Travel guide – ski resorts
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Overview
The deep valleys and soaring snow-covered peaks of the Alps border France, Switzerland and Italy and offer a challenge to skiers and snowboarders throughout the winter months. Downhill skiing was established here towards the end of the 19th century by the English, since when an increasing number of skiers and snowboarders have been attracted to the first-rate resorts. French resorts may not be as picturesque as those in Switzerland and Austria but they give access to some of the best and most extensive skiing in the world; by most standards they are high, mostly between 6,562ft and 9,843ft (2,000m and 3,000m), and have reliable snow. The ski season runs from late November to April and is busiest during the Christmas and Easter holidays.
Chamonix sits in the shadow of Mont Blanc and offers some of the most challenging skiing in Europe. The town is in the centre of a string of villages spread out along a valley cutting deep through the Alps; the village of Argentiere is six miles (10km) up the valley, beneath the renowned Grands-Montets slopes, and Les Houches is a small resort a few miles below. The huge variety of on- and off-piste skiing in Chamonix attracts ski bums and serious weekend skiers (the town is only 50 minutes drive from Geneva) and this is reflected in the sportive atmosphere in the bars and restaurants.
Courchevel is made up of five separate resorts, all within the Trois Vallées ski area, which also incorporates Meribel and Val Thorens. The main resorts are named after their heights - Courchevel 1850, 1650, 1550 and Le Praz 1300. La Tania is another, small purpose-built resort situated on a ridge between Courchevel and Meribel. Courchevel 1850 is the smartest and most expensive of the resorts; it has the best restaurants, nightlife and access to the slopes. Courchevel 1650 and 1550 are quieter, more suited to families, and Le Praz is a pretty village with narrow streets, but due to its altitude has less reliable snow.
Probably because it was purpose-built, Flaine is one of the most user-friendly ski resorts it is possible to find: compact, with easy access to the pistes, and a location that ensures exceptional snow conditions. Consisting of concrete apartment blocks built on three levels along the slopes, at an altitude of 5,250ft (1,600m), in the centre of a natural bowl, this, the youngest resort in the French Alps, may not sound particularly appealing. Flaine may not present the archetypical image of the Alpine village, but it has been architecturally designed for comfort and convenience, and visitors are amazed at how the buildings blend in with the limestone of their surroundings. The three levels, Flaine-Foret, Flaine-Forum and Flaine-Front de Neige, are connected by elevators and pedestrian trails. The centre is car-free, with restaurants, bars and services grouped around two central shopping plazas. All activities are either close and easily accessible, or in the resort centre. There is also a cultural centre where classical and jazz music events are scheduled, a library and art gallery. Children are particularly well catered for. Flaine is situated beneath Mont Blanc, near Geneva, at the gateway to 'Le Grand Massif', one of the best ski and snowboard areas of France. From the nursery slopes, to an easy glide on the 8.5-mile (14km) blue Cascade run or the off-piste challenge of the Combe de Gers, Flaine is a trend-setting family-orientated resort that caters for all levels of skiers and boarders.
La Plagne is a vast ski resort with an enormous vertical drop of 6,562ft (2,000m), double that of Aspen for example. One of Europe's largest resorts, La Plagne is made up of 10 different 'villages', six purpose built and four traditional that are connected by public conveyances and a lift system. As such it can boast the largest ski area of any single resort in the world, and its linked trail system (Paradiski) with Les Arcs means there are now 261 miles (420km) of trails and 144 ski lifts. This high altitude resort centres on apartment life; there are few hotels and its convenience makes up for its lack of charm. The highest complex at Aime La Plagne is 6,890ft (2,100m) is considered to be the most convenient with many of the best apartments, while the lowest mountain village, at 5,906ft (1,800m), is the neo-Savoyard Plagne 1800. The largest complex with the liveliest atmosphere is the original Plagne Centre, one of the first villages in Europe to be built catering specifically for the skiing season. The lifts are near to the accommodation and you can generally ski to your door. For beginners and intermediates, this is the best of the European ski resorts.
Meribel is in the centre of the Trois Vallées, which also incorporates Courchevel and Val Thorens. Together they form the largest ski area in the world. Unlike most French ski resorts, Meribel has retained an atmosphere of the traditional skiing village, despite having grown enormously in recent years. Meribel-Mottaret is situated two miles (4km) up the valley and is better suited for the skiing, but not the nightlife. The resort was founded by the English early in the last century and is still very popular with Brits.
The traditional mountain village of Morzine is situated in the middle of one of the most extensive ski areas in the Alps, the Portes du Soleil, which links 14 ski resorts in France and Switzerland, and offers hundreds of miles of off-piste terrain and groomed slopes, and runs up to seven miles (11km) long, spread across 14 valleys. It is a great family resort with traditional chalets, special childcare services, and plenty of beginner and intermediate slopes in the vicinity, as well as family-orientated activities. Advanced skiers and boarders will also find endless off-piste opportunities and ample challenges on the black slopes. About a mile higher up the slope is the purpose-built resort of Avoriaz, which is a popular base for trips across the border to the Swiss resorts, and its treeless slopes offer powder snow and great boarding.
Albeit a purpose built resort with unattractive architecture, Tignes is one of Europe's highest resorts and offers the best snow conditions in the Alps with excellent snow cover and a place to ski almost year round thanks to the high-altitude Grand Motte glacier. An excellent lift system links the resort to its neighbour Val d'Isère and together they form the vast ski area known as Espace Killy, with 193 miles (310km) of lift-linked trails and an area that is regarded as one of Europe's best and most beautiful ski areas. Tignes is made up of three villages: Val Claret is the highest and is situated at the foot of the glacier; Tignes Le Lac with its stunning setting on the lake is the largest, and the modern Tignes Le Lavachet is further down. Two small villages below, Tignes Les Brévières and Tignes Les Boisses, are directly linked to the ski area and provide a more traditional atmosphere with charming chalets, narrow streets and picturesque churches. All five villages are connected by a free bus service.
Val d'Isere is one of the true European ski meccas; it has some of the best, and highest, on and off-piste skiing in the world. The resort is linked with Tignes, and between them they have 186 miles (299km) of marked runs for every level of skier. Both resorts were developed, rather badly, in the 1970s, and large square hotels dominate the town however Val d'Isere remains popular with the English due to the great skiing and busy nightlife, which is centred on venues such as Dick's Tea Bar and the Moris Pub. There are also plenty of good French restaurants to choose from. The village is becoming increasingly busy in the summer when tourists flock there for walking or paragliding.
At over 2,200 metres (7,500ft), Val Thorens is the highest ski resort in the Alps and offers guaranteed ski-to-door accommodation. Along with Meribel and Courchevel it forms the famous Trois Vallées ski area. Val Thorens is a fairly ugly purpose-built resort, but its exceptional snow reliability and wide choice of skiing makes it hard to beat for the ski enthusiast.
Climate
The French Alps offer lots of sunshine, but cold weather from November to April when the ski season is in full swing. The resorts are generally high and the snow is excellent, although the weather is relatively mild in comparison to the North American resorts. During the summer months the cool, sunny weather attracts hikers and climbers, particularly from July to September when the weather has settled and the high snows have melted.
Health
French hospitals and health facilities are first class. British, and visitors from other EU countries, are entitled to heavily discounted medical treatment and medicines on presentation of a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). Otherwise doctors and hospitals often expect immediate cash payment for health services. Medical insurance is advised. Pharmacies will provide some first aid, but charge for it. There have been increased reports of hantavirus (caused by rodents) in the Ardennes, Aisne and Jura regions. Rabies also occurs occasionally. In February 2006, France confirmed its first cases of bird flu; all affected birds have been culled and precautionary measures taken. The risk is low for travellers, but close contact with domestic, wild and caged birds should be avoided, and all poultry and egg dishes well cooked.
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