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Home›The Alps›The Great Alpine Resorts
The great Alpine resorts, each with when to go, the one best hotel and restaurant, and how to arrive by private jet and helicopter.
Last checked October 2026.
The highest and most exclusive village of Courchevel, at the eastern end of Les 3 Vallées, one of the largest linked ski areas in the world. It has the densest concentration of top hotels and starred restaurants in the Alps, and its own altiport.
The central valley of Les 3 Vallées, with chalet architecture and direct ski links to Courchevel and Val Thorens. Its altiport sits at the top of the village.
A high, snow-sure village in the Tarentaise, linked with Tignes in the Espace Killy, and a fixture of the FIS World Cup. Its season runs late into spring.
The village created as a winter resort by the Rothschild family in the 1920s, on Mont d'Arbois facing Mont Blanc. It is quiet, elegant and as much about food and golf as skiing.
The historic capital of Alpine climbing, at the foot of Mont Blanc, with the Aiguille du Midi cable car and the Vallée Blanche. A serious mountain town all year rather than a purpose-built resort.
The birthplace of Alpine winter tourism, in the high Engadine valley, with its own jet airport ten minutes away. It has more three-Key hotels than any other Alpine resort.
A low-rise chalet village in the Saanenland, with a rural setting and a long-standing international clientele. It is known for privacy and for its summer music and sport as much as for winter.
A car-free village beneath the Matterhorn, with skiing linked to Cervinia in Italy and on the glacier in summer. Visitors arrive by train from Täsch or by helicopter.
The core of the 4 Vallées ski area in Valais, known for off-piste and freeride terrain and for its summer classical music festival. Most of its luxury is in private chalets.
A sunny plateau above the Rhône valley facing the Valais Alps, with championship golf and the Omega European Masters. Two of its hotels, Six Senses and the Hostellerie du Pas de l'Ours, hold two MICHELIN Keys.
A village at the crossroads of the Gotthard, Furka and Oberalp passes, now built up around The Chedi and the SkiArena Andermatt-Sedrun-Disentis. The Japanese Restaurant at The Chedi and IGNIV by Andreas Caminada each hold two MICHELIN stars.
The "Queen of the Dolomites", in a wide valley ringed by the peaks of a UNESCO World Heritage site, and co-host, with Milan, of the Winter Olympics in February 2026.
The Ladin villages of Corvara, San Cassiano and La Villa on the Sella Ronda circuit in the Dolomites, known for refined food in a small mountain setting. It is quieter and more private than Cortina.
Germany's leading Alpine resort, below the Zugspitze, the country's highest peak, with Schloss Elmau in its own valley nearby. Elmau has hosted G7 summits and is known for its concerts and literary programme as much as its spas.
A medieval town in Tyrol and home of the Hahnenkamm, one of the most famous downhill races in skiing. It combines town life, a long season and a strong summer of golf and tennis.
Two small, snow-sure villages in Vorarlberg at the heart of Ski Arlberg, the largest linked ski area in Austria, known for discretion and a limit on daily lift tickets. Lech has two two-star kitchens, Griggeler Stuba and Rote Wand Chef's Table.
The Tyrolean side of Ski Arlberg and the cradle of modern ski teaching, with some of the most demanding terrain in the Alps. Its leading hotel, the Tannenhof, holds two MICHELIN Keys, and its restaurant two MICHELIN stars.
That makes 17 resorts in all.
The Mediterranean Season Letter
Four letters a year, one for each season: the Mediterranean from spring to autumn, and Beyond the Mediterranean, into the Alps, in winter. The one best hotel to book, and the events worth crossing a sea for.
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