Cervinia

Cervinia is a fine place to board for the intermediate. For an advanced rider it's a little flat in places to get the heart thumping, and the novice may find themselves hopping along the flats a little too much. Seeing your mates disappear over that rise while you come to a halt is a quick way to piss off even the calmest of beginners.

The pistes are well maintained and are easily viewed, so you can see the best spots from the sometimes very slow lifts. If you want off-piste, then get on your thinking cap and you can soon find some good routes. There's some great little spots and if you cant find them, ask a local.

If you get bored, head over to Zermatt - or if you have the cash, get a helicopter.

Freestylers will find the new Indian Park good for some big hits. There's usually 2 or 3 lines of kickers of various sizes and a number of jibs. It has a small chillout hut but you'll need to be wearing a helmet otherwise you'll struggle to slip past the crew a second time. Visit www.indianpark.it for the latest set-up. If you have a good look around you will find some good rock drops - find the right one and you could get a photo of yourself flying across the Matterhorn.

Euro carvers will get a little moist when they sit in their first chair over these slopes. They're wide and flat and the 22 km red run, Valtournenche, is the place to carve long and hard, while the blacks down into the village are cool.

The pistes are never packed although they do get busy during holidays.

Beginners, the place to get your first bruises is up at the Plan Maison, which is reached by a cablecar. Once up top, be prepared to tackle some draglifts in order to get to the easy flats, which also come with a heavy dose of ski schools.

The runs rise up from the village at three main points and apart from a few areas, the lower sections are not beginner-friendly, although there is a blue that leads down giving novices the chance to ride home, too.