene, a
Mayrhofen weekend typically requires a quiet recovery week to
follow.

“Que? Skiing in Spain?” you ask. Yes, you really can combine
skiing, sun and sangria in one glorious weekend. Sierra Nevada,
Europe’s southernmost resort, lies just 40 minutes’ drive through
olive groves and fincas from Granada and offers gentle skiing on
107km of sun-drenched slopes, complete with views of the
Med. And, if you feel the urge for an après-ski swim, the
white-sand beaches of Costa Tropical are just an hour’s drive
away.

The classic Alpine off-piste destination, Verbier delivers some
of the world’s best terrain. The descents are long, steep, easily
reached from the lifts and diverse, ranging from skinny couloirs
and cliff drops to wide valleys and open glaciers. And it’s not
just the terrain around Verbier – the Four Valleys ski area opens
up a world of freeriding opportunities from tree-skiing at Bruson
to ridgeline skiing on Etherolla.

La Grave represents European freeriding in its purest form: a
tiny, rustic town with La Meije, a vast hunk of granite and ice,
looming above it. Its “resort” stats are somewhat underwhelming
comprising two lifts – a slow-moving, rainbow-coloured gondola and
a draglift – and two marked pistes. However, La Grave is simply
impossible to beat for “le ski sauvage” (wild skiing), rewarding
those who respect the mighty Meije with some of the world’s most
challenging free riding.

One of three resorts linked by the Monterosa ski area, Alagna
offers a homely mountain vibe, bags of barely touched off-piste
terrain, one of Europe’s biggest vertical drops (over 2000m) and
affordable heli-skiing. The catch? The region can be blasted by hot
weather from the south. But, hit Monterosa in the right conditions
and its couloirs (‘canalino’ in Italian – not to be confused with
cannelloni pasta), cliff drops and powder bowls are the stuff of
freeriding dreams.

The preferred winter bolthole of well-heeled families from
around the world, Les Gets is located just over an hour’s drive
from Geneva
and delivers an endless supply of nannies, patient ski instructors
and family-friendly chalets and hotels. Furthermore, its position
within the vast Portes du Soleil ski area – 600km of pistes,
encompassing 12 villages in France and Switzerland – means there’s
more than enough terrain to keep adults happy while the little ones
are being looked after.

Granted, a transatlantic flight isn’t a child-friendly transfer
but if your kids are already veteran travellers, a trip across the
Pond could be a family winter holiday game-changer. American
resorts are incredibly well set up for children with dedicated
kiddie ski trails, mini terrain parks, friendly (English-speaking)
instructors, go-safe slow zones and teen-specific ski classes. Add
to that affordable self-catered accommodation and great advance
booking deals and it starts to look rather appealing.

Still relatively unknown outside of Switzerland, LAAX is a
youthful resort that’s perfect for families with slightly older
children, and just an hour-long hop from
Zürich. Budding freestylers will thrive in its four excellent
terrain parks and pioneering indoor freestyle academy while little
rippers (and their parents) can make the most of the 224km of
pistes and seriously impressive freeride terrain.

Resorts like Courchevel and Kitzbühel might have their luxury
moments but St Moritz is the mothership of Alpine hedonism. This is
where winter tourism started, complete with ice-skating waiters in
tuxedos delivering champagne and caviar to fur-clad guests on
silver trays. It’s still a fabulously heady mix of five-star
hotels, exclusive private members’ clubs, shopping to rival Bond
Street and flash events like White Turf (polo on snow) and the
Cresta Run. Oh, and there are 350km of scenic, diverse pistes if
you’ve got time left over for skiing.

Zürs is a picturesque smattering of ultra-luxe hotels and
chalets hunkered beneath thick snow blankets deep in the Austrian
Alps. Although it feels a million miles away from the humdrum of
everyday life, Zürs is actually part of Austria’s largest ski area,
Ski Arlberg, a whopping 305km of pistes stretching to neighbouring
Lech, St Anton and beyond. Brilliantly, the resort limits the
number of lift tickets sold each day to keep lift queues at bay and
ensure guests enjoy crowd-free skiing.

Deer Valley prides itself on pampering its guests to the point
of spoiling, even banning snowboarders from the resort to ensure
the pistes are kept in prime condition for skiers. It’s a world of
luxury hotels, sprawling chalets and complimentary ski ambassadors
to usher you around the mountain. Somewhat refreshingly, people do
actually come to Deer Valley to ski and they’re handsomely rewarded
with 101 manicured pistes, 800 acres of tree-skiing, six powder
bowls and Utah’s steepest couloirs.

Those in the know joined the Spanish royal family years ago and
made Baqueira Beret their winter bolthole, not only because the
resort serves up awesome tapas but because it’s a stylish with
inexpensive accommodation, low lift pass prices and Europe’s
cheapest heli-skiing. Stay in a quaint B&Bs in one of the
medieval hamlets dotted around the main town and you’ll have change
for heli-skiing, which costs from €290 per person for two
drops.

It might seem counter-intuitive to suggest crossing the Atlantic
to save money but Whistler
Blackcomb offers exceptional advance booking deals. For the price
of a week’s skiing in Europe, you could find yourself playing in
North America’s largest single resort (think 200 pistes, 16 powder
bowls and three glaciers) for a fortnight. As they say over there,
it’s a snow brainer.

This small but lively Tyrolean resort is the skiing
bargain-hunter’s dream. It provides direct access to the vast
SkiWelt Wilder Kaiser – Brixental area (one of Europe’s largest
with 284km of pistes spanning nine villages), inexpensive yet
quality accommodation, great value dining and suitably rowdy
après-ski. It’s also a good option for families, thanks to free
skiing weeks for children, special lift prices for teenagers and
short transfer times from Innsbruck and Salzburg.