Used to France? The Italian ski resorts that will feel like home
The Ski Snug teamUpdated 12 October 20266 min read
We always go to Val Thorens, or Tignes, or Val d'Isère. This year we fancy Italy for a change of scenery. But we are not giving up snow we can count on, and we are not giving up a ski area big enough that we are still finding new runs on Thursday.
If that is you, the short answer is Cervinia. It is the Italian resort that matches what you are used to most closely on both counts: a village at 2,050 metres and, over the top into Zermatt, a lift linked area of 322 kilometres. Sestriere comes next. Almost everywhere else in Italy makes you choose between altitude and size.
Here is how we got there.
The numbers, with the resorts you know alongside
The French resorts are on this table as your yardstick, not as options.
| Resort | Village | Highest lift | Linked ski area | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Val Thorens | 2,300 m | 3,230 m | 600 km, the Three Valleys | Late November to early May |
| Tignes | 2,100 m | 3,456 m | 300 km, Espace Killy | Late November to early May |
| Val d'Isère | 1,850 m | 3,456 m, on the Tignes side | 300 km, Espace Killy | Late November to early May |
| La Plagne | 1,800 m | 3,250 m | 425 km, Paradiski | December to April |
| Cervinia | 2,050 m | 3,480 m in Italy | 322 km with Zermatt | Late November to May |
| Sestriere | 2,035 m | 2,840 m | About 305 km on the Italian pass | December to April |
| Livigno | 1,816 m | 2,794 m | 115 km, in two areas that do not link | Late November to May |
| Alta Badia | 1,568 m | 2,778 m | About 500 km via the Sellaronda | December to April |
| Val Gardena | 1,563 m | 2,518 m | About 500 km via the Sellaronda | December to April |
In Italy you usually have to choose
The French resorts you know give you both things at once: villages around 2,000 metres, and lift systems of three to six hundred kilometres. That combination is rarer than it looks.
Only three Italian villages on our list sit at 1,800 metres or above: Cervinia, Sestriere and Livigno. Only three areas are both big and genuinely joined up by lift: Cervinia with Zermatt, the Via Lattea around Sestriere, and the Sellaronda in the Dolomites. Cervinia and Sestriere are the only resorts on both lists, and each comes with a catch: part of Cervinia's size depends on crossing into Switzerland, and Sestriere's lifts top out lower than any of the French resorts above.
So the real question is which half of the trade you care about more. If the snow is the thing you cannot compromise on, start at the top of the table. If you want to ski for days without repeating yourself, start with the Sellaronda.
Cervinia: the like for like
- VillageVillage
- 2,050 m
- Highest liftTop lift
- 3,883 m
- Linked areaLinked
- 322 km
Cervinia: 116 km of piste we measure. 24 km blue and easier 21%83 km red 72%8 km black 7%
Plus 8 km of marked off piste itinerary, kept out of the piste total.
A village at 2,050 metres, a season that runs into May, and a lift link over the top to Zermatt that makes 322 kilometres of piste, a little more than Espace Killy. If you want the closest thing in Italy to what you already know, this is it.
Two things to know before you book. Zermatt is on the International pass, which costs more than the Italian one, and the crossing at Plateau Rosà is high enough that wind can close it for a day. On the Italian side alone we measure 116 kilometres. Book Cervinia because you want Cervinia, and treat Zermatt as the bonus it is.
And it is gentle. Only 8 kilometres of the Italian side is graded black, and Cervinia's reds are far kinder than the ones you know, more on that below. For a confident intermediate who wants to cover serious distance on wide, sunny runs, that is close to perfect. For someone who wants black runs and off piste, those are mostly on the Swiss side.
Sestriere: the altitude match, with size
- VillageVillage
- 2,035 m
- Highest liftTop lift
- 2,840 m
- Linked areaLinked
- 305 km
Sestriere: 160 km of piste we measure. 50 km blue and easier 31%92 km red 58%18 km black 11%
Plus 11 km of marked off piste itinerary, kept out of the piste total.
Sestriere's village sits at 2,035 metres, within touching distance of Cervinia's, and it is the hub of the Via Lattea. On the standard Italian pass you have roughly 305 kilometres. The 400 kilometres you will see quoted includes Montgenèvre in France, which needs the dearer International pass.
The catch is the top. At 2,840 metres it is lower than any of the French resorts on the table, so the high village is doing most of the work for snow security, and the lower slopes around Sauze d'Oulx are the weak point in a warm spell.
It is also, by our measurement, the steepest of the Italian picks here after Livigno. Thirty percent of Sestriere's piste is steeper than one in four, against fifteen percent at Cervinia. If your group has strong skiers in it, that matters.
Livigno: snow sure, but not big
- VillageVillage
- 1,816 m
- Highest liftTop lift
- 2,794 m
- Linked areaLinked
- 115 km
Livigno: 81 km of piste we measure. 25 km blue and easier 30%48 km red 59%9 km black 11%
Livigno's village is at 1,816 metres and its season runs into May, so on snow it belongs on this list. On size it does not. Its 115 kilometres are split between two areas, Carosello and Mottolino, that face each other across the valley with no lift between them. You cross by bus.
The village is long, about ten kilometres from end to end, with a free town bus running the length of it. Where you stay decides your week here more than almost anywhere: close to one sector's lifts and a walk from the centre, or in the middle of the village and a bus ride from both.
It is also a duty free zone, which makes fuel, spirits, tobacco and electronics cheaper, with personal allowances when you leave. And watch the dates: a six day adult lift pass is €258.50 in the shoulder weeks and €374.50 in high season, which runs from 30 January to 29 March and so catches February half term.
One thing that surprises people. Livigno is not the gentle Italian option. By our measurement 40 percent of its piste is steeper than one in four, well above a typical resort.
The Sellaronda, from Alta Badia or Val Gardena: the size answer
If ski area is what you will not give up, this is the answer. From a base on the Sellaronda, around 500 kilometres is reachable without getting on a bus, and the Dolomites are the reason people come back year after year.
You will see 1,200 kilometres quoted. That is the Dolomiti Superski pass, which covers twelve areas, only four of them actually joined together. The 500 is the honest figure for what you can ski from your door.
The trade is altitude. Alta Badia's village sits at 1,568 metres and Val Gardena's at 1,563, which is between two and seven hundred metres lower than the French villages you are used to.
Do not panic about the red
On paper, Italy's high resorts look harder than France. Cervinia is 72 percent red. Val Thorens is 29 percent. A French skier reads that and worries.
Grading is set resort by resort, and conventions differ between countries. So we measured the runs themselves, from the gradient of every piste we hold:
| Average gradient | Blue | Red | Black |
|---|---|---|---|
| France | 16.2% | 24.3% | 29.6% |
| Italy | 14.4% | 20.4% | 30.2% |
The average Italian red sits almost exactly halfway between a French blue and a French red. A Val Gardena red averages 17.3 percent, gentler than the average Tignes blue at 17.6. Cervinia's reds average 18.1 percent, barely steeper than a Val Thorens blue.
Two honest caveats. This is average gradient, and a run's grade is set by its steepest pitch, not its average. And it varies by resort, not just by country: Livigno's reds average 23.1 percent, the same as Tignes. In most of Italy a red is kinder than you think. Check the resort.
Who should ignore all of this
Strong skiers who live for the steep.
Italy's high resorts are red heavy and light on black. Cervinia has 8 kilometres of black against 22 at Val d'Isère and 21 at Tignes. Stay in France, or ski Cervinia for Zermatt's off piste and pay for the pass.
Anyone who cares more about a pretty village than about snow security.
This is the wrong list. Cortina d'Ampezzo is lovely and sits at 1,224 metres. That is a different article.
So, which one
you want the closest thing in Italy to the French resorts you know: high, snow sure, big once you count Zermatt, and gentle enough to cruise all day.
you want a high village, a big linked area on one pass, and your group includes stronger skiers.
snow security comes first and you are happy with a smaller, split ski area in exchange for a long season and a lively village. Pick your accommodation carefully.
you want to ski for days without repeating yourself, and you will trade a few hundred metres of altitude for the Dolomites.
It asks you to give up the least.