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, +41627213188; 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, +41 81 416 5351; 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; +33 581 189002; from €79 (£63) a night for a chalet sleeping two

4. Onsernone Valley, Ticino, Switzerland