Aosta Valley, Italy

Capital City: Aosta
Closest Airport: Geneva
Population: 120,000
Resort Area: Cormayeur - Cervinia - Champoluc - La Thuile
Snow Season: December - April
Main Language: Italian
Currency: Euro

Valle d'Aosta is in northern Italy, perched precariously at the very top of the boot. Although the smallest of Italy's 20 regions, it has arguably the best skiing and snowboarding in the country with possibly the best all-round resort - Cormayeur. The terrain here is fantastic (as you'd expect, being on the Mont Blanc massif), though experts might be tempted to cross over into France for the truly terrifying stuff.

Other top resorts in the area include La Thuile and Cervinia, which is up near the Swiss border on the other side of the Matterhorn to Zermatt. Zermatt probably got the better terrain when it was being dished out all those years ago, but there are still plenty of challenging runs at Cervinia (and a casino!), and it won't burn a hole in your wallet to ski them.