10 ski resorts for summer

The chalets and ski resorts of Europe offer some of the best value holiday accommodation out of season. Here's our pick.

1. Grindelwald, Jungfrau, Switzerland

With its enormous glaciers, illustrious hikes, equable climate, sleepy deciduous forests tucked down vivid green valleys, and the mighty peak of the Eiger looming at every corner, the Jungfrau has been drawing tourists for two centuries, and you can see why. Yet the proliferation of chalets and specialised ski resorts makes this come-hither corner of Switzerland a real bargain in summer, when accommodation is available on demand.

· Try the Chalet Rehhalta: all mod cons, stunning views, [phone]; CHF 230 (£113) a day not including taxes (sleeps four)

2. Davos, Switzerland

Those international bigwigs know a thing or two when choosing a retreat: Davos is a sweetly wooded chunk of the Swiss Alps, with excellent walking, fishing, horseriding, paragliding, rock climbing, wind surfing, watersports, hang-gliding and golf. Local prices can be steep, if you like champagne and canapes, but there's a good selection of modern chalets and apartments which can help to balance the budget. Davos itself has a cinema, supermarket, railway station, and some surprisingly funky nightlife - where Bill Gates likes to cut a rug when he's in town.

·Vacation Apartment Talstrasse, Davos Dorf, [phone]; from CHF70 (£34.28) a night for the flat (sleeps four)

3. Luz Saint Sauveur, Midi Pyrenees, France

The cirque de Gavarnie is an enormous scoop of glacial valley, surrounded by towering, Tolkienesque peaks. It's almost as popular with walkers as it is with skiers. If you want to see the cirque, or maybe the famous Romanesque churches hereabouts, the best place to base yourself is this handsome and demotic little spa town about 20 minutes away from Gavarnie by car. The planned Napoleonic part of town is up on the hill, the affable new town with shops, cinema, internet cafes, bars, discos and regular British newspapers is down in the dale.

· Residence L'Eterle is a brand new chalet complex by a gurgling mountain stream; [phone]; from €79 (£63) a night for a chalet sleeping two

4. Onsernone Valley, Ticino, Switzerland

Tucked away on the Italian border, the Onsernone valley claims it is the sunniest in Switzerland. Judging by the fig trees, mimosas and cacti, there may be some truth in this. Local facilities tend to be more rustic than luxe, but you won't be spending that much time indoors: the vast chestnut forests are too tempting for walkers, there's golf in Ascona, swimming in the cold Alpine lakes, and a long day hike into Italy if you fancy a slightly cheaper cup of coffee. There's also a train station at Locarno.

· Vacation Apartments Casa ai Muini; [phone]; two - four person apartments in 150-year-old buildings: from £150 per week

5. Gressoney Valley, Italy

The far north of Italy is one of Europe's hidden pleasures: a land of pine forests, mist-scarfed peaks, and blue Alpine lakes, with plenty of Italian charm and some decent pizza in the ancient villages and towns. About the only problem is getting there: this is a notably inaccessible corner of the country, especially if you stay in the astonishing Gresonney Valley, a perfectly preserved tract of forested upland. Best hire a car.

· Apartment il Cilieigo; a gorgeous chalet lost down its own side valley; sleeps four. £300 a week; [phone]

6. Val Gardena, Italy

Santa Cristina twinkles on the sunny side of the ancient and glacial Gardena Vale. Protected from northern winds by the austere loftiness of the Sassolungo Rock, it gets pretty packed with winter sports enthusiasts, especially families who favour the relatively gentle slopes of the Dolomites. But in summer you will have the shining green meadows and wildflower-strewn oak forests to yourself. Drown your lonely sorrows with some of the eagerly refreshing local white wines.

· Apartments Villa Mastle; sleeps two - seven; £15 a day, per person; [phone]

7. Collalbo, Italian Tyrol

It feels very Swiss-German, Collalbo. The farms are neat and pretty, the woods are emerald and unpolluted and local men sometimes favour lederhosen (no joke). Yet this is still a very Italian region of Italy, with great coffee, lively bars, and slightly unreliable bus services. The views of the Dolomites to the south are grandiose; if you fancy a serious walk try the 3,000 metre Rittnerhorn peak, just up the road, it's like the Matterhorn - only more malevolent.

· Farm Neuhof; sleeps two - six; £25 a night, per person; [phone]

8. The Burgenland, Austria

This is the other end of Austria from the more popular, western, Mozarty bit: a winsome region of rolling hills hard by the Hungarian border, with ancient Esterhazy palaces, and strange medieval castles atop brooding cliffs. The countryside is somnolent, the people are jolly in a brass band kind of way, the food is very German, and the local red wine is surprisingly good. And shopping across the border in Hungary is fantastically cheap.

· Apartment Schober; sleeps six; from £15 a day, per person; [phone]

9. Garmisch Partenkirchen, Germany

Smack bang in the middle of the Bavarian Alps, this is Germany's winter sports centre par excellence: which means it has a lot of good-value accommodation in summer, when you can climb Germany's highest mountain, take in the "Alpenpanoramas", join in the many Bavarian folk festivals, eat some great apfelstrudel, or simply sun yourself on the balcony in one of the nicest climates north of the Alps. Lots to do at night, as well.

· Vacation Condo is in the Olympia Village, built for the winter Olympiad two decades back; [phone]; sleeps two; £10 a night, per person out of season

10. Burguete, Navarre, Spain

When Ernest Hemingway wasn't running with bulls or writing novels, he liked to go trout fishing in this adorable Basque village, high in the Navarrese Pyrenees, near the abbey of Roncesvalles in France. Even though the pilgrim's route of Saint James goes right through town (en route to Santiago de Compostela), Burguete still feels untouched. You almost expect to see Papa Hemingway bringing home his catch of an evening. The Basque cuisine hereabouts is universally delicious.

· Camping Urrobi has some sweet little chalets; from £10 a night, per person; [phone]