Ski Livigno

In a sunny peaceful valley in the Northern Alps rests one of the highest permanently inhabited villages in Europe. A relatively recent resort La Livigno is still one of Italys best kept secrets.

Because of its tax-free status and high altitude (resort level is 1816m, top lift is 2797m) it has the winning combination of bargain aprs-ski and fantastic snow conditions.

In the seventeenth century tax-inspectors attempting the journey to la Livigno soon realised it was easier not to bother. This is how, over the years, it developed into a tax-haven and now boasts over 200 shops selling duty free booze, perfume jewellery and the usual ski attire. It also holds the record for the most bars in a ski resort, surprisingly this doesnt give it the party atmosphere youd expect. Many of these establishments are small and quiet spread out along the 8 km long village. There is a free ski bus which constantly drives back and forth throughout the day.

La Livignos first lift was built in 1958, its fast development now provides us with over a hundred hotels and thirty five modern lifts. They have still kept one of their oldest lifts at San Rocco; it takes a numbing eighteen minutes for this rickety 2 man chair to get you to the top!

Zurich is 4hrs away and Milan 5 hrs so not the best transfer time. In the Lombardy Province of Italy your lift pass covers 115 km of piste, if you get the Alta Valtellina area pass you have much more choice, accessing Bormio, Santa Caterina and you even have the option of a day in the famous St Moritz a few kilometres north of Livigno.

The rule of thumb here is generally the higher up you are the steeper the runs. All the gentle nursery runs are based around the village, because of the altitude these are always snow sure. Midway up is where you'll find the majority of big wide motorway style runs. The highest skiing is at Mount Della Neve with some challenging blacks that only expert skiers should undertake.

For those on their Snowboarding Holidays you will have three board parks to play in. Mottolino has some gut-wrenchingly high jumps and is where the pros hang out. Carosello is for intermediates and San Rocco beginners.

You will spot signs everywhere forbidding off-piste, this rule seems to be generally disregarded. Experienced free-riders will find the off-piste easily reached, if you want to get to the pristine powder fields, a good hour and a half hike is needed. Livigno does welcome snowboarders although some terrain is out of bounds and is skis only.

Cocktails seem to be the order of the day after the last lift has stopped. You have 137 watering holes to choose from, Gulliver Pub, Echo Bar and Pioca are popular with a great buzz. Karaoke Bivio is hilarious, especially if youre holidaying in a group. Livigno doesnt really get going until about 11pm with many of the revellers going on to dance into the wee hours at the typically Italian Cielo and Kokadi.

Eating out is very affordable with hearty Italian fare. Ristorante La Posa does excellent pizza, if pasta is more your taste dont miss a visit to Ristorante il Cantuccio.

Other diversions include the usual snowshoeing, dog sledding, ice-skating and snow mobils. Para-gliding is available and check out www.ghiacciodromo.com to sign yourself up for an ice-driving course on Lake Livigno.

There are plenty of gyms, swimming pools, a bowling alley, badminton courts and for the less active, billiards and even a weekly chess club.

We would recommend this low cost resort for family ski holidays, beginner ski and intermediate skiers. Snowboarders will enjoy the parks but may find the rest of the resort limiting and experts will need the larger area ski pass to keep them challenged for the week.