Sierra Nevada

About the area

Sierra Nevada, above Granada in Andalusia, offers 106 km of pistes with a clear lean towards easy and cruising terrain: 49% of the runs are green or blue (52 km), plus 50 km of red. That makes it a solid choice for beginners and improving intermediates, and 25 short easy runs sit right next to a lift base. Families are well served by five magic carpets for first steps and two gondolas, so small children never have to load a chairlift. Experts get less: only 4 km (4%) is black or freeride terrain, though one run drops 1,150 m.

The area runs from 2,138 m to 3,300 m, which is high by European standards and helps snow reliability at Europe's most southerly resort. Twenty-two lifts include 14 chairlifts and one T-bar. The longest run measures 6,060 m. There are also 5 km of floodlit piste and 2 km of cross-country trails.