The ski resorts where £500,000 can buy you the perfect chalet

France’s ski resorts have opened – and thankfully there’s plenty of snow.

It’s been a patchy year or two for snowfall, but the Covid era has seen a steady stream of property sales as city dwellers hankered for mountain air and space.

The average price of a prime ski property – defined as one priced over €750,000 (£640,000) – is 41pc above pre-pandemic levels, according to Savills’ Ski Report. Property in Haute-Savoie, France’s alpine departement, is up by an average of 4.4pc in a year, according to the portal Meilleurs Agents.

But don’t despair if you dream of a ski chalet or farmhouse in the mountains with a more reasonable budget of £500,000.

Looking beyond the big-name resorts you can find properties for sale in the French Alps, parts of Italy – or even Spain or Sweden if you’re sick of raclette and vin chaud.

Maurienne Valley, France: the backdoor to Three Valleys

Away from the mainstream resorts, the Maurienne Valley is one hour and 40 minutes from Geneva, and will be on a new high-speed train linking Turin to Lyon.

Part of the Vanoise National Park, there are 20 ski resorts of which Val Cenis, Aussois or Les Sybelles are the most well-known, and you can link into the Three Valleys via gondola from the small village of Orelle.

The still-traditional ski villages are popular with the French, Dutch and Belgians, but the British are “only just catching on” to the area’s appeal, says Benjamin Shinn, of Leggett Immobilier. “Especially those priced out of the Tarentaise Valley,” he adds.

He says you can find a chalet from around €180,000, but there is a lot more choice at €400,000. The agent is selling a stone three-bedroom chalet for €320,000 (see below).

Roccaraso, Italy: best hidden gem 

Italian skiing isn’t always easy on the wallet but those seeking more bang for their euro should head to the Abruzzo region and the biggest ski area of central Italy, where the resort of Roccaraso sits within 110km of wonderfully uncrowded pistes.

The après ski is low-key, yet when ski rep Fiona Spratley arrived there 12 years ago the beech-tree lined slopes and family-centred feel blew her away. Then there’s the climate.

“It’s only 90 minutes from Naples yet its proximity to the Adriatic coast means great snow because of the easterly wind from the Balkans,” she says.

With her husband Graeme, the Surrey-based couple bought a house in Castel di Sangro, 15 minutes from Roccaraso, and arrange ski holidays through Ski Abruzzo.

A three-bedroom stone house in the nearby village of Bugnara costs only €95,000, says Dave Benton, of agent A Home in Italy. “Or there are more options in the popular town of Sulmona – half an hour along one road to the resort,” he adds.

The French Pyrenees: for ski and spas

Less international than the Alps, the Pyrenees in southwest France attract far fewer British home buyers despite having much lower property prices.

No, you won’t find a branch of the après bar-club La Folie Douce in these resorts – but you will see cyclists trying the iconic climbs of the Tour de France every summer.

Choose between 45 resorts – within 90 minutes of airports at Biarritz, Pau, Tarbes or Toulouse – of which the biggest ski area is Tourmalet, including La Mongie and the spa town of Bareges, the second-oldest French ski resort after Chamonix.

Bagneres-de-Luchon is another elegant spa town, nearer the Spanish border. Close by, you can find a detached four-bedroom house for €450,000 – there’s one at €370,000 from skifrenchproperty.com – or a five-bedroom village house for around €250,000.

Aosta Valley, Italy: best for foodies

Tucked away in the northwest corner of Italy is the picturesque Aosta Valley with world-class resorts such as Courmayeur and Cervinia – and charming mountain villages.

Easily reached from the airports of Milan or Turin, from which many locals arrive, this corner of the Alps is a great option for foodies and off-piste fans.

The old town of the Roman and medieval city of Aosta offers some great restaurants and enoteca – fondue and gnocchi with fontina cheese are local favourites – and the ski resorts of Pila and La Thuile are close by.

“It can be difficult to find properties for sale as Italians like to keep the region as their secret with properties changing hands without hitting the open market,” says Gemma Bruce, of The-Viewing.com.