Snowy mountains of Bardonecchia

Located in the city of Turin, in the Western part of Susa Valley this snowy wonder is home to a skier’s paradise.

As an extremely unexperienced skier, this was my first time and this was pretty much the most perfect destination to do it in. After a slightly terrifying journey up the side of a mountain in a double decker coach feeling like we would topple over the side, we arrived at the small city of Bardonecchia.

When we ventured in to the main square near our hotel, it was lined with little shops and restaurants, but was extremely quiet and peaceful apart from the odd one or two people wandering about.

The ski resort we were using looked to be the main or only in the city and a hotel was a located right on the slopes. The resort had a cosy restaurant for when you want a little break and a hot chocolate whilst you wish you could be as good as the pro’s on the black slopes.

If you aren’t a keen skier there are always instructors there to give you a helping hand, with availabilities to book lessons, don’t let the idea of it scare you off. However, from the times we had time away to wander in to the town when we weren’t skiing through the day, we found there wasn’t a great deal to do as of course it is mainly a skiing place so tourists go specifically for this reason.

Of course, skiing holidays can be extremely pricey, and this holiday was no exception as it came at quite a cost. If you are on a budget, avoid a ski holiday because no matter what you will end up spending a lot of money.

I don’t think anyone could deny the incredible views everywhere you looked. If I could have had my camera strapped to my hands at all times whilst trying to navigate down the mountains I would have (as a skiing newbie I decided against this idea).

To conclude – if you want a skiing holiday, be prepared to spend a lot of money. Bring a camera because the views are too incredible to not have on camera forever. Pack them thermals! Although you might expect it to be extremely cold amongst all of that snow – and trust me it can get chilly – the sun is also beaming down on you (of course depending on the time of year). We went in February and the weather was pretty perfect. We wrapped up most days with thermals as well as our ski clothes, however, a lot of the time we stripped down and had to take off our jackets and pop on some sunnies.

I can safely say I won’t be a professional skier in this life, but I thoroughly enjoyed attempting to keep up with the instructors. I can also say, that even if I didn’t ski I would still love to go back to this quaint city purely to enjoy the panoramic views from the top of those mountains.

Overall, Bardonecchia was an incredible place to ski and I loved every second of it. The food, the people and the place was amazing and I definitely wouldn’t hesitate in returning.