Sestriere

Purpose-built, snow-sure and very convenient, Sestriere sits at the heart of the 400km Milky Way, one of the World's biggest ski circuits. It will host the 2006 Winter Olympics and investment is ongoing.

As will be apparent from our extensive coverage, we think the Milky Way is great and Sestriere is one of our favourite parts of it.

Sestriere has great prestige as the regular host of World Cup races and of the Olympics, which will be here again in 2006. The surrounding mountains and micro climate are perfect for skiing and Sestriere claims to be the World's first purpose-built resort. It dates from the 1930's and has long been a favourite with the British. Because the snow is reliable (assisted by immense snowmaking), it usually opens the Italian ski season in early December. The high mountains on three sides form a magnificent, snowy amphitheatre with great skiing for everybody.

Sestriere is a great choice for beginners because there are wide village nursery slopes and some long gentle blues which are ideal for snow-ploughers. The lift system is easy for beginners as well. They will find the links to Sauze and Sansicario a bit of a struggle but there's plenty to do locally. For keen intermediates and advanced skiers Sestriere has fantastic possibilities. There is over 400kms of great skiing featuring plenty of interesting ski journeys to Sauze, Sansicario, Cesana and eventually to Claviere and Montgenevre. Some of the best local skiing is at Borgata. This hamlet is the focal point of 3 important lifts. A gondola goes South to the top of the ridge from which you can ski over to Sauze d'Oulx or back to Sestriere on a fabulous, endless, intermediate run over all kinds of terrain a chair goes back to Sestriere and is good for beginners because they return on a long, easy blue. The other chair goes North to the World Cup downhill and masses of exhilarating skiing through trees. You get to Sansicario via the Sauze bubble, at the top of which is a huge, snow-sure bowl, which is also manageable by beginners, who can take the gondola back.

Sestriere is modern, cosmopolitan, and well equipped with a big choice of apr�s ski. It's very much a leading part of the Italian ski scene. Borgata is picturesque and tiny. There are one or two little bars, a pizzeria, and 3 or 4 hotel bars, but you can take a taxi to Sestriere which (5mins.)

Village Facts

Borgata

An old mountain community with some nice traditional buildings but hardly any nightlife. There’s a pizzeria and a couple of bars.

Sestriere

Large, lively, popular and well equipped. Very convenient and snowsure

• outdoor skating rink
• indoor tennis
• tobogganing
• squash
• aerobics
• fitness room
• skidoos
• many pizzerias, bars and restaurants
• cinema (Italian)
• shops
• banks
• chemist and medical centre
• post office
• tourist office
• dog sledding
• night skiing
• parapente