A Guide To Snowboarding In France
France is renowned as a world-class skiing destination which makes it popular not only with the British ski family but with skiers and snowboarders around the world. A snowboarding trip to France offers the opportunity to visit some of the most incredible mountains, with large combined ski areas, and some of the best facilities. France offers many ski in ski out villages at some of the biggest name resorts in skiing, it is hard to argue that France is anything but a premiere ski holiday destination.
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France is home to around 200 ski resorts split between the French Alps and the Pyrenees, with many bordering neighbouring ski areas in Italy and Switzerland. Skiing between resorts in France and local neighbour countries is becoming a theme in France with many areas joining together to offer extended ski areas by combining multiple ski resorts and villages. France is home to some of the largest combined ski areas in the world with the 3 Valleys, Paradiski, Port Du Soleil, Grand Massif, & Les Sybelles being just a few.
With a seemingly endless choice of world-class skiing choosing where to ski in France can seem overwhelming. Luckily, Frances ski resorts can differ greatly meaning that they can cater for specific requirements or needs narrowing down the options.
Most of the so-called French mega-resorts will allow skiers and snowboarders to cover huge distances throughout your holiday ensuring that you make the most of the lift pass. These resorts are also bases for large ski schools that can help beginners access ski lessons in France. This mix allows France to cater to the whole family/group meaning holidays with skiers and snowboarders of varying abilities should not be a problem.
French ski resorts also invest heavily in the infrastructure ensuring that their ski areas remain modern and that connections between resorts run smoothly. Whether it is new fast gondolas or fresh accommodation that is going up, French ski resorts offer fantastic facilities.
THE FRENCH ALPS
The French Alps border the other European giants of skiing Switzerland and Italy, offering many resorts with cross-border skiing opportunities. The ski resorts of the French Alps, not only offer some of the biggest names but also some of the most expansive terrain available. The French Alps are home the the Three Valleys, Paradiski, Espace Killy, Grand Massif and many more combined ski areas.
A huge factor in the popularity of the French Alps is the accessibility for British tourists. Regular ski transfers are available in winter from the major airports in Geneva, Lyon, Chambery and Grenoble. Alternatively, the ski resorts of the French Alps are connected to London by the ski train that runs via Paris into Bourg St Maurice.
It is possible to ski and snowboard in the French Alps in the winter and summer with some of the highest ski areas offering glacier skiing in Les Deux Alpes and Val d’Isere.
THE FRENCH PYRENEES
The French Pyrenees is often overlooked in favour of the Alps, however the Pyrenees has a number of excellent ski resorts to suit all abilities. As a generalisation, French Pyrenees ski resorts tend to be smaller than those in the alps, with less infrastructure. This doesn’t need to be a negative though with ski resorts in the French Pyrenees tending to remain uncrowded and cheaper than their French Alps counterparts. The Pyrenees doesn’t have the big names, but it does have snow-sure resorts with some excellent skiing and snowboarding. I have had some great weeks skiing in the French Pyrenees in the resort of Gourette and I look forward to exploring even more of the Pyrenees soon.
COMBINED SKI AREAS FRANCE
THREE VALLEYS
The Three Valleys is the largest combined ski area in the world offering 600km of pistes between the ski resorts of Val Thorens, Meribel, Courchevel, Les Menuires and St Martin de Belleville. Each of the resorts offers something
GRAND MASSIF
Five Resorts combine to make the Grand Massif ski area with the best known being Flaine. Flaine is joined by; Samoëns, Les Carroz, Morillon and Sixt to form this exciting ski area. The Grand Massif is perfect for Brits with short transfer times from Geneva Airport.
PORTES DU SOLEIL
The Portes Du Soleil is a combination of 12 ski resorts split across the border of France and Switzerland. Snowboarding in the Portes Du Soleil includes access to Avoriaz where you can tackle the Swiss Wall or head into the Stash. The Portes du Soleil is a short transfer from Geneva.
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LES SYBELLES
Les Sybelles is the 4th largest ski area in France combining six French Ski Areas. Les Seybelles offers 310km of ski trails accessible via the same lift pass ensuring its place as Top 10 largest ski area in the world!
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HOW TO GET TO FRENCH SKI RESORTS
The most popular way to travel to French ski resorts is by air with most arrivals landing at Geneva Airport in nearby Switzerland. The Geneva International Airport has a regular flight schedule to many UK and European cities and this makes it the preferred entry route. It is possible to get flights into Chambery, Grenoble and Lyon airports, which can have shorter transfer times to ski resorts in the French Alps. The trade of is usually more expensive flights and less choice in transfer companies. It is also possible to visit the French Alps via the Italian airports in Milan, which for example is a 2 hr 30 min drive from Chamonix.
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France is also very accessible by train and some of my favourite ski trips have started by taking the train from London to my French ski destination. Whilst some are put off by the station transfer in Paris, in reality, the journey between Paris Gare Du Nord and Gare De Lyon is simple, even with luggage. Access to French ski resorts by train is excellent with Bourg St Maurice and Moutiers being fantastic entry points to the Paradiski and 3 Valleys respectively. Travelling by train to French ski resorts allows you to not worry about luggage restrictions and can consist of some beautiful scenery when close to the mountains.
Self-drive to French ski resorts is a popular option with multiple ferry crossings and train crossings via Le Shuttle possible. Although I have found the journey to French ski resorts long by car it has occasionally been the best option, especially when travelling with multiple people/pets. When driving be sure to have the correct tyres and chains as these remain legal requirements.
WHY SNOWBOARD IN FRANCE?
France gives you access to some of the largest combined ski resorts with impressive facilities and some of the best ski towns in the world. A snowboarding trip to France is likely to include ski-in-ski-out accommodation in one of the world’s most beautiful mountain ranges. Whether we are talking fast lifts, fantastic accommodation or exceptional restaurants, French ski resorts have the whole package.
One of the charms of skiing and snowboarding in France is the purpose-built mountain villages that offer on-slope accommodation. France has some of the highest ski towns in the world that not only guarantee snow throughout the season but also have a party atmosphere. Although some French ski towns are lamented for their ugly architecture (Flaine, Les Menuires) you can’t fault the location and access to door-step skiing.
A real selling point for French skiing is the large number of combined ski areas. These ski areas combine individual resorts on one lift pass allowing you to ski between the neighbouring resorts. Ski areas like the Three Valleys, Grand Massif, Paradiski and Portes Du Soleil combine huge amounts of terrain which not only makes for a diverse ski area but also exceptional value.
FRENCH MULTI-RESORT PASSES
France offers nowhere near the value of Multi-Resort Ski Passes that can be found in North America or even neighbouring Switzerland with their Magic Pass. It is worth noting that a weeks skiing in the 3 Valleys is included on Vail Resorts Epic Pass, something that I have taken advantage of during a trip to Val Thorens. Additionally, IKON Pass holders benefit from 7 days skiing at Chamonix Mont-Blanc Valley further to their numerous North American holder benefits. Realistically, there isn’t a major ski pass that will combine the resorts of France, however France does hold an ace up its sleeve… MEGA RESORTS.
France’s Mega Resorts like; Les 3 Valleys, Paradiski, Grand Massif, Espace Killy, Grand Domaine Alp d’Huez, Porter Du Soleil, and Les Seybelles offer skiing and snowboarding at multiple local resorts on one lift pass. Even more, these mega resorts are so well interconnected with great infrastructure such as modern lifts and transport routes it is possible to ski multiple resorts in one day.
Sadly, these French ski resorts know that they are offering a great package and they charge accordingly. A season pass for Les 3 Vallees for example is over €1300 but covers the 8 local ski resorts. Some value can be found in resorts that offer early bird discounts with the Grand Massif holding a sale before December that means season passes can be bought for half price.
Although there isn’t a one pass to rule them all like the Epic Pass or Magic Pass in France, France does offer multi-resort skiing. My advice is buy your passes early to save the most money.
THE FRENCH SKI SEASON
France offers a long winter of skiing usually starting in November at some of the higher ski resorts such as Val Thorens with the season getting into full swing in mid-December. The ski season in France tends to last into the middle of April with a couple of key exceptions. Les 2 Alpes and Val d’Isere are both open for summer skiing, although the dates for this are being adjusted to preserve the glaciers. One thing is sure that throughout winter France offers skiers plenty of options for snow sure ski resorts to make for a great ski and snowboard holiday.
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