Where to stay: Located in the heart of the village, 28-room Hotel Macchi offers old-school Savoyard hospitality and a delicious complimentary breakfast. This isn’t a party town, though l’Avalanche, an English pub, can get rowdy when big sporting events are screened. The terrain at Châtel is ideal for beginner and intermediate skiers experts can find more challenging runs beneath the gondola on the Linga sector, which is linked via gondola from Châtel. A working farming community, the village is anchored around an old stone church and accommodations are largely wooden chalets. One of 12 linked ski resorts that make up the enormous Portes du Soleil ski area (300 slopes, 197 lifts) which straddles the border between France and Switzerland, Châtel has managed to maintain its rustic alpine authenticity. Stats: There are 22 lifts for 62 miles of slopes. The excellent restaurant, Brasserie 1809, tries to only source ingredients from a 90 mile range. Loyal guests return for thoughtful touches like the heated floors and the Capra ski cabin, located next to the cable car so you can warm up with hot cocoa. Where to stay: Swiss hospitality is at its finest at the Capra, an alpine-chic stay named for the area’s mountain goats. And don’t miss the signature gnocchi with goulash sauce, either. A meal at Allalin, the world’s highest revolving restaurant set at 11,482 feet, is a must. A true winter sports destination, you can do it all here, from ice climbing and snowshoeing to tobogganing the twisty Feebliz bobsled run and Nordic skiing along 16 miles of groomed classic and skate ski trails. And if you’re itching for a fix in the summer, the ski area offers 12 miles of glacier skiing typically beginning in July. Due to its high-altitude slopes, winters are reliably snowy (and sunny, boasting more than 300 rays a year).

Set at the base of the Dom, Switzerland’s tallest mountain, the car-free village of Saas-Fee oozes authentic charm with its narrow streets lined with old cow sheds.

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