Europe’s traditional ski and snowboard resorts

La Clusaz, tucked into a narrow mountain valley hasn’t changed much over the last century. The parish church anchors the main square and the town surrounds a skating rink. The lifts rise up to a steep ridgeline that drops back into the appealing town. This is not a touristy town filled with foreigners, but rather a town mostly visited by the French for a time-honored ski or snowboard vacation.

Of the most famous resorts, perhaps Val d’Isère provides the old-style village experience linked with seemingly endless slopes. Though the hotels are new and about a decade ago was in danger of losing its Alpine flavor, the town went through the installation of an Alpine façade just before the Albertville Olympics. That restoration still influences the building codes and zoning of this town maintaining its appeal. The skiing and riding is extensive and has something for everyone.

Finally, Chamonix, is still, at its heart a mountain city with a very French flair and wonderful hotels and restaurants. It is not one of my favorite ski destinations because of the cobbled up and disconnected skiing and riding plus the inconsistent shuttle buses. The springtime tradition of skiing down the Mer du Glace is an experience that every skier should try to enjoy. Here spring skiing in the mid-morning and early afternoon can turn into drinks and dinner at a city sidewalk café, a combination that is magical with good weather.

Italy contains more of the Alps than any other country and more importantly is home to the dolce vita or sweet life. Here enjoyment is the rule of the resorts. No one expects the Italians to ski themselves into exhaustion. Of course, they do not expect you to ski yourself into exhaustion either. What Italians do expect is for skiers to take long lunches at mountain restaurants, stop for espresso regularly, enjoy a bit of grappa at a mountain hut and then prepare for a feast in the evening. No other country has perfected pampering the pleasures of the flesh as has Italy. If one wants to enjoy life, really enjoy life, the Italians will find a way to suck as much pleasure from the day as possible.

Courmayeur on the Italian side of Mont Blanc takes fine Italian dining to heart from their mountain restaurants to small trattorias tucked in the narrow streets of the old town center. The original town is as cute as can be and is surrounded by far more modern buildings and hotels.

At the other end of the Italian Alps Cortina d’Ampezzo has been a center of skiing and fashion for decades. This Olympic city is surrounded by skiing and snowboarding trails that link seamlessly to the other resorts of the Dolomites. But for visitors to Cortina, the skiing is secondary to the fashion show that strolls the pedestrian streets of the old town. The latest in ski and snowboard fashion is on display during the afternoon stroll and the town is filled with some of the best, and most expensive restaurants in the Italian Alps.

Take your pick. Every Alpine country has its resorts that can transport you back to once-upon-a-time. It is always nice to have that added dreamy dimension to any winter vacation.

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