Madonna di Campiglio, Italy

Essential Advice for the Perfect Trip

Madonna di Campiglio has a traditional charm and village ambience that attracts an odd mix of older skiers and young snowboarders – the former in search of flattering pistes and top-notch restaurants, the later for some of the best riding in Italy (and two enormous nightclubs). “Style is important,” warned a recent visitor. “Bring your best skiwear and also your fur coat – every woman seems to wear one at night”.

We agree with that comment – up to a point. Ever since the 1960s, the resort has been attracting the Italian glitterati (there is, for example, a long-standing association with Ferrari and Ducati). But you can’t help feeling that, compared to the likes of Verbier, St Moritz and Courchevel, the resort has fallen a long way behind in the race to attract the uber-rich. There is, for example, nothing here to compare with Richard Branson’s £100,000-a-week chalet in Verbier, or the excesses of modern Courchevel wine lists.

Posh, but not over-priced

And that, of course, is a very good thing. Prices are nowhere near as high as they are in the A-list destinations further north, and yet Campiglio remains elegant and stylish, with a full-blown passegiata each evening, some good hotels and an excellent restaurant scene. It’s obviously Italian in a way that, say, Verbier is no longer Swiss, and Courchevel no longer French. It’s virtually traffic-free, too.

So in other words it’s a good choice for anyone looking for la dolce vita, but who doesn’t want to pay Roman Abramovich-style prices to get it. It’s also a great place for anyone who likes to ski on groomed snow – and by that we don’t just mean easy blues and reds. There are plenty of those in the resort, but what really stuck in our minds on our last visit was the quality of the blacks. In several resorts in France and Switzerland, black pistes are being phased out – replaced with waymarked “itineraries” which are never groomed. We think this is a shame – and if you do too, you should put Madonna on your hit list.

30km of extra pistes

In 2011 the slopes above Madonna di Campiglio were linked to neighbouring Pinzolo, by 16-minute gondola ride. The link has been a long time coming, and adds an extra 30km of mostly tree-lined, intermediate-friendly pistes to the skiing on offer – if you buy the Superskirama lift pass. Fast piste skiers will have skied everything at Pinzolo by mid-afternoon – twice. But it’s a fun day out nevertheless, and the gondola ride – towards the west wall of the Brenta Dolomites – is spectacular.

Don’t leave your visit too late

Spring comes on quickly on the sunny, southern side of the Alps. What’s more, the slopes in Madonna di Campiglio are not especially high: the highest pistes are at 2500m, and a lot of the skiing is below 2,100m. Come here before the end of February if you can.

We Love

We Hate

The tree-lined pistes back into town – swooping, fall-line classics. The high standard of piste preparation. The scenery – there’s a real mix of geology here, so it’s never boring to look at. The new gondola connecting the Campiglio’s local pistes to Pinzolo – adding another 30km to the skiing area. Lunch at the Chalet Fiat. The quality of the hotels. The passegiata each evening. Ferrari sparkling wine – made in the surrounding region of Trentino. Much, much better than French champagnes of the same price. The afternoon buzz at Rifugio Boch, in the Grostè sector.

The fiddly roads you have to drive to get there. The lack of off-piste. Much of the surrounding land is National Park, and therefore off-limits. The long, linear layout of the town. Try to book a hotel near a lift to compensate. The crowded pistes at neighbouring Folgarida. The lowish altitude of the pistes – a lot of the skiing is below 2,100m and the highest pistes are at 2500m. The price of the high-season lift pass. The way spring comes on so quickly here – ski Madonna di Campiglio before March to get the best of it.

1. 

   
   Guide to the Mountain
2. 

   
   Where to Stay
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   Where to Eat
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   Where to Learn
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   Where to Party