Sestriere was the first purpose-built village in the Alps. It hosted the 1997 World Championships and will ran many of the races at the 2006 Turin Olympic Games.

Until 1930, the spot occupied by Sestriere was a meadow used by farmers from the surrounding hamlets and boasted just one small hotel, built in 1921. In 1930, a Senator Agnelli built the first ski-lift, together with the famous round tower hotels. Thus was created Italy's first modern ski-resort, which has now grown into a stylish destination. 1½ mls long and 600 yds wide, it is small enough to get around easily but big enough to offer a wide variety of shops, accommodation and principally good-quality skiing.

The resort itself is not overly attractive, as opposed to the stunning scenery around, but it does have everything you need off-snow: plenty for non-skiers to do, a good range of restaurants, mainly hotel-based accommodation and up-tempo nightlife at the weekends, which caters to the Italian brigades up from Turin and Milan.

There is steep terrain and off-piste for advanced skiers, great scope for intermediates and good facilities for beginners. This is all supported by a continually improving lift system, which only gets overloaded at weekends and on major holidays.

Most of the modern buildings are privately owned holiday apartments, so the place is much busier at weekends and at Italian holidays. There are over 20 hotels and apartment complexes, mainly in the 2- and 3-star range. Most of the better-quality 4-stars are run as "club hotels" like Club Med and its Italian equivalent.

Sestriere has a reputation as a resort for the Italian jet set, as it hosts the Alpine Skiing World Cup every year. However, outside those few days, it has appeal for most types of keen skiers wanting modern resort facilities rather than quaint alpine villages.

Locality:

Sestriere is in the NW of Italy, on the W edge of its Piemonte region, in Torino province. It is 10 mls from Claviere on the French border, 58 mls W of Turin, 138 mls SW of Milan's airports. Sestriere is set on a high mountain pass between the valleys of the Chisone and Ripa rivers. Most of the resort sits on fairly steep ground facing generally S, overlooking the N-facing local pistes. The exit roads to the E and W drop down steeply into their respective valleys.

Ski Information:

Highest lift: 2840m (9317ft)
Lowest lift: 1840m (6037ft)
Vertical drop: 1000m (3281ft)
Number of lifts: 92
Uplift capacity: 70900 p/hr
Number of slopes: 146
Beginner: 29%
Intermediate: 50%
Expert: 21%
Total piste length: 400km
Snowboard parks: 1
Cross country: 15km