For:
It’s affordable
Good snow record
Enough blue and red runs to keep my and my 11 year old happy
There appears to be more to do than just ski
Not a ‘busy nightlife’ resort

Against:
I’ve heard it can get a bit crowded at weekends

Anything else I’m missing?

I used to live in Bardonnechia 🙂

Give me a moment and I’ll put together some stuff

Thanks

It’s affordable

Yup. It’s a small town as much as it is a “resort” so plenty of places to get good food for non-resort prices

Good snow record

As good as anywhere else in the region. When are you going? Like most places, December and start of January are most risky, whereas Feb/March are unlikely to be poor.

Lots of snowcannon cover, but be aware that due to the shape of the resorts and the trees, it can look a bit “brown” if there hasn’t been much snow.

Enough blue and red runs to keep my and my 11 year old happy

Lots and lots of easy runs. What’s also great is that the easy runs aren’t motorway style, they are often quite interesting and will weave around through trees.

There appears to be more to do than just ski

It’s a town, so you get the usual town things to do, but you won’t fill a week with interesting and exciting things!

One of the things I used to love was the passeggiata. Italian’s love to go out for a wander in the evenings, even in the middle of winter. It’s a beautiful thing in a snow covered town to see all of its residents casually wandering around, chatting to each other and having coffee etc.

Not a ‘busy nightlife’ resort

Definitely not. But that can also be a downside, since the visitors from Milano and Torino need to do something at the weekend, so the place can get a bit busy/noisy in the local pubs.

Against:
I’ve heard it can get a bit crowded at weekends

The population in Bardonnechia quadruples (or more) in size at the weekend. I never used to ski on a Saturday or Sunday for that reason. The lift infrastructure is more than capable of moving you around, but when you are used to not seeing anyone on the slopes or standing in a queue during the week, it can be a bit frustrating come the weekend.

It’s a pretty decent crowd that come for the weekend though, the bars are busy and it’s generally very friendly. It’s quite nice to see the place come alive.

Other stuff:

Take a train. if the weather is poor or you want a day off, Torino is only an hour away by train. it’s not the most glamorous place in the world but i’ve got a soft spot for it. Great for a full day out.

Take a coach. Your tour operator will probably run a trip to Val Thorens. Bardonnechia is spitting distance fromt the Frejus tunnel and on the other side is a chairlift which will take you all the way up and over in to Val Thorens. Another good day out if you fancy something different (jsut don’t think you’ll be able to ski all the way to Meribel and back in time for the bus leaving!)

Explore. Campo Smith is the easiest place to ski and get to (it’s also where most of the ski schools are), but it’s also the most crowed and least interesting IMO. Jafferau is a more interesting moutain with more of an “altitude” feel to it. Some fantastic off piste.

I could recommend a few bars, but my knowledge might be a bit out of date.

Overall, it’s not got the polish of Val d’Isere (or similar), but it’s friendlier and remarkably quiet on the slopes through the week. The ski area is really varied and interesting. The whole place feels more like an italian provincial town (which it is!) than a ski resort. it’s got history and character, but can feel a bit empty through the week.

Legend has it that when the southern italian mafia started being picked off decades ago, they put the wives and young children on a train and told them to get off the the furthest possible stop…which was bardonnechia. For that reason, it’s supposed to have an unusually high connection with the big boys in the south. Not sure how true that is, but i’ve certainly got a few stories that can’t be shared on the internet.

Thanks again.
It’ll most likely be the end of Jan or beginning of Feb we’ll go, preferably half board in a mid sized hotel with it’s own bar.
There seem to be several of those in the Neilson brochure.

We went to Bulgaria last year and got lucky, arriving the week after the biggest snowfall for 20 years.

MB, see the Ski thread for more, but if you want great skiing, a nice hotel with a friendly little bar and a non-crazy nightlife place, you need the Plein Sud in Serre Chevalier. As on the Neilson website.

Will have a look at that thanks Flashy.

Plein Sud looks very nice but stretches the ‘affordability’ criteria too much for this year. Bardonecchia it is.