The ski resort of Formigal is located at the heart of the Spanish Pyrenees in the region of Aragon. It's a lively purpose-built resort, suitable for beginners, intermediate skiers and families. It's just eight kilometres from the French border and shares the Tena Valley with the neighbouring resort of Candanchu.

Good quality, cheap food and drink are available at several bars and restaurants on and off the pistes. The fixed price ‘menu del dia’ is exceptionally good value compared with the kind of prices you have to pay in the more exclusive Swiss and French resorts. There's a good range of accommodation, including self-catering apartments in and around the resort and four-star hotels in the village itself. The four-star hotels include the 125-room Hotel Formigal, which has excellent facilities and wonderful mountain views from many of the bedroom balconies.

The slopes rise to 2,250m and the season lasts from December to early May. There are 57kms of marked runs, consisting of four greens, 13 blues and 24 reds. More than 21,000 skiers per hour can be transported via the resort's 22 lifts (one gondola, five chairlifts and 16 draglifts). Expert skiers have the option of going off-piste or heading for the more challenging resort of Candanchu, which has steep, tough blacks to rival the hardest Alpine slopes. The resort's ski school has more than 50 instructors and there are 109 snow cannons at the ready to keep the pistes open when nature fails to come up with the goods. There's a slalom course, a half-pipe for snowboarders and the chance to try your hand at heli-skiing.

Parents can make use of the resort's Guarderia, which takes children from the age of four months to five years, between the hours of 08:00 and 19:00. However, for non skiers or snowboarders, there is little to do in Formigal during the daytime, although there is an ice rink in the town should you want an alternative wintry activity. The beautiful French city of Pau, the pilgrimage site at Lourdes and the neighbouring ski centres of Cadanchu, Panticosa and Cerler are all within easy reach of Formigal.

The season lasts from December to early May, with the first three weeks in December being the cheapest.

Pamplona and Zaragoza are the nearest major cities. Pamplona is served by direct flights from Barcelona and Madrid. Formigal can be reached by bus and car from either city.