Places

Start with the place, not the hotel

Almost every difficult decision in alpine travel is a question about geography rather than about hotels. Which side of the valley gets the sun in January. Whether the village is walkable or needs a car. How far the lifts really are from the address that says it is close to them. Whether a lake town empties in November or stays open.

This section works through the arc destination by destination: the resorts and the villages next to them, the lakes, the valleys people drive past, and the places that are quietly better than their reputation. Each entry is written to answer the same questions — who it suits, when to go, which area to book, and what it is genuinely like once you are standing in it.

By country: Switzerland, France, Italy, Germany, Slovenia. Our selection criteria are set out in how we choose.