A long high valley near the Swiss border with duty free status, which is why the main street is lined with shops selling perfume, watches, sunglasses and alcohol at prices you will not see elsewhere in the Alps. The village stretches across several kilometres, so where you book matters, and the free bus is worth using if you end up at the far end.

The skiing is high, snow sure and sunny, with terrain on both sides of the valley. One side is for cruising and the other holds the parks and freestyle ground. It suits beginners and intermediates and stays reliable from December to April. Hotels, apartments and bed and breakfasts cost below most of the Alps once the duty free is counted. Eat where the Valtellina cooking is, because pizzoccheri and bresaola are local here rather than imported, and keep an afternoon for the thermal baths.