The ski area
The Vialattea (“Milky Way”) advertises about 400 km of pistes across Italy and France: Sestriere (2,035 m, the first resort built from scratch in Italy, in the 1930s by the Agnelli family), Sauze d’Oulx, Sansicario, Cesana, Claviere and, on the French side, Montgenèvre. The alpine skiing events of the Turin 2006 Olympics were held here.
Why go from Valfréjus
- A very large, sunny ski area, with long pistes and Italian prices.
- A “change of scene” day: you have lunch the Italian way on the slopes.
- For a shorter approach, Sauze d’Oulx (Oulx exit, about 1 hour) is the closest entry to the ski area.
Practical information
- By road: about 1 h 30 via the Fréjus tunnel, the A32 motorway to Oulx, then the climb via Cesana – Sestriere. Snow tyres or chains are compulsory in Italy in winter on mountain roads.
- Day pass and opening on the Vialattea website; passes are not shared with Valfréjus.
- In summer, Sestriere offers mountain biking, high-altitude golf and walking; the road then makes a lovely loop with Briançon and Montgenèvre.