Before you book a hut, a lift pass or a mountain train, the most reliable information about an Alpine valley usually comes from the people who live in it. Official tourism boards and destination management organisations publish the things travel sites rarely get right: which lifts and trails are actually open today, where the webcams point, what the guest card covers, and when the village festival takes place. This TOP 50 gathers real national boards, regional agencies, valley organisations and resort tourist offices across Switzerland, France, Italy, Austria, Germany and Slovenia, plus a few cross-border networks that cover the whole range. Each entry below was checked against the organisation's own live website, and we note only what those sites clearly offer.
Switzerland
1. Switzerland Tourism (MySwitzerland) — The national tourism marketing organisation, headquartered in Zurich, whose portal maps tens of thousands of destinations, routes, events, sights and places to stay across the country. It also runs a dedicated snow and piste report service for Swiss ski areas, which is the quickest way to compare conditions between regions before you commit to a valley. myswitzerland.com
2. Valais/Wallis Promotion — The cross-sector promotion body for canton Valais, based in Sion, covering the valleys from the Rhône up to the 4,000 m peaks. Its site is a good regional entry point for webcams, hiking and biking routes, mountain huts, events and weather across Zermatt, Verbier, Crans-Montana, the Aletsch and the smaller side valleys. valais.ch
3. Graubünden Ferien — The official tourism organisation of Switzerland's largest canton, based in Chur, grouping destinations from Davos and the Engadin to Arosa Lenzerheide and the Surselva. Useful for regional webcams, hut information, hiking and cross-country trails, bus connections and the events calendar in one place. graubuenden.ch
4. Zermatt Tourismus — The destination office for Zermatt–Matterhorn, and one of the most complete resort sites in the Alps. It carries live village and mountain webcams, the snow and piste report, lift and cable-car status, hut and hiking information, plus shuttle and cross-country details for the car-free village. zermatt.swiss
5. Jungfrau Region Tourismus — Based in Interlaken, this organisation covers Grindelwald, Wengen, Mürren, Lauterbrunnen and the Haslital. Its site handles the region's digital guest card registration, and gathers webcams, hut information, hiking and cross-country trails and the regional event programme. jungfrauregion.swiss
6. Engadin Tourismus — The destination organisation for the Engadin valley and St. Moritz, with a call centre in St. Moritz and staffed tourist information desks across the valley. The site lists opening hours and contacts for each info point, lift and activity information, accommodation booking and the valley's dense event calendar. engadin.ch
7. Destination Davos Klosters — The tourism organisation for Davos and Klosters, and the clearest explainer of a Swiss guest card system you will find. It details the Davos Klosters Premium Card and Private Card, including free local public transport within defined zones, reduced mountain railway fares, digital smartphone versions and the fact that dogs travel free on local transport and mountain railways. davos.ch
8. Verbier–Val de Bagnes Tourisme — The tourist office for Verbier and the wider Val de Bagnes, with its main desk in the Alpina galleries in the centre of the resort. Beyond webcams, events and activity listings, it is also the office that handles the tourist tax that is mandatory for overnight guests in the valley. verbier.ch
9. Saastal Tourismus (Saas-Fee/Saas Valley) — The destination company for Saas-Fee and the four Saas Valley villages, based in Saas-Fee. Its site combines webcams, lift and piste information, ski pass details and a 350 km hiking network with direct online booking of accommodation, experiences and packages. saas-fee.ch
10. Arosa Lenzerheide — The joint destination organisation for two Graubünden resorts linked by the Urden cable car since 2014. The site covers the shared 225 km of pistes, more than 300 km of bike trails and a bike park, with webcams, lift status and details of the Arosa information desk in the local sports and congress centre. arosalenzerheide.swiss
France
11. Savoie Mont Blanc Tourisme — The regional tourism agency for Savoie and Haute-Savoie, based in Chambéry, covering roughly 110 ski resorts from small villages to high-altitude stations. Use it when you are still choosing between valleys: it aggregates resort profiles, itineraries, events and seasonal highlights across the whole French Northern Alps. savoie-mont-blanc.com
12. Chamonix-Mont-Blanc Tourist Office — The valley's tourist office runs five reception desks, with the main Chamonix office covering the whole valley. It sells cable car and bus tickets, registers guided outings, distributes the guest card and hands out free brochures, and its site carries webcams, lift information and mountain hut details. chamonix.com
13. Val d'Isère Tourisme — The resort's tourist office, open year-round in the heart of the village, with a recently rebuilt website organised around sport, wellbeing, events, gastronomy, shops, accommodation and services. Practical layers include webcams, lift and piste information, ski pass details and local bus information. valdisere.com
14. Courchevel Tourisme — The destination office for the Courchevel villages, with welcome desks in Courchevel 1850, Moriond, Village and La Tania. Its site is one of the most operational in France: webcams, snow report, open-slope status, avalanche information, lift and ski pass details, plus shuttle and bus information. courchevel.com
15. Les 3 Vallées — The joint organisation for the seven linked resorts of the Three Valleys, marketed as the world's largest ski area with 161 lifts and around 600 km of connected slopes. The site is the reference for how the resorts interconnect, snowparks and fun zones, lift and pass information, and it also lists contacts for each individual valley tourist office. les3vallees.com
16. Tignes Tourisme — The resort office operates three Maisons de Tignes in Le Lac, Val Claret and Tignes 1800, the main one open year-round from 8.45am to 7pm. The Le Lac desk adds luggage storage, showers, a ski pass sales point in winter and a multimedia space, while the site carries webcams, lift and piste information. tignes.net
17. Alpe d'Huez Tourisme — Based in the Maison de l'Alpe, which also houses the French ski school headquarters and a lift pass ticket office. The tourist office sells Cars Isère / Transaltitude bus tickets and hiking topo guides, and its site offers webcams, lift and piste information plus online booking of stays. alpedhuez.com
18. Serre Chevalier Vallée Briançon — The Southern Alps destination office covering Briançon and the Serre Chevalier villages, with information bureaus in Sainte-Catherine, the Cité Vauban, Chantemerle, Villeneuve and Le Monêtier-les-Bains. It is a Category I office carrying the Qualité Tourisme mark, and its site publishes webcams, lift and piste information and the summer and winter activity programmes. serre-chevalier.com
19. Morzine-Avoriaz Tourist Office — The office in Place du Baraty covers Morzine and Avoriaz on the French side of the Portes du Soleil, the cross-border area shared with Châtel, Les Gets, Morgins and Champéry. Its site is the practical entry point for webcams, lift and piste information, shuttle buses and the local event calendar, with a companion site dedicated to Avoriaz 1800. morzine-avoriaz.com
20. Office de Tourisme du Lac d'Annecy — Based in the Bonlieu centre in Annecy, this is the pre-Alpine counterpoint to the high resorts. It sells bus tickets and year-round ticketing for shows, concerts, lake cruises and panoramic bus tours, stocks hiking books and maps, and its site adds webcams, events and accommodation booking. lac-annecy.com
Italy
21. IDM Südtirol / South Tyrol — The official website for holidays, events and products in South Tyrol, the German- and Italian-speaking province that contains most of the Dolomites. It is the widest single source for Dolomite webcams, lift and ski pass information, mountain huts, hiking and cross-country trails, bus and shuttle links and regional events. suedtirol.info
22. Visit Trentino — The official site for holidays in Trentino, covering the Brenta Dolomites, Val di Fiemme, Val di Fassa, Paganella and Lake Garda's northern tip. Practical strengths include the regional snow report, guest card information, webcams, hut and trail listings and shuttle details. visittrentino.info
23. Aosta Valley (Lovevda) — The official tourism website of the Aosta Valley autonomous region, on the Italian side of Mont Blanc, the Matterhorn and Monte Rosa. It is organised by activity and theme — trekking, summer skiing, mountaineering, climbing, rafting, castles, Roman architecture, food and wine — and includes the Gran Paradiso national park, the Mont Avic park and the cable cars up to the 4,000 m peaks. lovevda.it
24. Val Gardena — The official Dolomites holiday site for Ortisei, Santa Cristina and Selva, in the heart of the Sella massif. It carries webcams, lift and ski pass information, hut and hiking listings, cross-country and bike trails, and direct accommodation booking for the three villages. valgardena.it
25. Alta Badia — The tourist organisation for Corvara, La Villa, San Cassiano, Badia and Colfosco in the Ladin valleys of the Dolomites. Its site publishes webcams, a snow report, lift and ski pass information, hut and hiking listings, and the valley's well-known gourmet and cultural events. altabadia.org
26. Kronplatz / Plan de Corones — The destination organisation for the Kronplatz region in South Tyrol, between the Puster Valley and the northern Dolomites. Expect webcams, lift information, hut and hiking listings, bike trails, bus details and accommodation booking for the villages around the mountain. kronplatz.com
27. Val di Fassa Tourist Board — The official Ladin-valley board for Canazei, Moena, Campitello and the villages under the Sella and Marmolada. Its site handles the valley guest card, webcams, lift information, mountain huts, hiking and biking, and opening hours for the local information offices. fassa.com
28. Livigno — The destination office for the high, duty-free Alpine valley in Lombardy, close to the Swiss border. The site gathers webcams, lift status, ski pass information, hut and trail listings, shuttle and bus details and the resort's event programme. livigno.eu
29. Courmayeur Mont Blanc — The tourism site for Courmayeur, on the Italian side of the Mont Blanc massif and linked to Chamonix by the tunnel. It covers webcams, lift information, mountain huts, hiking and cross-country trails, events and opening periods — handy when you are planning a Tour du Mont Blanc leg or a cross-border ski trip. courmayeurmontblanc.it
Austria
30. Austrian National Tourist Office — Austria's national tourism organisation and the top-level starting point for the country's nine federal states, six of which reach into the Alps. Best used for orientation, seasonal themes, hiking inspiration and card schemes before you drop into a regional or valley board. austria.info
31. Tirol Werbung (Tyrol) — The regional board for Tyrol, the most ski-dense state in the Alps, publishing its English travel guide at tyrol.com. It aggregates webcams, lift information, hut listings, hiking and cross-country trails, bike routes and opening times across dozens of Tyrolean valleys. tyrol.com
32. SalzburgerLand Tourismus — The regional board for the province of Salzburg, from the city itself to Zell am See-Kaprun, Saalbach and the Grossglockner high road. Its site brings together lift and piste information, avalanche and weather information, hut and trail listings, event calendars and downloadable brochures. salzburgerland.com
33. Vorarlberg Tourismus — Austria's westernmost state board, covering the Bregenzerwald, Montafon, Arlberg and Kleinwalsertal, with an official English travel guide. Strong on webcams, snow report, lift and piste status, avalanche and weather information, and the region's distinctive architecture and design trails. vorarlberg.travel
34. Carinthia (Kärnten Werbung) — The board for Austria's southern Alpine state, where the Alps meet lakes such as the Wörthersee and Weissensee. Its English site covers webcams, piste information, hut and trail listings, bus connections, bike routes and the summer lake season. visitcarinthia.at
35. Innsbruck Tourismus — The destination organisation for Innsbruck and its surrounding mountain villages, the classic city-plus-Alps base. Its site is the place to understand the Innsbruck guest card, city and mountain webcams, lift information for the local ski areas, bus links and the year-round event programme. innsbruck.info
36. Sölden (Ötztal) — The resort office for one of Tyrol's highest and most glacier-dependent destinations, in the Ötztal valley. Its site combines webcams, lift and ski pass information, guest card details, avalanche and weather information, hut and trail listings and shuttle buses. soelden.com
37. St. Anton am Arlberg — The tourist office for the Arlberg's best-known village, on the Tyrol–Vorarlberg border. Expect webcams, lift and piste information, ski pass details, hut and hiking listings, cross-country and bike trails, plus brochures and the resort's event calendar. stantonamarlberg.com
38. Kitzbühel Tourismus — The destination office for the medieval Tyrolean town best known for the Hahnenkamm race. Its site covers webcams, lift information, hut and hiking listings, cross-country and bike trails, bus details and opening times, alongside the town's sport and lifestyle event programme. kitzbuehel.com
39. Zillertal Tourismus — The valley board for the Zillertal, one of the busiest ski and hiking valleys in Tyrol, spanning Mayrhofen, Fügen, Zell am Ziller and the Hintertux glacier. Its site is particularly useful for the valley-wide snow report, webcams, lift and ski pass information, bike routes and downloadable brochures. zillertal.at
Germany
40. Allgäu GmbH — The destination organisation for the Allgäu, the Bavarian region that stretches from rolling pre-Alpine countryside to the Allgäu Alps. It is the reference for the regional guest card, hiking and cross-country trails, mountain huts, bus links and the seasonal event calendar. allgaeu.de
41. Garmisch-Partenkirchen Tourismus — The tourist office for Germany's highest-profile Alpine resort, at the foot of the Zugspitze. Its site handles the local guest card, webcams, lift information, hut and hiking listings, cross-country and bike trails, weather and accommodation booking. gapa-tourismus.de
42. Oberstdorf Tourismus — The office for Germany's southernmost market town, a ski-jumping and cross-country hub in the Allgäu Alps. Expect webcams, lift and piste information, ski pass details, hut and hiking listings, extensive cross-country information, bus details and brochures. oberstdorf.de
43. Berchtesgaden — The destination site for the Berchtesgadener Land, the Bavarian corner around the Königssee and the Watzmann, bordered on three sides by Austria. It publishes webcams, hut information, bus and bike details and the local event calendar, and is the natural first stop for planning around the national park. berchtesgaden.de
Slovenia
44. Slovenian Tourist Board — Slovenia's national board and its official travel guide, covering the Julian Alps, the Kamnik-Savinja Alps and the Karavanke as well as the rest of the country. Best used for country-level orientation, themed hiking and cycling routes, card schemes and the national event calendar before moving to a local office. slovenia.info
45. Turizem Bled — The official site for Bled, the lake-and-island destination at the eastern gateway to the Julian Alps. It carries webcams, weather, bus information, card details and the town's event programme — the practical layer you need for a base that fills up fast in summer. bled.si
46. Turizem Bohinj — The official destination site for Bohinj, Slovenia's largest permanent lake, set inside Triglav National Park. It covers webcams, weather, hiking and biking trails, bus links and accommodation booking, and is the right source for park rules and access in a strictly protected area. bohinj.si
47. Kranjska Gora — The tourist destination office for Slovenia's main ski resort, at the foot of the Vršič pass and the Italian and Austrian borders. Its site gathers webcams, lift information, hut and hiking listings, bike trails, bus and shuttle details, weather and opening times. kranjska-gora.si
Cross-border and alpine-wide organisations
48. Alpine Pearls — A cross-border association of Alpine villages committed to car-free and low-car holidays, grouping members in Austria (Mallnitz, Weissensee, Werfenweng), Slovenia (Bled, Bohinj) and Italy (Cogne, Chamois, Ceresole Reale, Falcade, Forni di Sopra, Primiero San Martino di Castrozza, Ratschings, Villnöss). Its site explains eco-mobility on arrival and on site, door-to-door journey planning, and lists participating hosts. alpine-pearls.com
49. Best of the Alps — A long-running alliance of nine classic mountain resorts across four countries: Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, Cortina d'Ampezzo, Courmayeur, Crans-Montana, Davos Klosters, Kitzbühel, Lech Zürs am Arlberg, Megève and St. Anton am Arlberg. It is a fast way to compare the grande-dame destinations side by side, with destination profiles, events and editorial features on craft, design, food and outdoor life. bestofthealps.com
50. Via Alpina — The organisation behind the long-distance trail network that crosses the Alps, with a multilingual site in English, German, French, Italian and Slovenian. It publishes trail information, an FAQ for planning a thru-hike or a section hike, and guidance on responsible bivouacking and inclusive hiking. via-alpina.org
How this TOP 50 is built
We only list organisations that are official tourism boards, destination management organisations or resort tourist offices, that publish an active website of their own, and that offer something concrete to a traveller — webcams, lift or trail status, guest card details, hut and office information, or an event calendar. The selection aims for a spread across countries, from national boards down to single valleys, rather than a score: this is an editorial order, not a quality ranking, and it is updated as organisations merge, rebrand or change domains. If we have missed a board you think belongs here, or if a link has moved, tell us via our about page.
Featured in this TOP 50? You are welcome to mention it with a link back to this page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a national board, a regional board and a resort tourist office?
A national board such as Switzerland Tourism, the Austrian National Tourist Office or the Slovenian Tourist Board markets a whole country and is best for orientation. A regional or provincial board — Graubünden Ferien, Savoie Mont Blanc, IDM Südtirol, Tirol Werbung — covers a state, canton or department and is where you compare valleys. A resort or valley office such as Zermatt, Courchevel or Val di Fassa is the operational level: opening hours, guest cards, local buses, ticket desks and day-to-day conditions.
Where do I find reliable lift, piste and snow information?
Resort and valley offices are usually the fastest source, and several of the sites listed here publish it directly: Zermatt, Courchevel, Vorarlberg, Zillertal, Alta Badia and Visit Trentino all carry a snow or piste report, and most resort sites in this list run their own webcams. For a country-wide comparison, Switzerland Tourism runs a dedicated snow report service across Swiss ski areas. Always cross-check the date stamp, and note that in some resorts the lift company publishes the live status rather than the tourist office.
Are guest cards worth it, and who issues them?
Guest cards are issued by your accommodation on check-in, not bought online, and the benefits vary a lot by destination — which is exactly why the local office's page matters. Davos Klosters, for example, explains that its Premium Card gives free local public transport within defined zones and reduced mountain railway fares, is available digitally, and even covers dogs on local transport. Other destinations in this list with clear guest card pages include the Jungfrau Region, Innsbruck, Sölden, Val di Fassa, the Allgäu and Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
Planning an alpine trip yourself? Start with our free Alpine City Guides, or read where to stay in the Dolomites.