Like Zürs, but in Italy: the quiet or the polish, not both

Our matching puts Bormio closer to Zürs than any other Italian resort we cover, and second closest of all 55 resorts we cover, after Andermatt. It is the only Italian pick that keeps the quiet: we class it traditional and quiet, our read is historic and relaxed, and our one line is a historic spa town with a famous top to bottom run. Long runs, a thermal spa and racing are its list.

It keeps the steep, too. Thirty two percent of the piste is steeper than one in four, against your 33, the joint third biggest share of the 10 Italian resorts we cover. The blacks average 35.7 percent, the sixth steepest of the 55 resorts we cover, against Zürs's 29.6, though there are only 4.7 kilometres of them. The reds are kinder, 21.7 percent against 24.2.

And on our measure it answers the snow question. Seventy six percent of the piste is at or above 1,800 metres, against your 74, and the skiing reaches 3,001 metres, 561 above Zürs's top, so Bormio is snow sure on our measure.

The trade is the polish, the village height and the off piste. We do not class Bormio upmarket. The town is at 1,225 metres, 495 below Zürs. Its marked itinerary is a single route of 4 kilometres, against your 40. It is a small mountain, too: we measure 52.5 kilometres of piste, and only three of the 55 resorts we cover measure less. Bormio's own mountain is 50 kilometres on 12 lifts, and the Alta Valtellina pass covers four separate valleys, reached by transport. There are only 12 kilometres of blue and easier, the least of the 55 resorts we cover, against your 31. A strong group will not mind; a mixed one might. You fly to Bergamo or Milan.

Cortina is our matching's second Italian pick, and the one that keeps the upmarket feel. Our read is stylish and scenic, our one line is Dolomite drama and Italian style, host of the 2026 Games, and Dolomites scenery, style and long lunches are its list. It carries over the size as well: we measure 86 kilometres of piste around the town, against your 75.

The skiing reaches higher. The highest piste we measure is at 2,724 metres, 284 above Zürs's top, and the lifts go on to 3,028. Sixty seven percent of the piste is at or above 1,800 metres, against your 74, and on our measure Cortina is snow sure, on the piste top as well as the lifts. There are 9.2 kilometres of marked itinerary, the second most of the 10 Italian resorts we cover, against your 40.

The trade is the steep and the quiet. Only 25 percent of the piste is steeper than one in four, against 33, and 36 percent is gentler than 15 percent, against your 21: a much easier mountain. We do not class Cortina quiet, and our guide describes evenings built around the aperitivo and the passeggiata on the main street, social and stylish. Its areas are not all linked, so a bus or a car is part of the day, and the town is at 1,224 metres, 496 below Zürs. You fly to Venice or Innsbruck.

If what you love about Zürs is waking up high, Sestriere is the Italian answer. The village is at 2,035 metres, the fourth highest of the 55 resorts we cover and 315 above Zürs's. Ninety one percent of the piste we measure is at or above 1,800 metres, up to 2,788, 348 above your top: snow sure on our measure.

It is the biggest of the three on most counts. We measure 160 kilometres of piste around the village, the most of the 10 Italian resorts we cover, against your 75, with 17.9 kilometres of black against 6 and 11 kilometres of marked itinerary against 40; both of those are also the most of the 10 Italian resorts we cover. Thirty percent of the piste is steeper than one in four, against 33, though the blues average 12.0 percent, the second gentlest of the 55 resorts we cover. Sestriere sits on the Milky Way, whose standard pass covers the Italian lifts only; Montgenèvre, over the French border, needs the International pass.

The trade is everything Zürs is as a village. We class Sestriere modern, our read is high and practical, and our one line is a purpose built high resort, neither upmarket nor quiet. Choose it for the height and the size. You fly to Turin.