Euro Towns to base a few weeks out of (not resorts)

[knowsam]

Hi all,

Thinking about spending a few weeks in Europe next season with a plan to stay some where central to a number of ski towns, but not in them (and hopefully not as expensive) while visit a different resort every few days to figure out where I like here. Ideally, I'd like to stay in two places and spend a week in each - around France - it seems like Cluses/Bonneville is central to Cham/Morzine et. is a good example. If I want access to as much of the classic French/Swiss/Italian skiing as I could, what 2-3 towns would you recommend?

Cheers

[Buster Highmen]

Briancon: Access to Serre Chevalier, The Milky Way (Montgenevre, Claviere, San Sicario, Saulz d'Oulx), La Grave, Puy St. Vincent, Vars-Risoul, The Queyras(3), The Maurienne Valley (4).
Bourg St. Maurice: Access to La Rosiere/La Thuile, St. Foy, Espace Killy (Val d'Isere/Tignes), Les Arcs, La Plagne, Trois Vallees.
Aosta: Access to Courmayeur, Chamonix, Cervinia, Champoluc/Gressoney/Alagna.
Martigny: Chamonix, Verbier, Crans-Montana, G3000,
Brig: Grimentz-Zinal, Zermatt, Saas-Fe, Fiesch, Belalp.
Chur: Andermatt, Disentis, Flims/Laax, Davos/Klosters, Arosa/Lenzerheide, St. Moritz.
Landeck: Schruns, St. Anton, Ischgl, Serfaus/Fiss, Pitztal, Soelden.
Innsbruck.: Too many to name.

[hutash]

Don't exclude Italy and Val Gardena. lots of options there.

[AmmergauerTele]

Love me some Landeck - would give left you know what to spend a winter around there and Imst. Just so much skiing to be had right there. If the weather sucks, then just travel south and go see Verona and Venice.

[Ripzalot]

buster has a good list. could add sion to that list (in between martigny and brig). what do you plan to do in these towns? just sleep and eat? most are going to be quite boring. how is your french or german? imho, i'd rather stay directly in more resorts than outside. many resorts...ski domains....are large enough to explore for a week without all that driving around. think trois vallees, espace killy, 4 vallees, etc.

[Arno]

Grenoble if you want somewhere at the city end of the spectrum

[peds]

... it seems like Cluses/Bonneville is central to Cham/Morzine ...

Whilst you are quite correct that staying in Cluses or Bonneville would be quite central to Chamonix and Morzine, as well as a glut of other decent ski areas (Megeve, Les Contamines, La Clusaz, etc.), it comes with the caveat that you'd be staying in Cluses or Bonneville...

[geo039]

Whilst you are quite correct that staying in Cluses or Bonneville would be quite central to Chamonix and Morzine, as well as a glut of other decent ski areas (Megeve, Les Contamines, La Clusaz, etc.), it comes with the caveat that you'd be staying in Cluses or Bonneville...

Agreed. Did you do an image search? Think middle America with a French flair Grenoble is a nice choice if you don't want to stay at a resort. Nice small Ville with some good food options and some cheap Airbnb options. Busters list is quality. All those options work.

[I've seen black diamonds!]

Innsbruck and Canazei.

There're close to each other, in different countries, and have access to huge amounts of very different skiing.

Edit: Canazei is pretty small. Maybe Brixen or Bolzano?

[knowsam]

Thanks all for the suggestions, plenty of good info here (and yup, Cluses is a google maps pick - but middle America with a French touch has a nice ring for me, budget-wise!)

Cheers

[liv2ski]

Love this thread. Going bongers doing the Google searches. I would love to stay at a few different areas for maybe 3 months at a time (a year in total). Biggest issue, keeping the non skiing wife occupied and happy. Some of the smaller towns (hamlets) work for me, but she may go nutz with boredom, so what would you guys suggest? Step bro and his wife live in Geneva. OP, sorry for the thread jack.

[I've seen black diamonds!]

Love this thread. Going bongers doing the Google searches. I would love to stay at a few different areas for maybe 3 months at a time (a year in total). Biggest issue, keeping the non skiing wife occupied and happy. Some of the smaller towns (hamlets) work for me, but she may go nutz with boredom, so what would you guys suggest? Step bro and his wife live in Geneva. OP, sorry for the thread jack.

What does your wife need?

[Buster Highmen]

Briancon, Martigny, Landeck woule be my top 3. Bolzano is a great suggestion though.
I've stayed in Briancon for a month and it blew my mind, mostly the little, unknown places.

[Buster Highmen]

, so what would you guys suggest? .

Depends on what she likes.
A buddy lived in Milan for a few years and could get to Andermatt to ski from his house in Milan by train in the morning. Milan is a big city with lots to offer in terms of history, museums, culture. Plus the acess to skiing form there is sweet with Am@, Bosco-Gurin and Airolo easy access (trains to Am@ & Airolo) and Monterosa (Alagna, Gressoney, Chompoluc) not much further. Monterosa is worth a whole winter by itself.

Innsbruck is another option that is larger than the others in the list. Great ski access from there too.

Bolzano would probably be the best city for Dolomiti access that has some size, museums, etc.

LIke Arno said, Grenoble is also a bit bigger with fantastic access.

[liv2ski]

What does your wife need?

Good question. She likes a small downtown area. Shops, restaurants, etc. Beautiful old world scenery is a good selling point. Easy areas to stroll and take in the sights. The occasional summer hike in the mountains. Maybe a few hours from other great cities to visit (Milan, Geneva,etc) Edit to add, step bro moved to Zurich

[I've seen black diamonds!]

Bolzano would probably be the best city for Dolomiti access that has some size, museums, etc.

Ötzi!


1:15 to Innsbruck
1:30 to Verona
2:30 to Venice
2:30 to Bologna
3 to Milan
3:30 to Florence

Lot's of castles nearby
Closest ski lifts are :30.
Great skis lifts are :50+

[Buster Highmen]

Bellinzona is the capital of the Swiss Canton Ticino, at the Northern end of the Italian/Swiss Lakes district. It's a pretty town, not all that big, but has a commercial district with good food, etc.
Chiavenna in Italy is also a cool little city with those amenities and access to Switzerland and Madesimo is just out of town.

[liv2ski]

Jesus, the photos of Bolzano and the surrounding area is off teh hook. Rent a nice place in the center of town for $2k or less, if there is adequate skiing nearby, looks awesome.

[AmmergauerTele]

I think Bolzano repeatedly gets voted as the nicest city in Italy. I thought the place was amazing. Iceman museum was amazing. Great launching point. Good weather is close too.

[plugboots]

I stayed in Trento for a night and visited Bolzano, and would agree. I've spent some time in Briancon, and would put that town high on my list. Grenoble is a great place but I have been stuck in the horrendous backup near Vizille as you head out of town towards Alpe d'Huez, etc., that if I had any choice, I might choose against it.

[Hicks]

For a non skiing wife quite a few of the places mentioned can get boring pretty quickly so you want to look into those of a decent size. I would avoid staying in Switzerland except funds are no issue.

Two more options off most people's radar:
Bregenz in Austrian Vorarlberg: decent town, quick access to Montafon, Arlberg and the resorts around the Bregenzer Wald.
Annecy with it's lake - beautiful spot although the commute to skiing is somewhat further than on the others.

[geo039]

So the moral of this thread...Europe is cool. If you have not spent a lot of time in Italy I would recommend those options first. Food, culture, people all a positive.

[ClarkleberryFinn]

Surprised by the repeated mentions of Landeck... Sure lots of great skiing nearby, but it's not exactly the nicest town around (particularly in winter). Always seems most alive in the summer with all the rafting/kayaking on the doorstep (Landeck Gorge and the Sanna are two really fun sections and both finish at the lower end of the town).

If you're looking for a bigger town in Tirol, I don't think you'll get much better than Innsbruck IME. Easy and quick access to a bunch of skiing (inc glaciers early/late season), can ski on both sides of the Brenner depending on if the snow comes form north or south, and a fairly lively and pretty town.

For longer stays the season passes - Tirol Snow Card, or even cheaper Freizeitticket (you have to sign in as a resident to get it, but I think you'd have to do that if staying longer than couple of weeks anyway) - are excellent value too.

Edit: I'd also pick Feldkirch rather than Bregenz in Vorarlberg. Sure it's smaller, but also pretty nice and lively. Bregenz only has quick access to skiing on an American scale - about an hour drive to Damüls; at least 1.5 hours to Arlberg (maybe there are Allgau resorts closer though? I don't know anything about that region). Even from Feldkirch you've still got at least a 30 minute drive to Montafon.

[talus]

Venice Italy! personally I enjoyed the walled city of Treviso over Venice and about 2.5 hours from Cortina d'Ampezzo. On the way stop at Valdobbiadene eat great food and even better prosecco. Back in 2000 I stayed at a hotel in Alta Badia in the basement was the spa and all the pretty Bella ragazza's were topless. TOPLESS!!!

[hafjell]

Another +1 to Bolzano. It's beautiful, has very good food and is on the EuroCity train line. The Euro City 80's can get you to Innsbruck in 2 hours without without changing trains and Munich in just less than 4 hours also without transfer. Decent skiing at every stop along the way; but for just skiing I'd consider diving a bit deeper into either the Dolomites or Innsbruck.
The lift infrastructure and the ease of travel on snow or by public transport is astonishing. Food in the Dolomites will also be a big step up in quality over everything in N. America, even the nicest restaurants in spendy towns like Jackson, Vail, Deer Valley. Cost to eat and ski in the Dolomites is much more moderate too, even in high end resorts and restaurants. The downside is you won't be surrounded by tool bag Texans or New Yorkers. Compromise is king.