During the World Ski Awards 2017 ceremony which took place between 17th -19th November in Austria, the French Ski Resort Val Thorens was elected best Ski Resort in the world. Like 2016, the French resort has been rewarded of their efforts to make the place better and better for skiers and visitors.
The choice has been decided with both public and professional voters. A professional voter from the industry was carrying a weight of 5 times that of a public vote. The vote took place between 2nd June and 22nd September 2017.
World’s Best Ski Resort
Val Thorens is located at the border with Italy in the French Vanoise National Park. Interesting fact, the French Ski Resort is hosting 2 Michelin starred restaurants.
The World Ski Awards were launched in 2013 to strive to improve standards but also to reward the leader in the ski industry. Every year, the vote is rewarding the World’s Best:
- Ski Resort
- Freestyle Resort
- Ski Hotel
- New Ski Hotel
- Green Ski Hotel
- Ski Boutique Hotel
- Ski Chalet
- New Ski Chalet
- Ski Resort Company
- Indoor Ski Resort
- Ski Tour Operator
- Ski Travel Agent
- Heli-Ski Operator
- Ski Transfer Operator
- Outstanding Contribution to Ski Tourism
We decided to focus on the Ski Resort Award since they are including lodging and facilities for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. which make it the most pertinent award of the list. For the 5th Annual World Ski Awards Winner, several Ski Resort were elected best of their countries including 17 of them in Europe:
Andorra’s Best Ski Resort
Vallnord is located in the Pyrenees mountains near the Spanish border. This resort is the result of a merger between two ski resort and became one of the largest in the country.
Austria’s Best Ski Resort
Kitzbühel is one the most famous ski resort in the world. It is located near Innsbruck (80km). Every year, the resort is hosting the annual World Cup ski races.
Bulgaria’s Best Ski Resort
Located in the Unesco-listed Pirin National Park, Bansko is first ski resort in Bulgaria – it has the largest ski area. The town itself is UNESCO-protected.
Czech Republic’s Best Ski Resort
Skiareál Špindlerův Mlýn is located at the border with Poland in the middle of the highest Czech mountains: Krkonoše (Giant Mountains). The ski resort has 20 runs which is the most of all resorts in the country.
Finland’s Best Ski Resort
Finland’s southern fell is located next to the Syöte National Park and 150 km below the Arctic Circle. Iso-Syöte has the longest snowboard parks in Finland. Up there the snow is very reliable which is why you won’t find any snow cannons there.
France’s Best Ski Resort
(see above – World’s Best Ski Resort)
Germany’s Best Ski Resort
The German ski resort is located in Bavaria near the Austrian border. The highest point in Germany, The Zugspitze, is located in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
Italy’s Best Ski Resort
Val Gardena is located in the northen Italy near the Austrian border. With its connection to Dolomiti Superski, the ski resort host the world’s largest ski carousel.
Norway’s Best Ski Resort
Trysil is located in Hedmark county which is close to the Swedish border. The Norwegian ski resort is the largest ski destination in the country.
Poland’s Best Ski Resort
Located in the southern Poland closed to the Slovakian border, this resort has more than 14 kilometers of routes where everyone can enjoy skiing with different levels of difficulty.
Romania’s Best Ski Resort
Probably the most famous ski resort in Romania, Sinaia is located near to Bucharest. The nickname of this ski resort is the “Pearl of the Carpathians” (Perla Carpaților).
Russia’s Best Ski Resort
Rosa Khutor is located in near the Black Sea and the Georgian border. The Russian resort hosted the alpine skiing events for the 2014 Winter Olympics and Paralympics which were located in a city nearby, Sochi. It has 77 km of ski trails including 13 for international competitions.
Slovakia’s Best Ski Resort
Jasná Nízke Tatry is located in the Low Tatras mountains and it is one of the largest ski area in Slovakia. The resort has numerous high quality spas and wellness centers.
Slovenia’s Best Ski Resort
This Slovenian resort is located only 25 km from Ljubljana and 10 km from the Ljubljana Airport. Krvavec is second largest resort in Slovenia with more than 30 km of ski slopes.
Spain’s Best Ski Resort
Cerler is located in the central Pyrenees near the French border. This ski resort has an 9 km marked pistes which is one of the longest in the country.
Sweden’s Best Ski Resort
Åre is located in the central part of Sweden near the Norwegian border. The Swedish resort has one of the highest run in Scandinavia: 1 270 m
Switzerland’s Best Ski Resort
2h30 from Milano and 1h30 from Zurich, LAAX is one the biggest ski resort in Switzerland. You can find the largest halfpipe in Europe in the Swiss ski resort.
