Bardonecchia

Turin’s Mountain Resort

Bardonecchia holds a distinction that no other Italian ski resort can claim: it is comfortably reachable by train from a major city. From Turin Porta Susa station, the Frejus railway line follows the Susa valley floor, enters the Frejus tunnel and emerges at Bardonecchia after approximately ninety minutes. No car, no queues, no car parks: you leave the city with skis on your shoulder and arrive steps from the lifts. This characteristic, rare in Italian skiing, has made Bardonecchia a democratic resort — accessible not only to car owners but to anyone who can read a timetable. For many Torinese, especially younger generations, Bardonecchia was the first snow, the first piste, the first day on skis.

Two Sectors, Two Characters

The resort is divided into two distinct areas with different skiing personalities. The Jafferau, the north-facing sector rising to 2,800 metres, is the domain of dry snow and technique: its northerly aspect receives generous snowfall and holds it well thanks to limited solar radiation. The Jafferau’s red and black pistes attract experienced skiers who appreciate snow quality and relative peace. The Colomion-Les Arnauds, on the other side, is the main and broader sector: a fan of pistes covering all levels that concentrates the majority of skiers on peak days. The two areas are not directly connected by high-altitude lifts — you pass through the village — but this discontinuity is also an opportunity to deliberately choose the character of your day.

The Turin 2006 Winter Olympics

Bardonecchia wrote an important chapter in Italian Olympic history by hosting the snowboard events at the XX Winter Olympics in Turin 2006. The halfpipe and parallel giant slalom were held on the Melezet sector, which was equipped with world-class facilities for the occasion. The Olympic legacy remains visible: the athletes’ village built for the Games was converted into accommodation that expanded the resort’s capacity; the Melezet’s sporting facilities continue to be used for national youth snowboard competitions. The Olympic presence gave Bardonecchia international visibility that consolidated its position as Italy’s leading freestyle and snowboard destination.

Melezet and the History of Italian Freestyle

The Melezet is not just an Olympic arena: it is one of the founding locations of Italian snowboarding. In the 1990s, when the snowboard was seeking space in a skiing landscape still wary of the new discipline, the Melezet was among the first Piedmontese resorts to create dedicated areas and host competitions. The freestyle scene that developed around Bardonecchia over subsequent decades produced athletes and coaches who contributed to snowboarding’s national emergence. Today the Melezet’s snow park and facilities still attract quality riders who appreciate the well-maintained features and the atmosphere of the Susa valley.

Getting There

By train from Turin Porta Susa, regional trains serve Bardonecchia in approximately 1 hour 30 minutes — the most convenient option for city arrivals or those avoiding traffic. By car the A32 Turin-Frejus motorway covers the 70 km in about an hour, with the Bardonecchia exit leading directly to the village. On high-season weekends the queues on Turin’s motorway ring road can extend journey times considerably: in these cases the train is not only more comfortable but often faster.