Cortina

Cortina D’Ampezzo is one of Italy’s premier ski resorts. Situated just 2 hours' drive north of Venice, Cortina is a popular weekend destination - try to avoid weekends here if at all possible. During the Christmas and New Year holidays it is overrun with the most fabulous of Italian glitterati. When visited in early March however, Cortina was a charming and friendly, if slightly dull, old-school European mountain-village-turned-ski-resort. And a ski resort it certainly is, as you won’t find many other snowboarders on the mountain.

The main problem with Cortina is the time spent on the lifts compared to the actual time spent riding. There was a new 6-man, high-speed lift installed for the 2006 season, which carries an extra 1200 riders per hour and speeds things up significantly. The best part of riding here (after the scenery) are the uncluttered slopes – get up to the top early and you can have the slopes to yourselves. The early morning view from the top to the east down the Ampezzo Valley is incredible – worth the visit in itself.

Cortina is definitely not the motorway skiing of the big French resorts, but it can be fun, with well-groomed slopes to suit all levels of rider.