Sauze d'Oulx Ski Holidays

Sauze d'Oulx Ski Breaks Overview

More of a large village than a town, Sauze d'Oulx has a traditional village centre full of attractive cobbled streets and huge stone slab roofed houses. The modern part of the village sprawls along the sloping mountain shelf with plenty of apartments and nice little restaurants tucked between the trees. The village views are fairly impressive, sat at the end of the Milky Way with balcony style views down the valley.

The lower slopes are carpeted in trees and runs are split by woods and ravines, it gives you a real sense of travelling around and the tree cover means you'll get great visibility in bad weather and fantastic Instagram shots when the suns out - Sauze gets more days of sunshine than your average ski resort, and we're not complaining. Sportinia sits just above the village in a clearing at 2,000m; around here the runs open out to sweeping panoramic views and links over to Sestriere and the rest of the ski area.

With around 15 local restaurants on the mountain, there are plenty of lunch options for your ski break to Sauze d'Oulx. Try the Ciao Pais for a picturesque off-the-beaten-track location and great speciality dishes, though be warned, not all restaurants are marked on the piste map which can be a little frustrating.

Skiing in Sauze d'Oulx

If you're a confident intermediate skier that loves to eat up the miles all day long then this could just be the perfect resort for you. It's a cruisy red run paradise and most of the blacks aren't too challenging either. The lower slopes are covered in great swathes of larch tree forests and are home to some of the best runs winding back through the trees to the village.

Beginners have more scarce offerings, the ski schools are great and there are a couple of magic carpets to get to grips with planks on your feet, however, it's the progression terrain that's lacking. There are a few bits here and there but the dodgy piste classification doesn't help. Though, if you are confident in your turns you should have no problem, with 32% of runs classed as blue there's plenty to test your technique.

For advanced riders, the easy connections over to Sestriere are where you should head. They open up the black runs at the top of Mount Motta and Mount Sises, as well as the Kandahar Olympic standard slalom course and Barchetta, runs. Fraiteve offers some challenging northern face skiing and off-piste opportunities if you take a guide. However, possibly the best fun to be had is between the runs and in the trees side-country - there's plenty to hunt out.

Sauze d'Oulx Après ski

An entertainingly varied après scene, Sauze d'Oulx has stepped away from its lager-fiend reputation and into a more sophisticated world. There's still plenty of bars run by Brits and tonnes of happy hours all over the place, but the clientele has grown up, no longer 90's ravers but Turin's weekend crowds and grown-up 90's kids.

Anything from rewarding tea and cakes to cocktails on sunny terraces to late-night live music, Sauze's après and nightlife is as lively as you wish to make it. The centre still goes onto into the early hours so cheap beers and ski boots on the table can be found. But the more laid back vibes on sun terraces such as at Scacco Matto or relaxed atmosphere at the Scotch Bar are where we'd be heading.

What we like about Sauze d'Oulx

- Extensive slopes with great tree coverage making for picturesque skiing
- Entertaining and lively après scene with a fantastic choice of bars and restaurants
- A short transfer from Turin, you can arrive in an hour on a good day

Worth knowing

- Around the village can be some steep walks, you may want to take proper shoes rather than heels on a night out
- Weekends can be busy with the crowds coming up from Turin - at least the après is lively
- Beginners be wary - it's a resort more suited to intermediates or advanced skiers and boarders