PlanetSKI Resort Focus: Bardonecchia in The Milky Way in Italy

3rd November 2026

The resort of Bardonecchia is in the Piedmont mountains west of Turin and is part of one of the largest ski systems in the Alps – Vialattea/the Milky Way.

It joins Sestriere, Sauze d’Oulx, Sansicario, Cesana, Oulx, Pragelato and Claviere in Italy with Montgenèvre in France

There are up to 400 km of pistes, 321 runs and 72 lifts, between 1,400 and 2,800 metres.

Around 80% of the skiable terrain sits above 1,900 metres.

Bardonecchia/Vialattea. Image c /o Bardo Tourist Office.

The system records around 2 million skier days a year.

The layout is designed for a ski safari: you can move from village to village without taking skis off, and cross from Italy into France and back in the same day.

Bardonecchia/Vialattea. Image c /o Bardo Tourist Office.

The link with Montgenèvre rests on a long-standing partnership between the two sides of the border, with a dedicated cross-border lift pass, while each resort keeps its own identity.

Bardonecchia completes the system with 100 km of pistes, 56 runs and 23 lifts across Campo Smith, Jafferau and Melezet, from 1,312 to 2,800 metres.

Its Bardo Race Stadium is used for training by national and international teams.

Bardonecchia caters for every level, with ski schools and dedicated beginner and children’s areas such as Scivolandia.

Off the slopes there is an indoor swimming pool, the Alpine Coaster, dinners at altitude reached by snowcat, and evening events.

The free Ski Shuttle Vialattea // Bardo runs between Sauze d’Oulx and Bardonecchia, offering more than 500 km of slopes within reach on a single holiday.

Vialattea /Bardonecchia – key figures:

• Up to 500 km of pistes in total
• More than 370 runs
• 95 lifts
• Vialattea: up to 400 km, 321 runs, 72 lifts
• Bardonecchia: 100 km, 56 runs, 23 lifts
• Altitude: 1,312 m to 2,800 m
• Around 2 million skier days a year
• Season 2026/27: 5 December 2026 to 11 April 2027 – more than four months

The 2026/27 season runs from December 5th, 2026 to April 11th, 2027.

Bardonecchia/Vialattea. Image c /o Bardo Tourist Office.

Italy is becoming increasingly popular with UK skiers and has overtaken Austria to become the second most popular ski destination behind France.

Italy is also the third most popular European destination across summer and winter.

It takes 15% of British tourists according to figures released by the CEO of the Association of British Travel Agents, Mark Tanzer, at this week’s World Travel Market in London.

Top European destinations for UK holidaymakers (summer & winter). Figures from ABTA.
Image © PlanetSKI

“Italy has many visible advantages including cost, ease of access, uncrowded slopes, fabulous food & authentic mountain restaurants, family-friendly slopes, plus some interesting & challenging areas,” said PlanetSKI editor, James Cove.

James has skied not just all the resorts in Vialattea, but also across the Aosta Valley and many resorts in the Dolomites.

“But it has that little extra something that you can’t quite put your finger on, but is due to the Italians themselves who are the most fantastic hosts.”

James skiing in Italy (before helmets were made compulsory). Image © PlanetSKI

What’s new for winter 2026/27

● More than €20 million on snowmaking

The biggest change in the area is the renewal and expansion of the snowmaking network, with more than €20 million invested over the last few years to make snow quality and opening dates more reliable.

This makes the area a sound destination for tourists and businesses.

In Sestriere, work in the Banchetta sector is being completed, closing a multi-year project.

In summer 2026 work began on the snowmaking networks at Sauze d’Oulx, Cesana-Sansicario (including the lower and upper sections of the Olimpica run) and Cesana-Claviere.

The goal is to get consistent conditions across the whole area, including the lower slopes.

In Bardonecchia, mobile snow guns have been replaced and coverage has been extended to areas that were unprovided, bringing snowmaking to 80% of the slopes in Colomion, Les Arnauds, Melezet and Jafferau.

New guns have been installed in Colomion, with new systems in Melezet and on the Plateau run at Jafferau.

Two reservoirs are planned to support further expansion – one by enlarging an existing basin – and their design has been completed.

● One ticketing system for both areas

Bardonecchia has adopted the same gates and ticketing system as Vialattea.

Shared infrastructure makes it simpler to move between the two areas and opens the way to more joined-up lift pass options.

Since 2024 the area has been controlled by Motta Holding, owned by the British infrastructure investor iCON Infrastructure.

The aim is to bring two ski areas with distinct, complementary characters under one strategy, with investment in snowmaking, lifts, ticketing and services, and a longer operating year that reaches well beyond winter.

Bardonecchia/Vialattea. Image c /o Bardo Tourist Office.

● Night skiing on the Kandahar

The Kandahar Giovanni Alberto Agnelli in Sestriere will open to the public after dark on selected evenings: December 26th–29th and over the Carnival weekend, February 6th-9th.

It is a return with history behind it.

On this run in 1994 Alberto Tomba won the first World Cup race held under floodlights, a night slalom watched by thousands.

More than thirty years on, anyone can ski it at night on this legendary slope surrounded by impressive scenery.

● A family destination

Vialattea // Bardo is a spot-on destination for families, children and first-timers, with learning areas and services designed for the youngest skiers.

In Sestriere, a new Primi Passi (“first steps”) zone between the Cit Roc and Garnel chairlifts has a magic carpet, a ski and snowboard school area, a space reserved for sledging, a training zone for the very beginners and a large sun terrace alongside.

A new covered magic carpet in the Jolly area joins the two already in place; also, the carpet in the Anfiteatro area has been replaced.

In Sansicario, the ski school slope area is now accessible with every Vialattea lift pass.

Elsewhere in Vialattea: Sauze d’Oulx (at Sportinia and Clotes) and Claviere (at the base of the lifts) also have magic carpets and beginner areas.

Bardonecchia has long been a family resort, with runs for every level, ski schools and children’s areas such as Scivolandia.

Bardonecchia/Vialattea. Image c /o Bardo Tourist Office.

The Alpine Coaster at Campo Smith is one of the most popular things to do there beyond skiing.

Every chairlift in the area is now fitted with Kid Stop, an anti-slip device designed to keep small children safely seated on the way up.

Each area also has a mascot.

Milky arrives in Vialattea this winter: a space explorer who came to see the Earth’s own Milky Way and decided to stay, and who also helps teach young skiers about safety on the slopes.

He joins Bardo, Bardonecchia’s squirrel.

Between them they turn breaks on the slopes into games and help children find their feet on the snow.

PlanetSKI is hoping to visit next winter as we focus more on the resorts in Italy as a growing number of  UK skiers and snowboarders discover its charms.

Bardonecchia/Vialattea. Image c /o Bardo Tourist Office.

Getting there and Services

Both areas are close to Turin, served by the A32 motorway, and reachable by train, also several direct flights from the UK serve the area, landing in Turin.

For travellers going flight-free, Oulx is a stop on the Paris–Turin–Milan high-speed line, so the resorts can be reached from London by rail via Paris.

Skiing in Italy. Image © PlanetSKI

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