Sestriere, an Alpine village in Italy in the Province of Turin, is set 17 kilometres from the French border. Its name, a derivative from the Latin “ad petram sistrariam”, literally translates as “sixty Roman miles from Turin”. Sestriere is a popular ski resort, with its winter population surging to about 20,000 people. Together with nearby Claviere, Sauze d'Oulx, Cesana Torinese and San Sicario, as well as French Montgenèvre, it makes up the Via Lattea, or the Milky Way skiing area. It’s also a well-known starting and arrival point in the Tour de France and Giro d'Italia.
Sestriere is linked to 146 skiable pistes, allowing for up to 400 kilometres of trails, 120 of which are provided with artificial snow. The resort is also equipped with facilities enabling night-time skiing on a floodlit run. Sestriere offers more than 200 runs, with slopes ranging from an altitude of 1,350 metres in Cesana to 2,800 metres at Mount Motta, a peak providing views of the surrounding mountains. Also, the skiing area can now be reached from Pragelato thanks to the Pattemouche-Anfiteatro cableway. All in all, Vialattea means huge spaces, sunny snow expanses and panoramic runs connecting the traditional villages with the more upgraded towns. The vastness and variety of the area allows options for all levels of skiers, with experts being offered long and difficult runs. The area’s snowparks are located in central Sestriere and Sauze d'Oulz Sportinia.
The 20th Winter Games Torino 2006 (during which Sestriere was one of the three Olympic Villages) and the 2006 Winter Paralympics explicitly showed how much potential this area has. The site has also hosted the Alpine World Cup Events since 1967, as well as the Snowboard World Cup Events and the Alpine World Championships of 1997.
The village’s landmark, the two hotel towers, one of which was part of the Olympic Village, were erected in the 1930s by FIAT's founder Giovanni Agnelli to become the first permanent buildings of the settlement. Apart from its history and excellent skiing, the site has a lot to offer in terms of après ski and dining. Italian food can be found in the large selection of mountain restaurants. Over 30 places, located particularly close to the skiing areas, welcome skiers preferring to stay on the slopes all day without sacrificing a good meal.