Bansko, previously better known for its school of Orthodox icon painting than for its pistes, is now Boomtown Bulgaria, much the most successful and challenging resort in Eastern Europe - and, thanks to an investment of 130 million Euro by a Sofia-based consortium, the only one to have a modern lift system. Bansko lies close to the Macedonian and Greek frontiers and on a clear day you can see the Aegean Sea.

What began in the 1980s as a one-lift ski resort in the Pirin Mountains has been transformed in recent years into the ski capital of the Wild East. Unlike Borovets, the mountains here are perfectly shaped for snowsports with the kind of awe-inspiring terrain that befits a future Verbier, or at least a Les Arcs. The resort has a long season that usually runs from mid-December until mid-May, and it had excellent snow cover last season.

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