Like Villars, but in Italy: the family cruising, set higher

Our matching ranks Alta Badia third of the Italian resorts we cover, carrying over the family feel and little else on paper. On the slopes it is the best match for what a Villars family actually skis. Our one line is gentle Dolomite cruising and world class mountain food, our read is warm and welcoming, and food, the Sella Ronda and families are its list.

It is gentler than Villars. Only 15 percent of the piste is steeper than one in four, against your 24, and 40 percent is gentler than 15 percent, the joint fourth biggest share of the 55 resorts we cover, against 37. There are 76 kilometres of blue and easier, the most of the 10 Italian resorts we cover, against your 48. The blues average 14.4 percent against 15.8, and the reds 21.7 against 23.6, so the first red of the week is a smaller step. There are 7.5 kilometres of black against 1.5.

It is higher, and that changes the snow question. The village is at 1,568 metres, 268 above yours, and the skiing reaches 2,509 by our measure, 435 above Villars's top. Sixty five percent of the piste is at or above 1,800 metres, against 25, so on our measure Alta Badia is snow sure, though its top clears our line by only 9 metres.

It is bigger, too. Alta Badia's own sector is 130 kilometres, and from a base on the Sella Ronda around 500 are reachable by lift, an approximate sum of measured kilometres. The 1,200 on the Dolomiti Superski pass covers twelve areas, only four of them joined by lift.

The trade is the quiet and the journey. We class Alta Badia family but not quiet, though our guide finds its evenings relaxed rather than loud and points to Colfosco and San Cassiano as the calmer villages. You fly to Venice or Innsbruck rather than Geneva.

Madonna di Campiglio is our matching's second Italian pick, and it keeps the family tag and much of the gentle feel. We class it upmarket and family, our read is smart and sociable, and our one line is elegant skiing beneath the Brenta Dolomites, with style, families and grooming on its list.

Its area joins up. The Skiarea Campiglio Dolomiti di Brenta is 155 kilometres, all three sectors linked by lift, and we measure 115 around the village, against 71. The gradients are kind: 18 percent of the piste is steeper than one in four, against 24, the blues average 12.9 percent and the reds 19.7, against your 15.8 and 23.6. The reds are gentler even than a typical Italian red, at 20.4. And for the older children there are 17.3 kilometres of black, the second most of the 10 Italian resorts we cover, against your 1.5.

The snow is a call we have not made. The village is at 1,550 metres, 250 above yours, and 61 percent of the piste is at or above 1,800 metres, against 25. But the skiing tops out at 2,496 metres by our measure, 4 short of the 2,500 our test asks for, so we are not calling it snow sure, or not, until that is checked.

The trade is the hush. Smart and sociable is not calm, and our guide describes a compact, largely pedestrian centre with evenings that are stylish rather than raucous. There is no marked itinerary in our data, against your 3.9 kilometres. You fly to Verona or Milan.

Our matching puts Cortina nearer to Villars than any other Italian resort we cover, and on the measurements you can see why. The town is at 1,224 metres, 76 below Villars. Twenty five percent of the piste is steeper than one in four, against 24, and 36 percent is gentler than 15 percent, against 37. If the view is a big part of what you love about Villars, Dolomites scenery heads Cortina's list. Our read is stylish and scenic, and our one line is Dolomite drama and Italian style, host of the 2026 Games.

The snow is higher. The highest piste we measure is at 2,724 metres, 650 above Villars's top, and the lifts go on to 3,028. Sixty seven percent of the piste is at or above 1,800 metres, so on our measure it is snow sure. We measure 86 kilometres of piste around the town, with 38 of blue and easier and 9.2 of marked itinerary, the second most of the 10 Italian resorts we cover. Our guide sends beginners and families to the gentle Socrepes slopes.

The trade is the family feel and the joined up area. We class Cortina upmarket, neither quiet nor family, and our guide is plain that its areas are not all linked, so a bus or a car is part of the day. You fly to Venice or Innsbruck.