Choosing a Destination for Your Alpine Holiday

There's pretty much no end in sight in terms of the debate about where you will find the best skiing around Europe. It almost goes without saying that you can find great resorts, magnificent skiing and superb alpine chalets in France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria and Germany.

However, almost inevitably, people debate whether or not the characteristics of the country can influence your skiing holiday, or whether there is a trans-national Alpine culture that ignores national boundaries. It’s a great debate and one that regularly gets people hot under the collar, but here is a light-hearted view on just some of the issues.

France

The French have an enviable global reputation for style and cultural excellence. This is very often visible in the attention to detail in these areas within many French ski resorts and their alpine chalets. Typically, the food will be excellent and, although a risky generalisation, you may find that prices are reasonable compared to countries such as Germany and Austria.

Italy

No nationality on earth has the same reputation for hospitality and enjoying life as the Italians. This is often visible in the vivacious nature of some Italian resorts and alpine chalets. Expect a more participative and demonstrative culture than you may find in the resorts of other countries.

Germany and Austria

In these two countries, you will typically see an attention to detail and total service excellence that is sometimes the quiet envy of many other nations. As stated above, it’s a crude generalisation, but you may find that prices are a little higher. However, the chances are that you can be absolutely certain that everything will work and everything will be exactly as it said it would be in the brochure and any associated marketing materials.

Switzerland

In the Swiss winter resorts you are likely to see a culture that may, in some areas, be virtually indistinguishable from that in France or Italy. However, the Swiss have inclined towards a certain degree of ‘chic’ and exclusive cultures - at least in some of the resorts.People get heated arguing about this, but you may find that prices are, on the whole, closer to those in Germany and Austria than in France or Italy.

Which country?

In practice, of course, far more depends upon the nature of the resort you have selected than necessarily the country it is located in. It is perfectly possible to have a top-class skiing holiday in any of these countries and to enjoy the experience immensely.

The reality is that European resorts and their alpine chalets may take some beating in terms of price and convenience for the foreseeable future – whichever country they’re in!

Liz Olkowicz is the Business Development Manager for Ski and Summer Morzine, a tour operator, based in Surrey, offering tailor-made ski holidays. If you're looking for Alpine chalets, Morzine is the perfect location from which to explore the French Alps. So for a great-value Alpine holiday, call us.

Writer and Online Marketing Manager in London.