European Ski Chalets For Billionaires

Destinations worldwide have increasingly moved to lift visa requirements as part of their strategy to increase visitor numbers — visa processing delays are a major obstacle to the industry’s full recovery.

America's rail system has long paled in comparison to the bullet trains of Japan and France's Train à Grande Vitesse. But now, historic new federal funding could finally bring high-speed train travel to the US.

Europe is home to 63 of the top 100 city destinations in the world, according to a new ranking.

As we head into 2024, the good news for everyone who loves overnight sleeper trains is that major European rail companies are continuing to roll out new night train routes across the continent.

When the British took to skiing in the early 1900s, we did so with competitive verve, organising clubs and amateur races that still draw big crowds today. The Inferno, held in the elegantly understated Swiss town of Murren, celebrates its 80th event in 2024, and constitutes the biggest public ski race in the world. It’s utter madness, involving 1,850 entrants racing over the nine-mile run, which drops from Schilthorn, at almost 2,970 metres, down to 790 metres, taking an average skier 20 minutes (the winner considerably less).

Perched majestically above the picturesque village of Zermatt, Switzerland, Chalet Zermatt Peak is an opulent mountain ski chalet which boasts breathtaking vistas of the iconic Matterhorn, a skier’s paradise. The chalet has recently been named the “World's Best Ski Chalet 2023” for the fourth year running by the World’s Ski Awards 2023.

As options for the traditional chalet ski break have dwindled and prices risen, venturing to Europe’s far corners and beyond for a ski break can reap rewards. Costs are often lower, while luxury accommodation can be similarly priced to budget options in mainstream European ski resorts. As well as being potentially cheaper, skiing in territory off the beaten track can offer a rich cultural experience, plus better flight routes, less crowded slopes, sunnier days and a friendlier welcome.

SAS intends to convene an extraordinary general meeting of the Company’s shareholders, to be held in January 2024, to approve the contemplated step-up mechanism within short order.

Each year in the Alps, as the first snows of the season start to fall, mountain towns welcome winter visitors with a slew of smart new hotels. And this year is no different, with upscale brands including COMO Hotels and Resorts moving its beach-beautiful ethos to the Italian Alps in COMO Alpina Dolomites, and Grace Hotels giving St Moritz its first luxury opening in half a century in the Grace La Margna. With its boutique modern addition, the sleek Swiss hotel breathes new life into the former art nouveau hotel La Margna, following a trend for high-profile revamps seen across the Alps this season. Here’s a look at the six best new openings, many of which revitalise former hotel landmarks.

As 2023 draws to a close, there's a slew of new U.K. and European routes launching in December and the not-so-distant future of 2024.

In Britain, the Sunday roast is sacrosanct. Gathering together around a beautifully cooked joint of meat, with lashings of gravy, vegetables and billowing Yorkshire puddings, is, for many, the weekend’s social highlight. And where better to do to this than the pub? Not only do you avoid the washing-up but, centuries after the French dubbed Brits les rosbifs, you get to enjoy the roast at its most modern. In recent decades, Britain’s best pub chefs have, by focusing on seasonal ingredients, rare-breed meats and painstaking preparations of roast potatoes or root vegetables, brought a fresh glamour to this Sunday afternoon ritual.

Of the key Alpine ski destinations, Italy offers the best value for money. Here, an espresso can cost €1.50 (£1.30) a shot, and a piste-side plate of pasta €10-15 (£9-13), items that are often 70-100% dearer in the A-list ski areas of France. And a peak-week, February half-term holiday in a three-star hotel can come in less than €1,745 (£1,500) per person half board, including flights and transfers. And that’s not taking some back-of-beyond resort as a point of comparison, either: all these prices are available in or around Canazei in Val di Fassa, part of the vast Dolomiti Superski area. On its doorstep, more than 300 miles of perfectly groomed pistes spin off the central Sella Ronda circuit; explore the area’s outer limits and that total hits 745 miles.