Tremblant

Tremblant has been the leading ski resort in eastern Canada for 70 years and for the past decade has been annually voted the best ski resort in eastern North America by US Ski Magazine readers.

The reasons for its success? Easy access from Montreal is a big plus, as is the northerly latitude with skiing on the region's highest mountain. An arsenal of nearly 1,000 snow guns is a big snow certainty advantage. But the billion-dollar spend by Intrawest, the company behind Whistler and more than a dozen other top North American, and now European, ski resorts, is probably the key factor.

Much of the money has gone on an ever-expanding, brilliantly laid out pedestrian resort village at the base of the slopes. There's a huge choice of accommodation, eateries and shopping all designed in a faux Quebecois architecture with carefully determined sight lines and vistas. The resort endeavours to offer something for all tastes and all budgets.