From the Aletsch Arena piste map to the best ski hire and ski schools, here's our guide to this very relaxed, family-friendly Swiss ski area.

Andermatt ski resort village in Switzerland is a favourite with advanced-level local skiers and snowboarders from nearby Zurich, yet is also justly popular as a family-focused winter-sports destination.

The Swiss ski resort of Arosa, now linked to Lenzerheide, offers a good range of ski terrain for beginners, intermediates and experts, with 40km of freeride on top of the 70km of pistes - and that's before you add in Lenzerheide's contribution of another 155km!

Located at an ancient European crossroads by the Simplon Pass into Italy, the small and picturesque town of Brig was on the route for Napoleon's road building to give his armies better communications around Europe. It is equally well placed today to give skiers rapid access to the major ski centres of the Swiss Valais, including Zermatt and Saas Fee. Brig boasts many architectural treasures, dominated by the impressive Stockalper Castle, with its three gilded onion-domed towers and galleried court yard. The palace dates from the heyday of the town back in the 17th century under Kaspar von Stockalper, the greatest Valaisian merchant. He established a flourishing salt and silk trade between Milan and Lyons, and even organized the first postal service. Stockalper built his sumptuous palace in the town center. The three square towers form the corners of a great courtyard with three tiers of arcaded walkways. The palace was in the hands of the Stockalper family which had become impoverished, until 1948, when it was fully restored. In summer, every space is filled with flowerboxes. The heart of Brig today, as for centuries past, runs up the Bahnhofstrasse, until it widens into two "squares" at the intersection with Rhonesandstrasse, and then Furkastrasse. Each square is focused on a fountain, monument or church. Most of this area is a car-free pedestrian zone lined with old buildings which have a certain Mediterranean flavor. Lined with shops and restaurants it makes a very pleasant base when off the slopes. As well as excellent skiing from Rosswald above the resort, reached by gondola, there are a dozen major ski centres within an hour's drive including Belalp, Riederalp, Bettmeralp, Bellwald, Fiesch and, a little further, Zermatt, Saas Fee, Saas Grund, Crans Montana and Leukerbad.

From the Champéry piste map to the best ski hire, best ski schools and best après-ski bars – here's the lowdown on the key resort in the Swiss sector of the world's largest international lift-linked ski area, the Portes du Soleil, nestled in the spectacular Région Dents du Midi.

A lovely village on the French side of the French/German language border within Switzerland, Château-d'Oex was home for many years to actor David Niven who recounts his adventures on skis in his autobiography 'The Moon's a Balloon'. It's not clear whether his choice of title was influenced by the fact that the resort stages what is still the biggest annual ballooning festival in the Alps each January. The wide sunny high alpine valley in which the village is located, known as the Pays d'Enhaut, has been farmed for a millennium or more and many of the old Swiss chalets are centuries old. The architecture of many was regarded as a work of art by their creators who often signed and dated them, whilst the present owners ensure the window boxes are full of flowers for most of the year. It is a truly peaceful, relaxing place. From a winter sports fan's perspective the great thing about Château d'Oex is that the lift ticket - which includes some of the most terrain available on one pass in the world - has several unique assets! A key one is that it allows holders to hop on to the mountain train or bus and ride along from one great ski area to the next. After Château-d'Oex's own slopes there are those of Rougemont - where you can leave the train and walk over to the gondola which takes you up to the mountain tops; then it's a similar story at Saanen (after you've crossed the language border in to German speaking Switzerland!), and beyond Gstaad at Saanenmoser and Zweisimmen. Gstaad is the point where you can hop off the train and on to the bus over towards les Diablerets and Villars, with the famous Diablerets glacier the first stop. The transport system continues right through the day and the evening so there's no mad rush to catch the last ski bus home at the end of your day on the slopes.

Crans-Montana, Switzerland is a well-established year-round resort with stunning scenery and great skiing for intermediates. From the Crans-Montana piste map to the best ski hire and après ski, here's our complete review of skiing in Crans-Montana.

The Swiss ski resort of Davos is the highest town in Europe and was one of the first ski resorts in the world, and although it’s not the prettiest town by a long way, spread as it is along a long, flat valley and busy with traffic, the skiing on the broad peaks on either side is extensive, varied and excellent.

From the Engelberg piste map to the best ski hire and après ski bars, here is the lowdown on skiing in this fantastic Swiss ski resort.

Grindelwald is a very pretty, historic, year round resort in a spectacular setting with the backdrop of awe inspiring mountains including the Eiger. Grindelwald is also the largest base in the Jungfrau region, which includes Wengen and Mürren. It shares a ski area with Wengen, but also has its own First ski area. Famous for the its breathtaking views of the Eiger and spectacular scenery, Grindelwald celebrated its 850th birthday in 1996 and the 60th anniversary of the First Mountain railway in 1997. The first person to ski here was Englishman Gerald Fox who put his skis on in his hotel bedroom in 1881 and walked out through the hotel bar to the slopes wearing them - then followed the great and the good from around the world. Indeed the resort is busy year round and has a distinctly cosmopolitan air, attracting guests from all over the world giving a diverse ethnic mix in clientele rarely found in other resorts. As with Chamonix, Grindelwald's history as a climbing village predates that of its skiing fame, and its mountaineering heritage remains strong.

Gstaad, Switzerland is one of the world's most famous ski resorts, with an international reputation for understated luxury. From the Gstaad piste map to the best ski hire and après ski, here's your guide to skiing in Gstaad. 

Located in the German-speaking heart of Switzerland and also at the heart of Europe, Interlaken offers winter sports fans access to some of the most spectacular skiing in the Alps, with their base in a service-packed small city in a spectacular lakeside setting. Traditionally a 'summer' resort, Interlaken had long been attractive to winter sports enthusiasts because of its prime location and the fact that its excellent hotels and other facilities offered very low rates during the winter. Its status became 'official' however with the launch of the the Jungfrau Top Ski Region, more than 205km (128 miles ) of trails in ski centres above Grindelwald, Mürren and Wengen, all linked to Interlaken by a mountain railway included in the pass. The average length of runs in the area is a remarkable 6 - 12km (4 - 9 miles). With the pass it's possible to ski a different ski area every day for a week. The name 'Interlaken' actually means "Between the lakes" - Lake Thun and Lake Brienz to be precise and water is omnipresent throughout the area, with idyllic clear mountain streams and waterfalls running off the hills and into the lakes. Interlaken offers dozens of water-based activities too, throughout the year, if you ever get bored of sliding on the cold white variety you can always enjoy anything from a cruise on a lake steamer to just feeding the ducks or even frog watching! Visitors first started arriving at Interlaken long before downhill skiing was conceived. One of them, Lord Byron, famously remarked "It's a dream" on first seeing the town. The first hotels opened their doors in 1806, complementing the existing monastery hospice (now the four star hotel Interlaken) with the boom years beginning in the 1860s. Much of the beautiful architecture and grand design date from this 50 year era up to the First World War, but the impressive exteriors hide equally impressive fully modernised interiors, enabling Interlaken to offer the best of old and new. In the early days, when the likes of Goethe and Mendelssohn popped by, Interlaken was promoted for its healthy climate, as well as the spectacular views and, although the majority may head there in winter for the skiing, that healthy climate is still there!

Kandersteg is a picturesque, traditional village with a long, long history in the midst of stunning Alpine scenery. It has maintained its relaxed and friendly character through centuries of hosting guests, first traders and for the past few centuries, tourists - for the last 100 years in winter as well as summer. It's location with a short easy transfer from Swiss capital Berne is an added bonus. The village grew up at the northern end of the trade route from Italy over the Simplon Pass, which was busy for millenia. It was dangerous too and eventually the poor farmers of the area built the village church which still stands today from 1510 partly in order to give travellers a place to pray before and after making the Alpine crossing. The church bell was cast in 1541 and is still used to ring in the New Year. Tourism began some two centuries ago after a visiting doctor wrote of his experiences of the beauty of the area and the healthiness and good nature of the inhabitants. At that time in the late eighteenth century medical advice was actually against staying in the mountains and mountain air generally believed to be unhealthy. The doctor's review, along with improved access and facilities led to a growth in tourists. In the summer of 1860, two Englishmen, a vicar and a doctor and an American arrived in Kandersteg and asked for a guide to take them to the top of the Blümlisalp (3663 m above sea level). The young Fritz Ogi was the only person with enough courage to take the job. He became the founder of a mountain guide dynasty. The latter half of the twentieth century were boom years for Kandersteg bringing true stability and some prosperity to the locals for the first time. New hotels were built. Mark Twain stayed in the village for the night of August 23rd, 1878 and then hiked over the Gemmi Pass. His humorous but accurate account of his journey can be found in his book "A Tramp Abroad". The guest book at mountain guest house and restaurant Schwarenbach half-way across the Gemmi Pass has inscriptions from many famous personalities such as Alexander Dumas, Picasso and Lenin. Winter sports began more than a century ago, visitors initially attracted for the curling, but they have never really been the all encompassing attraction that they are at many other top ski centres. Kandersteg has far more to offer than many ski centres and a much greater proportion of its clientele visits, year round, for the hiking, fishing, flora and fauna or just the stunning scenery than is the ski resort norm.