Like Cortina d'Ampezzo, but in France: the mountain, the lunch or the village?

Our matching puts Serre Chevalier nearer to Cortina than any other French resort we cover, and on the mountain itself it earns the place. The mix is almost the same: 27 percent of the piste is steeper than one in four, against 25, and 38 percent is gentler than 15 percent, against 36. The skiing reaches 2,751 metres, measured: 277 below the top of Cortina's lifts, but 27 above the highest piste we measure there, so on piste the two top out at much the same height. It is snow sure on our measure: 72 percent of the piste we measure is at or above 1,800 metres, up to 2,751. Our read on it is relaxed and sunny, with tree skiing and a string of old villages.

Then it gives you more. We measure 153 kilometres of piste around Serre Chevalier, 67 more than around Cortina. There are 91 kilometres of green and blue, the tenth most of the 55 resorts we cover, against Cortina's 38 of blue and easier, and 16.7 kilometres of black against 9.1. A mixed group that finds Cortina's skiing a little short by Thursday will not here.

What you give up is the style and some softness underfoot. Our read on Serre Chevalier is quiet, not upmarket, and nobody books it for the glamour. Its reds average 24.9 percent, steeper than Cortina's 21.9, and the marked off piste itinerary shrinks from 9.2 kilometres to 1.7. The nearest airports are Turin or Grenoble, which suits anyone used to flying into Italy.

If the part of Cortina you love is the table, Saint-Martin-de-Belleville is the French village for it. It is an old Savoyard village, traditional and quiet, and the food is one of the reasons people choose it. On the snow it is closer to Cortina than its country suggests. Thirty-six percent of the piste is gentler than 15 percent, exactly Cortina's share, and the reds average 21.9 percent, exactly Cortina's figure, which is gentle for France. It is snow sure on our measure: 75 percent of the piste we measure is at or above 1,800 metres, up to 2,691. The village is at 1,450 metres, 226 above Cortina's.

The big change is the map. Cortina's skiing sits in separate areas, and the bus or the car is part of the day. Saint-Martin sits inside the Three Valleys, an area quoted at 600 kilometres and genuinely linked by lift. We measure 75 kilometres around the village itself, a little less than Cortina's 86, with 50 kilometres of green and blue against Cortina's 38 of blue and easier. Go on skis and the rest of the Three Valleys is yours.

What you lose is the town, and some of the bite. Saint-Martin is a village with quiet evenings, not a Corso with an evening stroll. There are 6 kilometres of black against 9.1, only 20 percent of the piste is steeper than one in four, against 25, and there is no marked off piste itinerary.

Les Gets is the pick for the feel of the place. Its village is at 1,172 metres, 52 below Cortina's, and our read on it is warm and traditional, a charming village that does well by families, with tree skiing among its strengths. The mountain is similar in mix: 23 percent of the piste is steeper than one in four, against 25, and there are 9.6 kilometres of black against 9.1. There is more easy skiing, 55 kilometres of green and blue against 38 of blue and easier.

It also sits on a bigger, joined map. Les Gets shares the Portes du Soleil, twelve villages across two countries on one linked circuit. The official figure is 600 kilometres. We measure 580, and one independent measurement puts it nearer 426, so treat it as big rather than exact. Around the village itself we measure 99 kilometres.

The catch is the one Cortina does not have: height. Les Gets's skiing tops out at 1,965 metres, measured, the lowest of the 17 French resorts we cover and 759 below the highest piste we measure at Cortina (1,063 below the top of its lifts). Only 1 percent of the piste we measure is at or above 1,800 metres, against 67. In a good winter it is lovely. In a thin one you will miss Cortina's snow before you miss its style.