Airport

About Bardonecchia

A sunny market town on Italy's French border, Bardonecchia has a traditional Italian feel and vibrancy. The authentic, tree-lined streets are home to a busy working town with many delicious restaurants and bars which celebrate Italy's love of good food and good wine! Sitting in the Piedmont region, the ski area is made up of six villages (Fregiusia, Les Arnaus, Melezet, Millaures, Rochemolles and Pian del Sole) and four ski areas (Les Arnauds, Mélezet Valle Stretta, Fregiusia Jafferau and Campo Smith Colomion.

A big 140 km of piste waits for you, spread between two lift-linked ski areas, and one that you'll have to jump on a bus to get to. For beginners there are local nursery slopes in Campo Smith and Melezet, but some of the beginner runs can be a little tough and crowded. Intermediates can let loose, skiing almost the whole area and its varied red and blue runs. There are six black runs and of-piste for experts, and it's an easy trip to the massive Milky Way and Three Valleys ski areas. During the week both the town and the slopes can be quiet and uncrowded, but come the weekend they come alive with a bustling atmosphere on both.

Bardonecchia has its own train station, pine woods, beautiful mountain views, a mix of traditional and modern buildings - and it's big on character. The surrounding area offers much to explore such as historical and religious buildings like a romantic bell tower, a medieval castle and a 19^th century museum. The beautiful town of Turin is close by, as are several breathtaking natural areas, including: the Valle Stretta, Lago Verde (the Green Lake) and the dam and glacier at Rochemolles. Frescoes painted by travelling artists from the 15th and 16th century are well preserved in the chapels around the area - some of which can only be reached on skis in the winter. The chance to relax during the week and then enjoy a busier weekend, the food, friendly locals, great scenery and character of Bardonecchia make it an excellent, fun resort.

For beginners

For intermediates

For the advanced

Ski school

Après Ski

Off the Mountain

Getting there

By air

Airport transfers

By train

By car

For beginners

Melezet and Campo Smith both have extensive beginner's areas but these can sometimes be crowded and the learner's runs can tend to the more difficult side. However there is a very friendly ski school that will help you graduate to the higher long blue runs at Colomion and Melezet.

For intermediates

While you pretty much have the run of the whole mountain, for intermediates, the Melezet and Colomion areas are a great place to start, because they are linked by a series of superb long red and blue runs with some blacks to move onto if you are a more confident intermediate. Worth a try is the Fisi 50 from Colomion, a World Cup race run and a 2006 Olympic run. You can take the free ski bus to the Jafferau area for even more terrain, or plan a day trip to the nearby Milky Way and Three Valleys ski areas.

For the advanced

There are six black runs, some good off-piste, heli skiing and some challenging reds with bumps, jumps and gullies above the treeline. The Olympic half-pipe is now open to the public, as is a brand new terrain park, running parallel with the pipe, offering park fans some awesome riding. On Monte Jafferau with its new gondola you can challenge yourself on the wide open upper pistes, followed by some short swings down through the trees. However, experts may get a little bored after a few days, and so heading for some day trips to the giant Milky Way and Three Valley's areas might be a good option.

Ski school

There are 4 ski schools with 200 ski and snowboard instructors and a number of ski hire centres. Baby club has careful assistants who can take care of kids from 12 months to 6 years.

Scuola di Sci Bardonecchia
tel. 0122-999253
fax 0122-907567
e-mail: info@scuolascibardonecchia
sito: www.scuolascibardonecchia.com
Scuola di Ski Spazio Neve
tel. 0122-901943
fax 0122-901644
e-mail: info@spazioneve.it
www.spazioneve.it
Scuola Sci Nord Ovest
tel 0122-99072
fax 0122-907455
e-mail: info@scuolascinordovest.it
www.scuolascinordovest.it
Liberi Tutti
fax 0122907700
cell. 393961215
E-mail: info@liberi-tutti.eu
www.liberi-tutti.eu

Après Ski

Bardonecchia's villages offer a range of excellent restaurants, serving delectable Italian cuisine and delicious local wines. Nights here can be fairly quiet during the week and then get busy during the week when Italians head to the mountain for weekend breaks. The food is made with pride (and therefore very good!) and the prices reasonable. Taste a traditional local dish at Ristorante Bar Biovey, grab a massive pizza from The Italian and taste superb local wine at Al Pik Bo wine bar, or the Playtime Disco. There are three clubs to take you into the night when things do pick up on the weekend, or else Sauze d'Oulx is only about 30 minutes away for a more varied nightlife.

Off the Mountain

The region surrounding Bardonecchia is filled with amazing Italian historical and religious buildings and natural scenery. Get out there on a day off and explore Sightseers can enjoy the beautiful mountain scenery in the Valle Stretta towards Lago Verde and at Rochemolles or visit the sights of Turin. There's also a natural ice skating rink, a sauna, a cinema, ice hockey, horse riding, hiking, heated outdoor pool, bowling, walking trails snowshoeing and a games hall.

Getting there

By air

Bardonecchia lies 60 miles from Caselle airport at Turin, which is the closest international airport. Another option is flying to Milan Linate, from here you can drive or take the Torino - Bussoleno - Bardonecchia train line to reach Bardonecchia station.

Airport transfers

From Turin Airport, a bus service links the airport to Oulx, Bardonecchia, Cesana, Sestriere and Pragelato every Saturday and Sunday.

Cavourese Bus Company
Phone: +39.0121.69031
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By train

To reach Bardonecchia by train from the UK, take the Eurostar from Waterloo station to Paris, then connect with a direct overnight express train to Milan. From here, you can take the Torino-Bussoleno-Bardonecchia train line to reach Bardonecchia station.

By car

Take the A32 Torino-Bardonecchia, exit Bardonecchia or SS n. 24 and 335 of Valle di Susa.
For more information head to www.viamichelin.it

Resort rating and reviews

04 November 2010

Traveller rating: 5 star