Planning a ski trip to Italy
Choosing a resort in Italy is not choosing the famous one: it is matching three things — your dates, the altitude the snow sits at, and the size of the ski area — to the people you travel with. Below are the 10 resorts in Italy with those figures side by side, each linking to its own day-planning page.
The resorts of Italy, with their figures
| Resort | Area | Base altitude | Top altitude | Vertical drop | Km of piste | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bormio | Lombardia (Valtellina) | 1225 m | 3012 m | 1787 m | 50 km | November 29, 2026 – April 12, 2027 |
| Cortina d'Ampezzo | Dolomitas | 1224 m | 2930 m | 1706 m | 120 km | November 29, 2026 – April 12, 2027 |
| Courmayeur | Valle d'Aosta | 1224 m | 2755 m | 1531 m | 42 km | November 29, 2026 – April 12, 2027 |
| Kronplatz - Plan de Corones | Trentino-Alto Adige | 835 m | 2275 m | 1440 m | 125 km | December 5, 2026 – April 12, 2027 |
| Cervinia | Valle de Aosta | 2050 m | 3480 m | 1430 m | not published | October 25, 2026 – May 3, 2027 |
| Alta Badia | Trentino-Alto Adige (Dolomiti Superski) | 1324 m | 2550 m | 1226 m | 130 km | December 5, 2026 – April 12, 2027 |
| Livigno | Lombardia | 1816 m | 2900 m | 1084 m | not published | November 22, 2026 – May 3, 2027 |
| Madonna di Campiglio | Trentino | 1522 m | 2600 m | 1078 m | 150 km | November 29, 2026 – April 12, 2027 |
| Selva Val Gardena | Dolomitas | 1563 m | 2518 m | 955 m | not published | November 29, 2026 – April 12, 2027 |
| Sestriere | Piemonte (Via Lattea) | 2035 m | 2823 m | 788 m | 400 km | November 29, 2026 – April 12, 2027 |
Altitudes and kilometres are the ones each resort publishes. The season window is the usual one for the country while the resort has not announced its own dates; official dates appear on the opening-dates page as soon as they are published.
How to read this table before booking in Italy
Base altitude rules December and March
It is the height you start skiing at, and the first snow to go. At the start of the season and in spring, two resorts in Italy with the same piste kilometres are not in the same situation if one starts at 1,500 m and the other at 2,100 m.
Vertical drop tells you how much you actually ski
Top minus base is the longest possible descent. A big drop means long runs — and that when it is raining at the bottom it may be snowing at the top.
Kilometres are not the only measure of size
They count the length of marked pistes, not how varied the terrain is or how many people fit on it. They are useful for comparing resorts within the same country, which is how they are laid out here.
Your dates matter more than your resort
Christmas, New Year and the February half-term fill every resort in Italy; the second half of January and of March are the same pistes with half the people. If you can move the dates, move them before you move the resort.
Plan the day at a resort
- Planning your ski day in Bormio
- Planning your ski day in Cortina d'Ampezzo
- Planning your ski day in Courmayeur
- Planning your ski day in Kronplatz - Plan de Corones
- Planning your ski day in Cervinia
- Planning your ski day in Alta Badia
- Planning your ski day in Livigno
- Planning your ski day in Madonna di Campiglio
- Planning your ski day in Selva Val Gardena
- Planning your ski day in Sestriere
FAQ
When does the ski season start in Italy?
It depends on the resort and the year. This page carries each resort's usual window; the official date, as soon as the resort announces it, goes on the opening-dates page with its source. We do not invent openings the resort has not confirmed.
Which resort in Italy is best to learn at?
There is no single answer, but there is a checkable criterion: look at the share of green and blue pistes and whether the resort has a snow garden, with its age range. Both are on our skiing-with-kids page for each country.
Is a multi-day lift pass worth it?
From three consecutive days it almost always is, and from five the gap is large. Where we sell lift passes directly you will see the real per-day price on the resort page; where we do not, the link goes to the official ticket office.
Can I book gear before I arrive?
Yes, and it is what saves most time on day one: you collect with your size already set aside instead of queueing. Every resort with a linked shop has its own rental page.
How long does it take to reach the resorts in Italy?
We do not say, because we have no reliable road times and a made-up figure on a snowy day is dangerous. What we do publish for each resort is the train and bus stops that exist around the base and how far away they are as the crow flies.