Tourism has been a booming industry for the past few decades and ski resorts have seen a surge in interest, but where are the best places to go in Europe to make the most of the snow and the nightlife?
For many people Val D’Isere remains the first choice. This area in the French Alps has become so popular with foreign visitors that you’ll be hard pushed to find a bar or shop where the locals don’t speak English.
The ski area is first class, as are the facilities away from the slopes. Of course, it’s sheer popularity may put some holiday-makers off. If you’re looking for a quiet week away then Val D’Isere may not be right for you.
St Anton in Austria is less well-known but also has a wonderful ski area. So great, in fact, that it recently hosted the World Championships. This provides a great platform for both skiing and snowboarding.
The Zermatt resort in Switzerland is another contender for the title of the best ski resort in Europe. It benefits from fine Alpine scenery, matching the sort of scenes that you might expect if you’ve ever seen any film footage of Switzerland.
Set in the centre of Europe, Switzerland is of course highly accessible for Europeans, but has recently been proving very popular with tourists from all over the world.
Many people are put off Switzerland and Austria because they believe that prices can be prohibitive. Whilst it’s certainly true that both countries have some very expensive resorts, such complaints can be applied to many European ski resorts. Equally, if you shop around you can still find some bargains in terms of both travelling to your chosen destination and making the most of your stay there.
There are plenty of great articles available online reviewing and describing the many European ski resorts, but this will hopefully have given you a taster of the finest resorts around.