A rounded mountain standing alone above the Puster valley in South Tyrol, with villages scattered around its base and Bruneck, a proper walled town, at its foot. The lift system is among the most modern in the Alps and the grooming is close to obsessive.

Wide, immaculate, mostly intermediate pistes run in every direction from a flat summit, with a couple of genuinely steep descents for people who want them. It is excellent for families and improvers.

At the summit there is a Messner Mountain Museum designed by Zaha Hadid, built into the rock, and it is worth an hour of anyone's day.

Hotels with half board and spas are good value for the Dolomiti Superski pass they include. Stop for lunch on the mountain, because South Tyrolean cooking is the best reason to.