Courmayeur

Courmayeur sits on the sunny Italian flank of Mont Blanc, a chic little town where the skiing comes with some of the best mountain food in the Alps. It is close enough to Chamonix to share the Mont Blanc massif, but the mood could not be more different.

The three Tor walks. Three low routes that the commune itself prepares and grooms after snowfall, part of a project it calls Courmayeur a passo slow. Free, no ticket, no lift, and they start from places a guest can walk to. Tor de Dolonne is 500 m with 50 m of climb from Dolonne hamlet opposite the old town, and the commune calls it the simplest and suitable even for the youngest. Tor d'Entreves is 1.5 km with 100 m of climb from Entreves, where Val Veny and Val Ferret meet by the Skyway base.

Free local buses in winter. Last winter the commune paid for local public transport outright, so the Val Ferret green line and the Circolare Courmayeur blue line carried everybody for nothing from Boxing Day to the beginning of April. It is run by Arriva Italia and promoted by the council as a sustainable mobility measure, and it is what makes Val Ferret reachable without a car.

Snowshoeing on marked itineraries. Four marked itineraries are published by the tourist board and they carry the same Tor names as the walks, plus longer routes out through Val Ferret and Val Veny towards the Toula glacier. Nothing is ticketed. You hire the snowshoes if you have not brought any, and there are six rental shops in town doing it: 4180 Rental, Ski In Courmayeur, Savoye Sport, Mont Blanc Ski Service, Noleggio Courmayeur and Lo Chalet Ski Rental.

The prepared pedestrian trail up Val Ferret. Ten kilometres of prepared pedestrian trail running from Planpincieux up the valley to Lavachey, laid alongside the cross country pistes and flat almost all the way. It is the best long walk in the resort for somebody who does not want to climb anything, and the free winter bus goes to the bottom of it.

Welcome Winter, the season opening. Courmayeur opens its winter with a run of free concerts and live shows in the village, announced by the commune and known as Welcome Winter. It is the one free event series that recurs here year after year, and it lands right at the start of the season when a lot of guests are looking for something to do in the evening.

Skyway Monte Bianco. The biggest thing here for somebody not skiing, and the first thing to tell them is that it has nothing to do with the ski pass. Two stages from Pontal d'Entreves at 1,300 m. The first cabin takes about four minutes up to Pavillon du Mont Frety at 2,200 m, where there is the Cave Mont Blanc, billed as the highest wine cellar in Europe and open for tastings, an exhibition gallery, a restaurant and a bar. Over 50 euros.

Cross country skiing in Val Ferret. Thirteen named loops and variants from Planpincieux at 1,580 m up towards Lavachey, classic and skating, and at eleven euros for a day ticket it is the cheapest thing on this mountain by a distance. The Foyer at Planpincieux is the hub: ticketing, changing rooms, showers, a ski school, rental with a waxing service, and a baby snow park for anybody too small to be on the trails. Under 20 euros.

Dog sledding in Val Veny. Dogsledman run a team of thirty huskies in the heart of Val Veny, at the foot of the Mont Blanc massif. A session starts with a theory briefing and then you drive the sled yourself with an instructor alongside, which is the difference between this and most of the dog sledding in the Alps, where you sit and are driven. Booking is direct with Fabrizio Lovati rather than through an agency. Price on request.

All 16 picks for Courmayeur, dining included, live in the Ski Snug app.

Geneva is about an hour and a half away through the Mont Blanc tunnel, with Turin a similar distance on the Italian side.