Located in the Rhaetian region of the central Alps, Lombardy province, Bormio has been an internationally renowned resort since hosting the 1985 Alpine Ski World Championship. This upmarket ski and snowboard resort features a good cross-section of slopes and superb facilities.

Bormio is a charming Alpine town with a traditional Italian atmosphere and a commendable history, featuring Romanesque architecture. In the medieval part of the village are hotels, restaurants and shops that make strolling a fashionable delight. Bormio is also widely recognized for its spa/thermal treatments.

There are over 5,000 beds in one- to four-star hotels, apartments and private homes, and Bormio’s cafés and restaurants are renowned for their delicious Italian fare and local wines. Ice-skating, swimming and spa treatments supplement the après-ski scene, which also includes many churches, palaces and museums as well as a host of bars and nightclubs.

Bormio offers limited skiing and snowboarding on the big inverted ice-cream cone that is the Vallecetta Mountain. There are 33kms of groomed slopes, with 10kms of off-piste opportunities for experts, a longest run of 10kms and a vertical drop of 1,770m. Nineteen uphill conveyances, including two cable cars, a gondola, seven chairs and nine draglifts have an hourly capacity for 19,000 people.

For alternative skiing and more variety, the Valtellina lift pass includes the ski areas of Livigno and Santa Caterina, and there is also summer skiing on the Passo Stelvio Glacier (20kms from Bormio) from May to November. Additionally, the exclusive resort of St Moritz is just over the border in Switzerland.

The ski season at Bormio runs from December to April and there are low season rates up to the Christmas holidays and from January 7 to 29. The most convenient way to get to Bormio ski resort is to fly to Milan and hire a car or take the Skibus.