Sestriere Ski Resort Italy
Sestriere ski resort Italy was one of the world’s first purpose-built ski areas way back in the 1930s. Its high elevation ski resort village of 2,035m elevation, guarantees wonderful snow conditions & a fun-filled ski holiday.
Located west of Turin (Torino), Sestriere is the best-known resort in the deliciously large (and world's best value!) Via Lattea (Milky Way) ski pass which links Sestriere's neighbours Sauze d’Oulx, Cesana-Sansicario, Claviere, plus Montgenèvre across the border in France.
To get the best out of this high alpine Italian ski experience go to Sestriere during the week (not weekends), take your kids, get the cheap as chips Via Lattea ski pass (see below), do a crash course in the Italian language & then ski, ski ski. Don't forget to have an Aperol Spritz or two as well.
Pros and Cons for Sestriere Ski Resort
Pros
- High altitude, snow-sure location.
- Best advanced on-piste trails in the area.
- Super fun & fast intermediate ski terrain.
- Quiet on weekdays.
- Diverse range of freeride off-piste, high-alpine & tree skiing.
- Best value lift ticket in Europe (if not the world!).
- Direct access to other Via Lattea ski resorts (Sauze d’Oulx, Sansicario) via the Fraiteve gondola.
- Village has all services & facilities.
- Local accommodations do superb half-board dining.
Cons
- Busy on weekends.
- Limited beginner trails.
- Accommodation standard is generally embellished!
- Village is dated.
Pro or Con (depending on your perspective!)
- Après only gets interesting on weekends.
- Not the prettiest village in the world, but beauty is often in the eyes of the beholder!
Skiing & Snowboarding, Lifts & Terrain
Sestriere and its nearby Via Lattea ski resorts hosted the World Alpine Ski Championships in 1997 & alpine events in the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics. Hence it is an area well suited to intermediate & advanced skiers on the piste. Challenging off-piste terrain is available for powder seekers & fresh snow can lay unsullied in the trees & alongside piste runs for days, particularly mid-week. Snow quality at Sestriere is excellent due its combination of altitude & aspect. Skiable vertical within the sector is less than 1,000m.
Check out the ski trail map, only for Sestriere, below.
Whilst its reputation might be huge, Sestriere is a relatively compact ski resort, offering 58 piste trails (as part of the Via Lattea's 238 run total) in three main sectors: Sises (directly in front of the Sestriere village), Motta (above the Borgata village, down valley from Sestriere) & Fraiteve (rising up behind the village). Luckily, a standard day lift pass allows access to all the Italian Milky Way ski slopes (305km worth) beyond the Sestriere terrain.
Motta is the highest sector (at 2,800m), has more skiing options, and is best known for its long challenging piste trails. Letting it rip down these runs for the full 960m vertical is a wonderful eye watering experience. A range of skiable tree runs & alpine freeride terrain are available up high. Sises provides good off-piste action from the summit, plus a series of shorter pistes for all abilities. The fun top section of Sises area (similarly to Motta) is served by a longish surface tow which may challenge some snowboarders. Fraiteve may have a limited number of on-piste trails, but it is the true centre of the Italian sector of the Via Lattea. Sensational off-piste freeride possibilities are on all aspects from its 2,700m summit.
Beginner slopes and a snow-park are above the ski school meeting point near the village centre, which is nice & handy if you are starting out. There are several easy beginner trails in the Borgata ski area & a longer trail coming down from the Fraiteve gondola mid-station behind the village that gets fun as it runs along the road lower down.
Interlinked with the Via Lattea
it is easy to access all the Italian Via Lattea ski resorts directly from Sestriere via the Fraiteve gondola using the standard daily ski pass. The gondola is the best access to the other resorts in the area, effectively tripling the Sestriere ski area off one lift. Sestriere is directly adjacent to Sauze d'Oulx & Cesana-Sansicario. Claviere & Montgenevre ski areas are quite distant from Sestriere but can reached within 1hr by lifts & pistes.
See here for the Via Lattea ski trail map.
From the top of the gondola one can head left to Sansicario - Cesana (& then eventually Claviere), or right into the excellent Sauze d'Oulx. The total of ski trail in the Italian sector of the Via Lattea is a hefty 305km. From Claviere, a supplement is required to be paid for the ski pass to cover the lifts & 95km of trails at the Montgenèvre ski resort in France (highly recommended).
For detailed information of ski lifts, terrain & lift passes, see our Sestriere Skiing & Snowboarding page.
Where is Sestriere Italy?
Sestriere is located 100km west of Turin, in the Piedmont region of Italy. The nearest international airports are Turin (TRN) & Milan Malpensa (MXP), although train access is good, meaning Paris (CDG) & Lyon (LYS) are viable options as well.
Oulx is the closest gateway town to Sestriere (21km away) & provides the best train & bus transport links to the resort. Trains from Milan, Turin, Lyon & Paris all stop at Oulx. The train journey from Paris to Oulx is around 5hr, from Turin about 1hr. From Oulx station, regular buses (or taxi) link to Sestriere in about 30 minutes.
In a post COVID-19 world, private transfers may be preferable to some than public transport. Search & book here for direct private transfers to Sestriere.
By rental car, the quickest access to Sestriere from Turin is via Oulx and Cesana off the E70 motorway (autostrade - toll road). Travel time is 1½hr. For a more scenic route, one can also take the A55/SP23 road from Turin via Pinerolo. Travel time is 2hr.
For detailed information on the best ways to get there, see our Travel to Sestriere page.
Sestriere Accommodation
Sestriere consists of three villages along the SP23 road that are lift connected directly into the resort: Sestriere, Sestriere Borgata, Pragelato. Three smaller hamlets down the road are reckoned to be part of the resort by virtue of the ability to ‘ski-in’ via the off-piste from Monte Fraiteve: Champlas du Col, Champlas Janvier & Champlas Seguin. Each of the hamlets is best accessed with a car. Away from the lifts & slopes numerous smaller clusters of lodgings & villages dot the landscape.
Search & book here for all Sestriere ski accommodation.
It is unfortunate the main ski village at Sestriere lacks the charm & romance of a classic European ski resort. But while its architecture is certainly not to everyone's taste, Sestriere village does have one massive advantage - location, location, location. It has a pleasingly sunny & snow laden location, plus is far and away the best positioned for access to the majority of shops, services, lifts, ski slopes and the rest of the Via Lattea via the gondola direct to the summit of Fraiteve.
In Sestriere, the accommodation standards of many apartments, and to a lesser degree the hotels, are commonly embellished. There are, however, several real standouts including the Hotel Shackleton Mountain Resort (to name but one on this page). The plethora of apartment accommodation built for the 2006 Olympics provide reasonably modern, well out-fitted, good value lodgings without being anything close to luxurious.
For detailed information & recommendations on the best ski accommodation in the resort, see our Where to Stay in Sestriere page.
Ski Rentals, Lessons & Guiding
Ski rentals are available in the Sestriere village near the ski lifts. Receive a discount when you search & book via our Sestriere Ski & Snowboard Rental page.
If you need, ski or snowboard lessons, or off-piste mountain guiding, compare search & book the best local instructors & guides via our Sestriere Ski Lessons & Guiding page.
Sestriere Après Ski, Dining & Activities
The best après ski action is where the village fronts the ski slopes. The ‘best seats in the house’ are on the terraces of the I.GLOO Sky Bar just next to the main ski school building. Of note along the shops of the ‘frontside’ is the petite Le Bistrot wine bar (good lunch/dinner/coffee too). The aprés ski really kicks in over the weekends when the locals from Turin come to play but is still fun with your own group mid-week too.
The local hotel accommodation does incredibly good half board with extravagant multi-course breakfasts & dinners the norm at most establishments. For authentic local cuisine in delightful surrounds, heading down to the mountainside hamlet of Champlas Janvier for lunch or dinner at Ristorante Du Grand Pere is a fantastic Sestriere experience.
Sestriere has 10km of cross-country ski tracks and sled dog rides from near the gondola base.
Review
The Powderhounds have reviewed Sestriere in 2017 & 2020. We love its affordability & the access to massive terrain in the Via Lattea. Read the reviews via the links in the left column (or top of page if on a mobile).
See how Sestriere compares to the rest of the Italian ski resorts on the Italy ski resort ratings page, or compare to the rest of Europe on the European ski resort ratings page.
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