Skiing in Baqueira-Beret: Our Adventure in the Catalan Pyrenees

Last Updated on December 23, 2024

Baqueira is the favourite ski village of the Spanish royal family

Baqueira has been founded in the 1960s as a ski resort and since then has grown into (according to their website) the biggest ski area in Spain with 147 km of slopes. It is the favourite ski area of the Spanish royal family.

The village has been extended over the decades and we stayed in the most modern area – Val de Ruda. A modern apartment complex had been constructed here with the perfect ski infrastructure.

No cars are allowed. All traffic disappears in the massive underground garage. There is an extension of the major ski lift that connects the apartment complex and brings you straight up to the ski field in the altitude of around 2000 metres. In the basement you will find the ski lockers belonging to each apartment. It is directly located underneath the ski lift. An elevator brings you straight to the ski lift. Thus, you did not have any hassle with carrying your ski equipment. This is an absolute comfort.

Michael and I spent full five days on the slopes with daily changing weather conditions: lovely sunny days to cloudy, arctic days with -9 degrees celsius. Baqueira-Beret is not the biggest ski area that we have been to. Our favourite is Dolomiti Superski in Italy with 1200 km of slopes and the biggest ski carousel in the world. Still it was pleasant for those five days with just enough variety.

Especially, the outer slopes were situated in lovely, natural areas with no signs of civilization. The ski conditions were really good with around 250 cm of snow in the mountains. The ski area was located between 1500 metres and 2600 metres with mostly blue to red slopes.

Conclusion – Pros and Cons of Baqueira-Beret

The few days that we spent in Baqueira-Beret were absolutely lovely. We got really positive impressions:

• How they organised the part of village where we stayed (ban the cars underground) was very special.
• The comfort of easily storing and taking your ski equipment was excellent.
• Once you were up in the higher mountains the natural slopes were beautiful.
• The landscape was breathtaking.
• The proximity to Barcelona is definitely an advantage and the drive through Catalonia is wonderful when crossing the amazing landscape.

On the downside we found that the ski huts in the area were rather simple. They lacked a decent food offering and coziness that we are used to in the Austrian and Italian Alpes (Dolomiti Superski). For a passionate skier like Michael the amount of slopes could have been higher. After two days he had the feeling that you have seen and done it all.