Baqueira Beret

Baqueira Beret is Spain's largest resort, in the Val d'Aran in the north-facing Pyrenees. The valley is unusual for Spain in that it drains north into France rather than south into Iberia, which gives it a colder microclimate and a better snow record than the rest of the range. The area has three linked sectors, Baqueira, Beret, Bonaigua, reaching 2,610 m on the Cap de Baqueira, with a genuinely serious off-piste circuit down the Escornacrabes gully for the strong. The Spanish royal family holidays here, which is why the village is far more polished than most Pyrenees resorts, and lunch runs until 4pm regardless of the queue building outside.