  Airport
About LivignoA lively village hidden deep in the Alps in a high, cold, snowsure valley, Livigno has some of the best snow in the area. The village runs mainly along one long road lined with shops, restaurants and hotels, with skiing on either side. Its spot on the southern side of the Alps means that the valley is often drenched in sun. Surrounded by mountains, Livigno faces the Bernina Group southwards and the Ortles-Cevedale Group eastwards, making for some stunning scenery and a secluded ambience in the resort. Much of the terrain is very open, with long, wide runs well-suited to beginners and intermediates. Beginners will enjoy the excellent facilities and easy intermediate runs to progress to and intermediates will find a variety of challenges all over the mountain. The pistes will not challenge experts, as even the black runs are not that severe. They will need to venture off-piste for any real challenging terrain. The excellent snow record does mean that there is often a good deal of powder snow on offer. Fast, modern and efficient runs will zip you around the mountain, and there are few queues. The north-south orientation of the valley and the two opposing mountainsides means that you can move around to ski in the sun all day. One of the big draws for Livigno has always been its duty-free status, offering reduced prices on everything from alcohol and cigarettes to perfumes and watches. It has long attracted those looking for a budget holiday. However in recent years it has been piped at the post by the uber cheap resorts in Bulgaria and Romania, with their bargain-basement prices. That's not to say you won't still get a good deal here - Livigno is still good value compared to many of the resorts in the Alps, providing a lively, unpretentious après-ski scene and quality restaurant with out the soaring price tags. They have also upped their game by upgrading their facilities immensely. Traditional wooden houses and pretty churches dot the village, and a day trip to the chic St. Moritz resort is easy. Food-wise, make sure you sample some of the local dishes like sciatt (polenta filled with bitto cheese and soaked in grappa) and pizzoccheri (buckwheat noodles with magnuca cheese and potatoes). For beginners
Livigno is a great choice for beginners and intermediates who want to work on their skills and have a little fun. There are lots of long, wide open runs to practice turns on. Beginner lessons take place in the village under the watchful eye of a highly qualified ski instructor. About half of Livigno's lifts are surface drags running parallel to one another along the length of the village over the sunny and snowsure slopes. A great opportunity for beginners is the chance to enjoy high altitude skiing and the restaurant at 2797 m. Take the lift to the restaurant and have some lunch, ski the small beginner's area at Lago Salin, stop for a drink or two, and then take the Carosello twins back. For intermediates
This is a great area for intermediates, with 39 red slopes. There are also many wide cruisey blues in the valley and you will be able to ski the whole mountain by the end of the week. Some good choices include a wide range of challenges in the Carosella ski area and boosting off from the Lac Salin chair lift at 2,800m
For the advanced
There are 9 black runs at Livigno, including the some steep descents from Monte Sponda. However experts will probably exhaust these fairly quickly. Due to the great snow record here, the off-piste can be a good option with great powder pockets to be found
Ski school
There are several highly rated ski schools in Livigno, who will help you master the great beginner areas, or work on your skills if you've skied or snowboarded before. For kids there's Kindergarten Meeting Point, a wide, fun space organized and assisted by qualified personnel at the top floor of Mottolino refuge. For children aged 3 to 7 years (children under 3 yrs can attend if accompanied by an adult), everyday from 10.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m.Sc. It. Sci & Snowboard New Ski School Après Ski
Livigno is proud of its reputation as having an exciting, fun unaffected night life. The resort offers a host of shopping, eating and drinking opportunities at hundreds of bars and restaurants. Prices can be fairly cheap, and the quality is great! Jpioca and The Echo Pub are very popular bars, and Gulliver Pub offers a massive selection of beers. Tea de Vidal and the Stalet bar at the bottom of the slopes are good places to head for your first après-ski drink. Alcohol can also be very cheap. The only downside is that the bars are quite scattered around the resort. The restaurants are plentiful, most serving good value hearty Italian cuisine. Mottolino, Camanel di Planon, Costaccia and Carosello all serve simple Italian dishes with local ingredients. Ristorante il Cantuccio does great pasta, while the Ristorante la Pòsa masters the pizza. Bellavista and La Pioda really stand out from the crowd with some fabulous dishes. Off the Mountain
Taking a day off is fun at Livigno, with lots on offer. The resort has 200 shops, with many selling items that usually have hefty tax applied like alcohol, tobacco products, perfumes and consumer electronics. Day trips to fashionable St Moritz just across the border in Switzerland are always popular. For a small fee (arranged easily locally) you people watch to your hearts content as the super rich and famous stroll past, and ski in one of the world's most exclusive resorts. There's also skating, tobogganing, horse riding, sleigh rides, skidoos, dog sledging, paragliding, ice climbing, snow shoe excursions, spa centres, ice driving, swimming pool (at Spöl hotel) and a cinema. Getting there
By air
The smaller airport of Innsbruck is the closest to Livigno, 190km away via Bolzano. However more airlines fly to the collection of several major airports that are all about the same distance away. Milan to the south west is 235km away, Munich to the north east 280km and Zurich to the North West 230km
Airport transfers
Livigno's remote location can be a pain when it comes to transfers. The shortest is from Innsbruck airport, at around three hours. The other airports can vary between three and five hours. By train
The closest train stations are Zernez (28km) on the Swiss side and Tirano (40 km) on the Italian side. By car
From Milano follow the signs to road SS36 to Chiavenna, in Chiavenna turn right into road SS37 and after 10 km to road 3, use the Stradun Chantunel and find road 27 to Parestina, take the road 29 to entry Italy again and follow the road SS 301 to Livigno.
Resort rating and reviews
12 August 2008
Traveller rating:
  Livigno is a tax haven so prices can be much cheaper here than other r...
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Resort ratings out of 10
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Weather and snow report
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Skiing Holidays in LivignoPhoto
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