Cortina d'Ampezzo

There is nowhere quite like Cortina. A famous racing town and host of the 1956 Olympics, it certainly has some serious skiing. But it is also Italy's most fashionable resort, and many visitors take their lunching and early-evening parading/shopping more seriously than their skiing. The result is that pressure on the slopes is low – no queues and no crowds.

The scenery is just jaw-droppingly wonderful. The town is ringed by dramatic limestone towers and cliffs, tinged pink at dawn and dusk. Cortina is a sizeable town spread across a wide, impossibly scenic bowl. Although it runs World Cup races, it is not a hard-core ski resort – 70% of all Italian visitors don't step on to the slopes. By 5pm everybody is cruising the Corso Italia in smart gear and laden with big bags containing additional supplies of smart gear. Cortina is pure Italy. The Veneto region has none of the Germanic culture that you'll find in parts of the Südtirol, only a few miles away. It now attracts more than a few Russians. Within reach to the west is the Alta Badia, with Corvara at one corner of the Sella Ronda circuit – all on the Superski megapass. 

Fantastically scenic resort with a true upmarket feel, Cortina is blessed with an abundance of well maintained intermediate slopes and a plethora of restaurants for those indulgently long lazy lunch stops. If this is your idea of what a ski holiday should be all about then Cortina is the resort for you.