Sestriere Ski Resort, Italy – one of the most well-groomed 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 winter sports competitions more than once. For example, Sestriere hosted the 1997 World Ski Championships and the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.
How to get there
Today, travelers from all over Europe and the world come to Sestriere to rest.
Getting there is not that 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 pictures of these picturesque landscapes, whose cold beauty warms the soul no less than photos from beach resorts in Italy.
The average January temperatures in Sestriere are -1 during the day and -8 degrees at night. In March, it gets a little warmer: +4 during the day, -4 at night. In April, even the night temperature rarely drops below zero, and the daytime temperature is +8 degrees at all. Summer in this region is somewhat cool. The warmest here is in July, when at noon the thermometer shows an average of +18, and at night the temperature is around +10.
Infrastructure
In addition to skiing, Sestriere provides opportunities for tennis and basketball. There are gyms, saunas, and beauty salons. In Sestriere you can find yourself paragliding or snowmobiling. A speed sledding descent can be done on a 500-meter track.
In summer you can go horse 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 has a length of 4955 meters.
The ski resort of Sestriere (Italy) is famous for its luxury hotels, residences, chalets and apartments. Here you can also find excellent restaurants (over 30), shops, cafes, nightclubs and three dozen bars.
Sestriere is the first purpose-built alpine resort in Italy.
An important role was also played by the fact that the largest automobile concern Fiat sponsored the construction of the resort.
Sestriere also has a favorable geographical location: the border with France is nearby, which attracts many famous and wealthy people here: you can ski in two countries at once. In addition, the skiing altitudes here are very good: from 1400 to 2823 m.
The resort’s hotel structures are capable of accommodating 13,000 guests at a time, most skiers stay in the private sector, but there are also 18 hotels. Good hotels:
«Grand Hotel» ****,
«Savoy Edelweiss» ***,
«Club Med»
After skiing, a modern indoor sports complex with swimming pool, saunas, Turkish bath.
In November 2003, a new swimming pool with two connected outdoor and indoor baths was opened for the 2006 Olympics. 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 in the tourist village, you can meet famous athletes, among whom there are not only skiers, but also people of other sports professions. In addition, the resort is sometimes visited by movie and show business stars, although the probability of meeting them here is noticeably lower than, for example, in Madonna di Campiglio or in Cortina d’Ampezzo. The cost of various services, including equipment rental, technical service, transportation or hotel accommodation here is greatly overpriced, 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 close proximity to the lifts, the rental points are ready to provide the appropriate equipment and gear at any time, and the slopes are kept in perfect order throughout the season.
Trails, slopes, lifts
On the map of Sestriere, three main Italian skiing areas are distinguished:
- Monte Benquetu 2555 m
- Monte Cises 2600 m
- Monte Fraiteve 2701 m (this is the only area for Sestriere and the resort town of Sauze d’Oulx).
It is also customary to include the skiing area Sansicario and the French Montgenevre. The latter is not included in the Sestriere ski pass zone.
This is a popular resort in the Italian Alps. In winter, it accommodates about 20,000 people. Sestriere has floodlit ski slopes, allowing you to ski even at night.
The total length of ski slopes is 249 km. A feature of this ski resort is the opportunity to experience all the beauty of night skiing.
The length of the illuminated trail is 1,400 m. The length of the cross-country ski trail is 6 km. You can snowboard in Sestriere, although there are no special trails for snowboarders there.
Sledding, ice skating, hiking, snowmobiling are all available to the demanding 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 Cises sector. From Sestriere, several lifts depart to the peak of Monte Motta (2823 m), known for its variety of “red” and “black” runs. From the neighboring peak of Monte Cises (2600 m), long “black” runs lead to the resort.
The Col Basset gondola (2424 m) connects Sestriere with the neighboring Sansicario area, which is full of “red” and “black” slopes. The lifts connect Sansicario with the third skiing area – Claviere.
Sestriere is good for experienced skiers: they will like the steep slopes on the upper slopes of both sectors and excellent off-piste skiing on a number of routes in Cizes and Frayteve. The potential of the region’s slopes exceeds the productivity of the entire infrastructure (number of hotels, restaurants, lifts, buses), so there are clearly not enough people on the slopes.
Intermediate skiers will not 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 slopes in the lower part of the slopes of Banketta. In this large area, “black”, “red” and easy “blue” trails coexist without problems.
Banketta is definitely the main “highlight” of this region. It is covered with a network of cannons along all trails, installed every 15-20 m, there is always a lot of snow here. The skiing is wonderful, some believe that if the legendary Cheget were equipped, something similar could be achieved. There are lifts that are marked “for experts only”.
The Souza d’Oulx region is located on the other side of the 2,400 m high Col Basset. Most of the runs 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 Ciseux lift station is almost always closed, it is used only for World Cup competitions. From the middle of the slope, two blue runs and two short, 250 m long, illuminated red runs are available. On the slope of Mount Motta, two runs of 2,500 m are available – red and black. A gondola lift connects Sestriere with the San Sicario area. Mainly black and red runs 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, 800 m long.
The longest and most difficult descent in the Rio Nero region (9 km, elevation gain 1150 m).
Beautiful flat cross-country skiing (15 km).
Ski-pass for 6 days – 117-149 euros (depending on the season).
For snowboarders: Boarder 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 landscapes here. Here you can explore the Olympic village. Most of the facilities built for the Olympics are currently empty.
Not far from the town is an ancient monastery that can be explored. Many tourists go on an excursion to Turin, the road to which takes an average of 2.5 hours. This ancient city has many attractions and architectural monuments that cannot be seen in one day. These include the famous Turin Cathedral, which houses the shroud of Jesus Christ, the Superga Monastery, and many museums – the Egyptian Museum, the Cinema Museum, the Automobile Museum, the Mountain Museum and others.
The building of the Cinema Museum is built in the shape of an inverted glass (it was previously planned that the Mole Antonelliana synagogue would be located there). The museum was opened in 2000. Here you can watch movies on floor-to-ceiling screens, sitting in chairs of a bizarre shape. The Egyptian Museum, opened in 1824, houses about 30,000 unique exhibits, including the famous Golden Mask and the Pharaoh’s Papyrus. According to archaeologists, the Turin Museum of Egypt’s exhibition is comparable in importance to the treasures contained in the Cairo Museum. The Automobile Museum’s collection contains about 200 exhibits, from ancient carts to modern racing cars.
In Turin and its surroundings are located 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 Reale, Palazzo Madama, Palazzo Carignano and Valentino Castle; outside the city limits – Racconigi Castle and Stupinigi Castle).
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