Best Places to Ski in Europe

Filed in archive Winter Adventures on December 12, 2007

I've traveled to almost every country in Europe. However, I've never been there during the winter. And apparently, I'm missing a few things, namely, the best skiing places.

According to an article on MSNBC, despite plunging dollar, skiing in Europe is still affordable. In fact, you can even get more skiing for your money than here in the United States.

Italy's Dolomite Superski

Tucked into the northeastern corner of Italy, the Dolomite Superski lift system reaches more than 700 miles of trails linking a dozen significant resorts. Cortina d'Ampezzo and the Val Gardena host the most American and British visitors. Cortina has the pedigree of a mountain city that once hosted the Winter Olympics; Val Gardena is a collection of three smaller, more traditional towns strung along a Dolomite valley.

If you want a glitzy vacation, choose Cortina d'Ampezzo. A favorite of Italy's upper crust, the resort is a blur of the latest ski fashions by day. In the evening, the car-free streets of the old town bustle with visitors who have traded their sporty Bogner, Helly Hansen and Escada snow suits for stylish Armani and Gucci threads and Prada accessories. Try to stay at Hotel Ancora smack in the middle of town and make sure to have a meal at the Capanna Tondi on top of Monte Faloria. At night, squeeze into the tiny Enoteca for a glass of Veneto wine with plenty of new friends.

Val Gardena, which comprises the towns of Ortisei, Selva and St. Cristina, balances three-cultures - Italian, Austrian and Ladin. Over the centuries, the region was sometimes claimed by Italy, sometimes by Austria, depending on which side won which war, so the locals speak both Italian and German with ease. Ladin, a remnant language based on ancient Roman Latin, is also spoken by some locals in these isolated mountain valleys. The trails that loop gently from these towns link with one of Europe's famous skiing routes, the Sella Ronda, which takes about a day to ski. Visitors are unpretentious, the food has a distinctive German flavor, and the Nightlife is more beer hall than wine bar.