VERY LIVELY, WITH LOTS OF BAR-HOPPING INVOLVED

At the end of the day many skiers funnel back down to Plan Checrouit to take the cable car home. But before boarding the cable car they usually indulge in a bout of apres-ski beer and vino caldo drinking at one of the several lively restaurants clustered around this sunny plateau. Options include Chiecco and the Christiania.

An obligatory part of the apres-ski process for the many Milanese and Torinese visitors to Courmayeur is the early evening Passegiata, when they dress up and then parade up and down the Via Roma. Most of the best bars for aperitivi are either on or just off this street and they include the American Bar, the Caffe della Posta, the Cadran Solaire and the Bar Roma. These are comfortable places with open fireplaces and sofas: ideal places to sip a Campari and soda or, more adventurously, a Milano Torino (two-thirds Campari with one-third Carpano Classico).

All the bars in the Via Roma are as agreeable for digestivi as aperitivi, but for dancing Jimmy’s at Entreves has proved very popular. Poppy’s is popular with a younger crowd on a budget. The best late-night bar is the splendid Vacherie a short taxi-ride down at Pre St Didier. This barn-like old place has huge sofas, roaring log fires, a great selection of drinks and snacks and seems to stay open virtually all night.