The ski resort of Sestriere , Italy is one of the most well-kept and picturesque centers of the so-called “Milky Way”, which is a large ski region in Europe. The height of Sestriere is 2035 meters.
This resort has been the venue for large-scale competitions in winter sports more than once. Thus, Sestriere hosted the 1997 World Ski Championship and the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.
How to get there
Today, travelers from different parts of Europe and the world come to rest in Sestriere.
Getting to it is not so difficult. It is enough to fly to Turin, and then make a 112-kilometer transfer, which takes about 2 hours on average.
Weather and climate
Tours to Sestriere, as well as to other high-altitude regions of Italy, should be planned for the winter period of the year, when the tracks have a stable snow cover, and the mountain landscapes acquire a special winter severity and charm at the same time. Tourists love to take photos of these picturesque landscapes, whose cold beauty warms the soul no less than photos from beach resorts in Italy.
Average January temperatures in Sestriere are -1 during the day and -8 degrees at night. It gets a little warmer in March: +4 during the day, -4 at night. In April, even the night temperature rarely drops below zero, and the daytime temperature is exactly +8 degrees. Summer in this region is somewhat cool. The warmest time here is in July, when at noon the thermometer shows an average of +18, and at night the temperature stays around +10.
Infrastructure
In addition to skiing, Sestriere provides opportunities for tennis and basketball. There are gyms, saunas, beauty salons. In Sestriere you can find yourself paragliding or riding snowmobiles. You can go downhill on a sled on a track 500 meters long.
In the summer, you can go horseback riding, trekking, mountain biking, rafting, kayaking, tennis, basketball, and especially golf.
Sestriere has one of the highest 18-hole golf courses in the world. Namely Vialattea Golf Club. It was built in the 1930s. And it has a length of 4955 meters.
The ski resort of Sestriere (Italy) is famous for its luxurious hotels, residences, chalets and apartments. Here you can also find excellent restaurants (more than 30), shops, cafes, night clubs and three dozen bars.
Cestriere is the first purpose-built alpine resort in Italy.
An important role was played by the fact that the sponsor of the construction of the resort was the largest automobile concern Fiat.
Sestriere also has an advantageous geographical position: it is close to the border with France, which attracts many famous and wealthy people here: you can ride in two countries at once. In addition, the altitude of skiing here is also very good: from 1400 to 2823 m.
The hotel facilities of the resort can accommodate 13,000 guests at the same time, most skiers stay in the private sector, but there are also 18 hotels. Good hotels:
“Grand Hotel” ****,
“Savoy Edelweiss” ***,
“Club Med”
After skiing, there is a modern indoor sports complex with a swimming pool, saunas, and a Turkish bath.
Before the 2006 Olympics, a new swimming pool was opened in November 2003 with two connected baths in the open air and in the hall. There are indoor tennis courts, the Black Sun disco and restaurants. There are many bars, check out Pinky, Prestige and Palace.
Often, on the snowy slopes of Sestriere or on the territory of a tourist village, you can meet famous athletes, among whom there are not only skiers, but also people from other sports professions. In addition, the resort is sometimes visited by film and show business stars, although the probability of meeting them here is significantly lower than, for example, in Madonna di Campillo or in Cortina d’Ampezzo. The cost of various types of services, including equipment rental, technical service, transportation or accommodation in hotels here is greatly overestimated, however, the high prices are justified by the corresponding status of the resort and its authority. The restaurants always serve delicious food, the hotels are located in the immediate vicinity of the lifts, the rental offices are ready to provide the appropriate equipment and equipment at any time, and the tracks are kept in perfect order all season.
Tracks, slopes, lifts
On the map of Sestriere, three main Italian skiing areas are distinguished:
- Monte Benketu 2555 m
- Monte Cises 2600 m
- Monte Fraiteve 2701 m (this is the only zone for Sestriere and the resort town of Souze d’Oulx).
It is also customary to include the Sansiscario ski area and the French Montgenevre as part of the resort . The latter is not included in the zone of the single ski-pass of Sestriere.
This is a popular resort in the Italian Alps. In winter, it accommodates about 20,000 people. Sestriere has illuminated ski slopes that allow you to ski even at night.
The total length of ski tracks is 249 km. A special feature of this ski resort is the opportunity to experience all the beauty of night skiing.
The length of the lighted track is 1,400 m. The length of the cross-country ski track is 6 km. You can go snowboarding in Sestriere, although there are no special tracks for snowboarders.
Sleds, skates, hiking, snowmobiles are all available to the discerning tourist who wants to brighten up his leisure time.
Most of the local slopes are oriented to the northwest, their height is from 1840 to 2820 m, and the snow cover is reliable for most of the season even without artificial snow, which is used quite widely, for example, in almost the entire sector of Sizes. From Sestriere, several lifts go to the top of Monte Motta (2823 m), known for the variety of “red” and “black” tracks. From the nearby peak of Monte Cizez (2600 m) there are long “black” descents to the resort.
The Col Basset cable car (2,424 m) connects Sestriere with the neighboring Sansicario area, which is full of “red” and “black” runs. Lifts connect Sansicario with the third ski area – Claviere.
Sestriere is good for experienced skiers, who will enjoy the steep pistes on the upper slopes of both sectors and the excellent off-piste skiing on a number of Sizes and Fraiteve routes. The potential of the slopes of the region exceeds the productivity of the entire infrastructure (the number of hotels, restaurants, lifts, buses), so there are clearly not enough people on the slopes.
Intermediate level skiers will not have to be bored either, they can go around almost all areas of Via Latte.
But there are also excellent conditions for beginners: several playgrounds and easy, gentle descents at the bottom of the Banketta slopes. In this large area, “black”, “red” and easy “blue” tracks are adjacent without problems.
Banqueta is definitely the main “highlight” of this region. It is covered with a network of cannons on all tracks, installed every 15-20 m, there is always a lot of snow here. The skiing is wonderful, some believe that if you equip the legendary Cheget, something similar can be achieved. There are lifts with the inscription: “only for experts”.
The Souze d’Oulx region is located on the other side of the 2,400 m Col Basset mountain. Most of the trails here are blue, they run along forested slopes. This place is considered the birthplace of Italian skiing: it was here in 1897 that the first descents from the mountains on skis were made. The slope above the Monte Cisese lift station is almost always closed, it is used only for World Cup competitions. From the middle of the slope, two blue tracks and two short, 250 m, lighted red tracks are available. On the slope of Mount Motta, there are two slopes of 2500 m – red and black. With the district of San Sicario Sestriereconnects the cabin elevator. Mainly black and red tracks are concentrated here. On a wide plateau located at an altitude of 2700 m, there is a toboggan run and a stadium for biathletes. In the Claviere area, there are many different slopes, almost all of them are accessible to beginners, except for one – Gialla, a relief and fast one, 800 m long.
The longest and most difficult descent in the Rio Nero region (9 km, height difference 1150 m).
Beautiful flat cross-country skiing (15 km).
Ski-pass for 6 days – 117-149 euros (depending on the season).
For snowboarders: Border parks in Sestriere and Montgenevre.
Sights in Sestriere
Unlike most alpine resorts, Sestriere is built in an industrial style, so you won’t be able to enjoy the cozy alpine scenery here. Here you can see the Olympic village. Most of the facilities built for the Olympics are currently empty.
Not far from the town there is an ancient monastery that can be visited. Many tourists go on an excursion to Turin, the road to which takes an average of 2.5 hours. In this ancient city there are many attractions and architectural monuments that cannot be seen in one day. This is the famous Turin Cathedral, where the Shroud of Jesus Christ is kept, and the Superga Monastery, and many museums – the Egyptian Museum, the Museum of Cinematography, the Automobile Museum, the Mountain Museum, and others.
The building of the Museum of Cinematography is built in the shape of an inverted glass (previously it was planned that the Mole Antonelliana Synagogue would be located in it). The museum was opened in 2000. Here you can watch movies on the floor-to-ceiling screens, sitting down in oddly shaped chairs. Opened in 1824, the Egyptian Museum houses about 30,000 unique exhibits, including the famous Golden Mask and the Pharaoh’s papyrus. According to archaeologists, the exposition of the Turin Museum of Egypt is comparable in importance to the values contained in the Cairo Museum. The collection of the Automobile Museum contains about 200 exhibits, from vintage wagons to modern racing cars.
Turin and its surroundings are home to castles, the residences of the so-called House of Savoy. In 1997, they were included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites (in Turin – Palazzo Reali, Palazzo Madama, Palazzo Carignano and Castle Valentino; beyond the city limits – Castle Racconigi and Castle Stupinighi).