Piedmont, Italy

Capital City: Turin
Closest Airport: Turin Caselle Airport
Population: 4,289,000
Resort Area: Valle di Susa - Sestriere - Val Chisone - Val Germanasca
Snow Season: December -April
Main Language: Italian
Currency: Euro

For a region that's only just hosted the winter Olympics, you'd expect the skiing and riding in Piemonte to be pretty damn fantastic. And it is. Piemonte has over fifty ski resorts, including party town Sauze d'Oulx, as well as Pragelato, Sestriere, San Sicario, Cesana and Pinerolo - all of which were prime venues in the games.

The terrain here is varied. Whether you like your skiing holidays tranquil or full-on manic, you're likely to find your own little bit of paradise. There are resorts with wide open beginner spaces and others with sheer faces. Powder hounds tend to head for the Valsesia area, and Alagna in particular - which is famed for some of the best off-piste in Europe. And with a 2,500 metre vertical drop up for grabs, it's not hard to see why.