Ceillac en Queyras

The praise is for authenticity: this tiny village on a sunny Queyras plateau still lives its own life, with no concrete residences and no nightlife, and reviewers call the surrounding mountains among the finest in the Southern Alps. The skiing is described as sporty and technical - steep pitches, rolling ground, open fields and descents through larch woods that off-piste fans single out. The quiet and the large cross-country network are praised too.

Prices are the loudest complaint: regulars say rates keep climbing while the resort behaves like a major station without being one. Size is the second issue, since surface lifts do most of the work and a confident skier runs out of new ground fast. The slopes sit in shadow for long stretches, so reviews warn about real cold in midwinter, and there are scattered complaints about the standard of ski school instruction.