Skiareál Ještěd, Jeschken

Ještěd is a lone, pyramid-shaped peak looming directly over Liberec in northern Bohemia, instantly recognisable from its summit tower, a celebrated piece of 1970s architecture that doubles as a hotel and restaurant. A cable car climbs from the city's edge to the top, from where surprisingly steep pistes drop back down the mountain's flanks, several with genuine FIS racing pedigree. The area is compact but distinctive, defined by its dramatic silhouette, its urban backdrop and its testing terrain. Because the mountain stands alone above the plain, the summit offers wide panoramas in every direction. It feels quite unlike the sprawling forest resorts elsewhere in the country.

Go for the singular experience of skiing a landmark mountain right above a city, with steeper-than-average pistes, race heritage and one of the most striking summit buildings in Europe. It suits confident intermediates and advanced skiers wanting character and pitch on a short break.

Standing exposed above the Bohemian plain, Ještěd catches wind and weather, and its lower flanks depend on snowmaking to keep the steeper race pistes open through a season of variable natural falls. The terrain is short but genuinely steep in places, more demanding than most Czech hills, and the isolated summit can be cloud-wrapped one hour and gloriously clear the next.