Best Italian Ski Resorts - Bormio
/The Best Italian Ski Resort - In my opinion!
Bormio is one of those places you want to keep a secret! Papa' Prada has been coming here since he was six years old and we have been here together regularly for over ten years, more recently with our two children. In our eyes it is one of the Best Italian Ski Resorts.
Bormio is a beautiful ancient mountain village and ski resort in the Northern Italian Alps. Not tarnished by too much après ski, cheaper than France and Austria and not overwhelmed by visitors. It does get busy and a few British people have found it, but mostly it’s a second home destination for Italians living around Milan.
Long ago it was a place of interest for Roman aristocrats who visited the thermal baths in stunning scenery. The baths at Bagni Vecchi and Bagni Nuovi are still in use today.
The centre is a maze of 17th century cobbled streets and grand stone facades and is nestled beneath the famous ‘ Stelvio’ piste.
The Stelvio was part of the Alpine World Cup Downhill Skiing Challenge until 2014 and can be seen from the village by day and is illuminated by night.
Why is it the Best Italian Ski Resort?
Bormio I believe has something for everyone. Usually when you go away for this type of trip not everyone will want to ski all the time. Some in your group might not ski at all or be at a very early stage in their learning. You might want a bit of culture, different activities, some shopping, good food. You can't get this amount of variety in every place. In fact there aren't many resorts which can offer all of this and are still authentic.
If you love to ski there are 27 miles of piste with black, red and blue runs. You can take the cable car up to 3000m where you can either ski down or watch from a little café and eat piadina’s (warm wraps folded and filled with prosciutto and cheese) with an enormous Saint Bernard dog by your feet!
Or you can travel up to 2000m where there is a bigger restaurant, café, English speaking ski schools, and the entrance to the beginner’s slopes and other lifts.
It’s not all about the skiing though. I have also been Husky Dog Sledging, ice skating, viewed Ice sculpture competitions and visited the mountain spas.
Bagni Vecchi my favourite spa, is open all year round but is quite something when you’re sat in a hot open air swimming pool viewing the snowy mountains all around you. They also offer beauty treatments, a small hotel and various other grottoes and lavender filled rest rooms. You feel like you’re floating when you leave!
One place we love to go is the Restaurant ‘Chalet La Rocca’. You need to book and then drive or take a taxi up to Bormio 2000m. There you are met by a Snowcat which takes everyone up to the restaurant. You are fed a long list of different delicious dishes, wine, digestivi and coffee. Afterwards there’s music, dancing and you can either jump back on the Snowcat or be given a torch to ski down the mountain. It’s magical watching the little line of lights as people ski down to the village below.
Other places of interest
Livigno is a beautiful, chocolate box mountain town. Due to being in such a remote location it was made into a duty-free destination. Apart from stunning ‘Hansel and Gretel’ style houses, you can shop here for designer clothes, food and drink. You can also ski here.
Tirano is a little town shortly before you arrive in Bormio. It’s surrounded by apple orchards and has a stunning Basilica (La Madonna di Tirano). However most importantly for travellers it has a station where the Bernina Railway begins. Here you take a panoramic train through the mountains to St Moritz. Due to the huge windows on the train which reach into the ceiling space you can see vast amounts of the mountain side. It’s quite an exceptional journey, travelling as high as 2,253m.
What to eat & drink?
Bormio is situated in Valtellina a valley famous for red wines such as Nebbiolo, Nino Negri and Sassella.
To eat there are comforting dishes such as ‘Pizzoccheri’ which is typical of the region. This is buckwheat pasta ribbons with soft potatoes, cabbage, melted cheese and sage butter.
Others to try are ‘Cervo con Polenta’, venison with mushrooms, polenta and a gravy-like sauce.
‘Sciatt’ is one of my favourites. The name means toads in Valtellina dialect! Possibly given as they are little crunchy balls and have irregular shapes. They are made by taking little pieces of cheese dipped in a batter of buckwheat flour, frying them and serving on a bed of chicory. The bitterness of chicory mixed with the gooey cheese and crunchy coating is divine.
If you’d like to venture out for a glass of wine, visit ‘Skianta bar’. This is a gorgeous, very friendly bar off Via Roma. The owner is Milanese, met his Wife in Bormio and just never went back to the family business in Milan! He speaks English and is a brilliant, charismatic proprietor offering a generous selection of snacks with your apertivi!
How to get there
Have you been convinced to see the Italian mountains? If so you can drive from Milan Bergamo airport in around 2.5 hours. There are lots of motorway tunnels this (East) side of Lake Como so it’s quicker.
If you want to take in Lake Como as well, which we often do. You can fly to Milan Malpensa and drive up the west side of Lake Como. This journey will take approximately 3 hours but I would factor in extra time as you will likely want to stop and admire the Lake!
If you just can't think how to organise this yourself or would love to take your children skiing, especially for the first time. Get in touch!
Graziano (Papa' Prada) is happy to offer advice or create a package holiday for you: mammaprada@gmail.com
