The Spanish royal family's ski resort, in the Val d'Aran on the Atlantic side of the Pyrenees. The valley has its own language and a string of stone villages with Romanesque churches, several of which are UNESCO listed.

This is the largest and most reliable area in Spain, wide and open above the treeline, with genuinely good off piste and long intermediate runs. Beginners are well served at the base. Baqueira itself is functional. Salardú, Arties and Vielha nearby are far more attractive places to sleep and there is a bus between them.

The eating is among the best in any ski region, because this is Catalonia and it shows. Reserve dinner properly rather than turning up. Après here happens over long lunches rather than in bars, so plan the day around that, and spend a night in Vielha if you can.