|
3
Vallées
The
Three Valleys is without doubt the world
most renowned ski area. Comprising of 8
main resorts; Courchevel, La
Tania, Meribel,
Brides-Les-Bains, Les Menuires, Saint
Martin de Belleville, Val Thorens and Orelle, the massive
snow sure ski area offers over 600km of
lift and piste linked
terrain, 180 ski lifts and in excess of
1,200 snow cannons.
Whether
you are looking for a safe accessible
beginner’s area, perfectly groomed
pistes, tree
lined runs, moguls, steeps or a real off
piste
adventure, each resort in the Three
Valleys has something to offer. In each
resort there are also a huge range of
activities and facilities to check out
once you are off the pistes.
In
terms of accommodation there is something
to cater for all tastes and budgets from
low cost options to luxury residences
with fantastic facilities. For
restaurants and eating out there is also
a huge choice from the 10 Michelin
starred restaurant scattered across the
Three Valleys to simple good value
outlets offering portions of tartiflette and
Mountain burgers by the side of the pistes. There are
also a good range of après ski
bars and night clubs across the Three
Valleys, although some resorts are
livelier than others.
·
Meribel
Located
at the heart of the Three Valleys, Meribel has long
been a favourite with the British. Meribel has managed
to hang on to its alpine charm with
tastefully designed chalets and
residences and friendly village centre.
Whilst there are 150km of piste in the Meribel Valley
which cater for all levels of ability,
although the full 600km of the Three
Valleys are easily accessible if you
really want to explore. Après ski
here is amongst the liveliest in the
Three Valleys.
·
Val Thorens
Located at an altitude of 2,300 meters,
Val Thorens
is not only the highest resort in the
Three Valleys, but the highest in
Europe. Val Thorens is a
purpose built car free resort with a
range of accommodation to suit all
budgets. There is terrain here to suit
all abilities, Val Thorens is hailed
as one of the best intermediate areas in
the Three Valleys and has recently
invested 1.5 million Euros in a special
area specifically for beginners. Last but
not least Val Thorens has a
reputation for having surprisingly lively
nightlife.
·
Courchevel
Courchevel
is
the most extensive and varied ski sector
of the Three Valleys. The resort itself
is split into 5 different levels each
offering its own ambience; the most
prestigious of which is Courchevel 1850
renowned for its glitz and
glamour.Below
is Courchevel
1650 with a family orientated village
feel and its own sector of pistes. Courchevel is the
only ski resort in the world that can
proudly boast of 7 Michelin star
chefs.
·
Les Menuires
Les
Menuires has
a great position in the Three Valleys
with excellent skiing and snowboarding on
offer for all levels. The resort has an
unpretentious atmosphere and is the best
value for money resort in the three
valleys with prices much lower than its
neighbours. Les Menuires has
specially developed pistes and
activities suited to children so families
are catered for on and off the
slopes.
Espace
Killy
The
Espace
Killy consists of
the two world famous resorts of Tignes and Val
d’Isère,
providing a large well-linked area with a
reliable snow record. The Espace
Killy ski area,
made up of approximately 300km of piste with 156
pistes, 2
glaciers and 88 lifts, is a favourite of
the British.
The
maximum skiable vertical drop of the
Espace
Killy area is one
of the largest in the world at 1,900
meters. The lowest lift is at 1,550
meters, while the highest point on the
Grande Motte
glacier is an impressive 3,450 meters.
There are also extensive off-piste
possibilities. The Espace
Killy is well
suited to beginners, intermediates and
experts alike. It terms of accommodation,
restaurants and bars there is something
to suit all tastes and budgets.
·
Tignes
Tignes
is a purposed-built ski resort which
ranks as one of the best winter sports
centres in the world, within the Espace
Killy ski area. The
original and main village Tignes Le Lac is
still the hub of the ski resort and has
been recently remodelled and improved in
its appearance. Val-Claret is situated
2km further up, at the foot of the
funicular transportation to the glacier.
The lesser known Les-Brévières
is in fact a friendly place to stay in a
renovated old village at the lowest point
of the slopes (1550m).
·
Val d’Isere
Situated at the convergence of two deep
valleys, the original old village of Val
d’Isere
dates back to the 13th century. Today,
this pedestrian-friendly resort is made
up of several hamlets all connected by an
efficient free bus service. With no
doubt, the combination of extended
skiing, lively ambience and fashion
boutiques make Val d’Isère
one of the most sought after ski resorts
in the world.
Espace San
Bernardo
The
Espace San
Bernardo offers a unique international
ski area, joining France and Italy and
the resorts of La Rosiere and La
Thuile which
combined offer 160kms of varied pistes. The area
enjoys a favourable climate, Espace San Bernardo
has a fantastic sun record and the high
altitude preserves the snow cover.
·
La Rosiere
La
Rosiere is
located in the heart of the Haute Tarentaise and set
in a forest on the Italian border. La
Rosiere is a
friendly south facing resort built in
attractive chalet style. The skiing in La
Rosiere is a
perfect balance between easy and more
technical runs, with wide, long downhill
slopes in the forest, La Thuile offers some
more challenging skiing with the
opportunity to have lunch over on the
Italian side. La Rosiere is the only
ski resort in France to be able to offer
you heli-skiing.
Grand
Massif
The
Grand Massif is made up of 5 ski resorts:
Flaine, Les
Carroz, Morillon, Samoëns and
Sixt
Fer-a-Cheval
with
a combined total of 265km of downhill
skiing, with 351 individual pistes, served by
78 ski lifts. With much of the ski area
above 2000m it is a great choice for
those who want snow sure skiing.
All levels of skier ability, from
Beginner to Expert, are well-catered for
in the Grand Massif. The Grand Massif is
very highly rated by Snowboarders and
there are a total of five Snow and
Terrain Parks in the area.
·
Flaine
The
highest point of the Grand Massif is
Flaine - set
in a snow-sure bowl the resort offers
purpose-built convenience.
With
one of the best snow records in the
French Alps, Flaine is very
often called "big snowy bowl". Therefore,
you will enjoy a beautiful landscape
while skiing or snowboarding. Flaine is an
architecturally modern and car free
resort located in the Haute-Savoie region,
close to the Mont-Blanc. Flaine is ideal for
families with young children too. Good
nursery slopes are located in as well as
outside the village of Flaine.
Flaine
Mont-Blanc
The
Mont-Blanc ski area is amongst the most
famous in the world. Made up of 5 main
ski areas;
Les
Houches, Le
Brévent, La
Flégère,
Les Grands
Montets and
the Domaine
du Balme
consisting of about 12 separate resorts:
Chamonix Mont Blanc, Argentière,
Combloux,
Cordon, Les Houches, Le Tour,
Megève, Passy Plaine
Joux, Praz Sur Arly,
Saint-Gervais, Saint-Nicolas de
Véroce and Vallorcine each
offering a slightly different
ambience
Ski
Pass Mont Blanc opens up to 700 km of
pistes with
extends from 1035m to 3842m covering a
dozen local resorts; please note driving
with your own car, or making use of the
trams/trains is required for
interconnecting resorts.
Mont-Blanc
is home to
the
world's biggest lift-served skiable
vertical drop of 2807 metres, one of the
world's longest runs through the Vallée
Blanche at 22 km and staged the World's
first Winter Olympics in 1924.
·
Chamonix
Chamonix is set at the foot of Mont
Blanc, Europe's highest mountain at
16,000 feet, and has been a major alpine
centre since the 19th century. Chamonix
is a fascinating traditional ski resort
with a bustling atmosphere. Chamonix is
car free in the centre of the resort and
has cobbled streets, beautiful buildings
and a fast running river.
Chamonix
boasts unbeatable snow and remains the
undisputed off-piste capital of Europe.
With the Vallee Blanche'
decent which is skied with a guide
provides 24km of unforgettable skiing in
stunning scenery.
·
Les
Houches
Les
Houches is a
typical mountain village with traditional
Savoyard scenery. There are a number of
pleasant bars and good restaurants for
quiet evenings out and buses run
regularly in and out of the cosmopolitan
nearby town of Chamonix all evening. Its
friendly relaxed atmosphere provides a
great base for families. It is also ideal
for those wishing to explore the rest of
the legendary valley. The quiet ski area
of Les Houches offers 50km
of ski runs accessible to all. It is
particularly suited to beginners with
magnificent panoramas over the Mont Blanc
mountain range.
Les
Houches Ski
area
Sybelles
The
villages of La Toussuire, Le Corbier, Saint Jean
d'Arves, Les
Bottieres,
Saint Sorlin
d'Arves and
Saint Colomban des Villards have
recently join forces to found a vast
310km ski area which provides access to a
selection of well maintained slopes to
suit all abilities. The lift system is
under constant investment to increase
speed and comfort for exploring the
'gently challenging' domain.
·
La
Toussuire
La
Toussuire in
the Maurienne
valley has grown since the 1960's in a
panoramic mountain setting, located on a
plateau with vast amounts of sunshine. It
is predominantly modern, with a car free
main street lined with controversial
style buildings. The resort has now
spread in complete contrast with recently
built wooden chalets. As one of the
central resort of the new Sybelles network,
it is a recommended place for
families.
Photos © Roger
Moss/MountainPassions.com
|
|
Les
Menuires
Husky Sleigh ride
Paradiski
Paradiski
is
made up of 20 different holiday
destinations, some of the main resort
being Les Arc, Arc 1950, La Plagne, Peisey
Vallandry and Bourg
Saint Maurice. With 425km of pistes and
2-equipped glaciers there is something to
suit skiers and boarders of all ages and
abilities. Paradiski has excellent
facilities and with its huge variation in
altitude (1200m-3250m) there is a
multitude of different types of scenery
and piste to
explore.
·
Les
Arcs
Les
Arcs is split into 3 levels: Les Arc
1600, Les Arc 1800 and Les Arc 2000, each
offering a different flavour from
functional to charming, but all providing
superb ski-in ski-out facilities within
the Paradiski area. Spoilt with both
skiing and snowboarding options, the
domain offers splendid view of the Mont
Blanc massif and the Tarentaise Valley
now stretches as far as La Plagne.
·
Arc
1950
The
recently established ski resort of Arc
1950 Le Village has been designed with an
American ethos; the ski-in–ski-out
resort is self-contained with everything
from ski schools and ski hire to bars and
restaurant right on your door step. Le
Village Arc 1950 provides instant comfort
and a secure atmosphere so is a great
choice for families. Arc 1950 is located
just below Arc 2000, within the Paradiski
ski area. A gondola links both ski
resorts until 9pm.
·
Peisey-Vallandry
The
small traditional villages of Peisey and Vallandry are
situated halfway between the main resorts
of Les Arcs and La Plagne. Peisey, perched at
1600m of altitude, is an authentic and
pretty mountain village with real farm
buildings and Baroque heritage. The up
and coming resort of Peisey
Vallandry is
becoming more popular for its ideal
starting point to explore both Les Arcs
and La Plagne
ski areas and is a quiet alternative to
bustling Les Arcs.
·
La Plagne
La
Plagne
consists of ten separate 'villages' some
of the larger villages include Plagne Villages,
Belle Plagne,
Aime-La Plagne and Plagne Soleil - all
superbly linked with a lift system
– Each has a different atmosphere
and six are purpose built for ski-in, ski
out convenience. Apart from the fantastic
skiing and snowboarding, stretching to
the Paradiski ski domain, there is
accommodation to suit all tastes and
budgets. There are nearly 100 restaurants
and bars throughout the different
villages of La Plagne and lots of
activities both on and off the pistes.
·
Bourg
Saint-Maurice
Bourg
Saint-Maurice is the main town in the
Tarentaise
Valley and is surrounded by numerous ski
resorts that together attract more than
10 million skiers each year. If you are
looking for a slightly different ski
holiday experience to a traditional
resort, then this lively and active town
is the one for you.
Bourg
Saint Maurice funicular to Les
Arcs
Espace
Diamant
The
Espace
Diamant offers
185km of slopes and a varied skiing
terrain which favours families but all
levels of skiers can enjoy themselves.
The Espace
Diamant is
made up of 6 village resorts: Les Saisies and Hauteluce in the
Beaufortain
area along with Crest-Voland/Cohennoz,
Notre-Dame-de-Bellecombe, Flumet and Praz
sur
Arly in the Arly Valley.
Offering
excellent downhill and cross country
skiing in pretty surroundings, the Espace
Diamant boasts an
exceptional snow record.
·
Les
Saisies
Les
Saisies has
been known on an international level
since the 16th Winter Olympic Games in
Albertville in 1992. Best recognised as
being the centre for cross-country
skiing, it also has extensive alpine
skiing linked with its neighbours Crest
Voland,
Notre-Dame de Bellecombe and
Flumet to
form the Espace
Diamant. The
setting is spectacular, as Les Saisies lies
halfway between the 'Beaufortain' valley
and the 'Val d'Arly' valley, two
magnificent areas of Savoy, with views
towards Mont Blanc. Les Saisies itself is
charming with wood clad chalets and a
bustling high street.
Portes
du
Soleil
Conveniently
located between Geneva and Mont Blanc
the
Portes du
Soleil skiing area offers an extensive
650 km of pistes, 279 marked
pistes, 9
snowparks, 12
resorts and two countries to choose from.
The Portes du
Soleil vies with the Three Valleys for
the prestigious title of
‘World’s Largest Ski
Area’ but the pistes and
atmosphere of the resorts differs
greatly.
As a
whole, the Portes du Soleil
offers classic intermediate terrain but
each resort has own appeal and challenges
for the more advanced. For ease of
navigation within such wide area, there
are 12 discovery routes, signposted with
different alpine animals according to the
level of difficulty. Beginners are well
catered for within each local
area.
·
Avoriaz
Located
at the heart of the Portes du Soleil,
Avoriaz 1800
is a charming purpose-built, pedestrianised ski
resort.
Skiing
starts on your doorstep in Avoriaz
with
snow covered paths leading to the pistes giving the
resort a real alpine feel.
There
is something for every level of skier;
the main Portes du Soleil
circuit can be easily enjoyed by
beginners and intermediates, along with
plenty of challenging runs for the more
expert skiers. Avoriaz has a
lively atmosphere with a good range of
restaurants and bars and plenty of
activities both on and off the pistes.
Grandes
Rousses
The
Grandes
Rousses Massif domain links the ski
resort of Alpe
d’Huez with
the traditional mountain villages of
Auris-en-Oisans, La
Garde,
Villard Reculas,
Oz-en-Oisans
and Vaujany
making the Grandes Rousses
Massif the 5th largest ski area in
France. There are few places to rival The
Grandes
Rousses for extent and variety of
terrain. The domain offers 248 km of
linked pistes
extending over an altitude range of
2,230m and offers breathtaking views of
the Alps including Mont Blanc.
·
Alpe
d'Huez
Alpe
d'Huez has been
growing since the 1930s on a large sunny
plateau, above the tree line. Beginners
are well catered for with the vast array
of slopes just above the resort. The main
attraction for experts is the Sarenne run. This
16km run is the longest black run in the
Alps. Alpe
d’Huez
is also a great starting base for
intermediates to explore the whole of the
Grandes
Rousses Massif. The Alpe
d'Huez slogan is
L'ile au
Soleil or Island of the Sun and this
reputation is well deserved with almost
all slopes south facing.
·
Valfrejus
Valfréjus
was
one of the last resorts to be built in
the Alps (early 80's) and although
purpose built, it has a friendly and
traditional village atmosphere with
locals living in the resort all year
round and a large natural ice rink in the
centre. All chalets are constructed in
typical Savoyard style, due to strict
planning laws. Valfrejus offers
approximately 60km of pistes but the new
Eski-mo pass
offers a day’s skiing in each La
Norma, Aussois and Val
Cenis all a short bus journey
away.
·
Sainte
Foy
Sainte
Foy is a small ski area first opened in
1990. Nestled amongst the trees, this
uncrowned gem is known only to a select
few. It is close to the large resorts of
Tignes, Les
Arcs and Val d'Isere, yet holds
a real unspoilt, intimate village
atmosphere. Built in the Savoyard style
it gives a seamless blend of old and new,
a refreshing change from some of the
concrete jungles found the larger alpine
resorts.
Sainte
Foy is famous for its vast amounts of
quiet, untouched powder slopes. The lift
system offers access to a choice of
green, blue and reds that run through the
trees offering great fun and are real
confidence builders. This resort appeals
to a mixed level of skiers and boarders,
and is frequented by locals and ski
instructors from nearby 'mega resorts' on
their days off.
·
Chamrousse
Chamrousse
is a
relatively small ski resort over looking
Grenoble at an altitude of 2250m offering
in excess f 90km of piste. The village
of Chamrousse
is attractively placed offering stunning
views and is surrounded by trees allowing
for forest skiing. Only 30 minutes drive
from Grenoble, it is one of the most
accessible ski resorts in the
Alps.
Chamrousse
Recoin (1650m) is
convenient for athletic skiing and Roche
Beranger (1750m) more suitable for family
skiing. Chamrousse holds an
efficient lift system which means that
there are rarely any queues, and offers
access to excellent pistes for
beginners and intermediates, with a
number of off-piste runs for the more
advanced.
·
Valmeinier
Valmeinier
has
all the assets of a high altitude resort,
so whether on holiday with friends or
family, the 150km of slopes will please
all. Valmeinier 1500 is
a traditional village at the bottom of
the slopes and offers holiday makers
spectacular views overlooking the
neighbouring peaks.
Valmeinier
1800 is a little higher and more modern,
but fits well in its stunning
surroundings. There are easy nursery
slopes close to the resort and plenty of
good wide open slopes for beginners, as
well as a variety of pistes for the
intermediate skiers to choose from.
Snowboarders will love the wide slopes
in Valmeinier, there
is also a snowpark with half
pipe at the Crey du Quart and
the wide-ranging terrain is great for
free-riding.
·
Megève
Megève
was conceived in the 1920s as a French
alternative to Saint-Moritz, it was the
first purpose-built resort in the Alps.
Megève is an enchanting town set
in a lovely sunny setting, which has
retained its heritage and old rustic
charm to become one of the most
fashionable resorts in France.
Megève is one of the best resorts
in the Alps for non-skiers: Megève
has a beautifully preserved medieval
centre - now pedestrianised -
with narrow cobbled streets, tastefully
restored buildings, a pretty church,
horse-drawn sleighs, a weekly market, an
open-ice rink and plenty of marked paths
for walkers. There are lots of smart
clothing, jewellery, food, antique and
gift shops. Megève itself has 55km
of piste , it
is directly linked with Saint Gervais and
the rest of the Chamonix Mont Blanc area
is easily accessible.
|
