Resort height: 1274m
The mountains
Wengen shares its ski area with the neighbouring resorts of Grindelwald and Mürren, and it sprawls across a wide area beneath the north faces of the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau mountains. Most of the time you'll be skiing with your mouth open - staring in astonishment at the view. It really is that good.
In all there are 213km of pistes on offer in Wengen, and the best of the terrain suits competent and athletic intermediates. There are two highlights. First is the Lauberhorn down into Wengen, one of the men's downhill courses on the World Cup circuit. That sounds intimidating, but on most days it's fairly easy, and it's great fun to check out the kind of terrain the world's fastest skiers have to tackle. The other run is the long, wide, swooping Tschuggen red down into Grindelwald - a real contender for a top ten of intermediate skiing.
One other must-ski is Mürren, at the top of which is the revolving Piz Gloria restaurant. The James Bond movie “On Her Majesty's Secret Service” was filmed there, and it's the best spot to soak up the scenery.
Getting there
Those travelling on their own tend to fly into Zurich, which is 3 ½ hours away by train.
Rating: 
6/10
Après-ski
Wengen is a traditional, old-fashioned mountain resort with a long skiing history. It's popular with older skiers too, and teens and twentysomethings shouldn't expect nightlife to rival the great party towns. Chilis is where the younger crowd congregates, while the Tanne Bar is recommended for cocktails, especially its sidecars. The highly-rated Italian, Da Sina, serves top-notch pizzas and makes a refreshing change from the hotel restaurants, where most visitors eat during their stay.
Rating: 
7/10
Non-skiers
Wengen is a superb spot for non-skiing mountain tourists, thanks to its system of mountain railways. One winds all the way up through tunnels in the north face of the Eiger to Europe's highest railway station, at a mind-boggling 3454m. Anyone who likes tobogganing needs to put it at the top of their hit list too - there's an extensive network of runs here, including one that's nine miles long!
Rating: 7/10
Cost of living
Wengen has fallen out of fashion in skiing circles in the last 20 years, so prices aren't as high as they should be be for such a stunning destination. That said, properly cheap accommodation is in short supply: most people stay in three and four star hotels.
Rating: 
9/10
Attractiveness of the resort
Provided you're not looking for extensive shopping opportunities, or cutting edge designer hotels, Wengen is one of the pin-ups of the skiing world.
