The Best Ski Resorts in France
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The countdown to the ski season is officially on. And if you’re still wondering which ski resort in Europe is for you, push France to the top of the list. With a flurry of new restaurants and ski hotels hitting the slopes and Eurostar’s direct Saturday ski train, it's safe to say that French ski resorts are well and truly at their best. Whether you’re looking to master your parallel turns or float through pristine powder, settle into a long lobster lunch or stay over in an enchanting mountain village plucked straight from a postcard, here are our favorite French ski resorts worth putting on your radar.
This gallery was originally published by Conde Nast Traveller UK.
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Val d’Isère
Best for: Snow-sure skiing
Val d’Isère has all the trappings of a perfect resort: world-class skiing, accommodation options covering everything from simple self-catering digs to sumptuous hotels, buzzing nightlife (Dick’s Tea Bar is an Alpine institution), and even a storybook 17th-century church peeking up through its clusters of snow-dusted chalets. With the season stretching from late November through to early May, it’s also the best snow-sure resort in Europe, with more ground to cover here and in little sister Tignes than in Whistler—North America’s largest resort. And while it’s probably not the top choice for first-timers, wide-eyed experienced skiers can get their fix on demanding black runs, waist-high moguls, and steep couloirs. There’s a serious foodie scene too—accessible only on skis, L’Edelweiss serves up the best plates of local charcuterie and homemade foie gras, while back in town, Michelin-starred L’Atelier d’Edmond fulfills all buttoned-up, white tablecloth fantasies. LouLou at Airelles Val d’Isère is rapidly turning into the resort’s hottest place to see and be seen.
Where to stay: If you have a head for heights and ambitions to be the first to make tracks each morning, book into Le Refuge de Solaise, a former cable-car station turned France’s highest hotel with knockout views of the mountains from every angle.
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La Clusaz
Best for: Weekenders
Just a short hop from the handsome lakeside town of Annecy and only an hour’s drive from Geneva, underrated La Clusaz is packed full of character and considered one of France’s better-kept secrets. Thanks to its proximity to the airport, plenty of Brits have snapped up chalets or apartments here, but the unspoiled French resort village still retains a refreshingly Gallic charm. In recent years, local celebrity and freeride God Candide Thovex has helped La Clusaz shake off its sleepy, beginner-centric reputation, and skiers can test their mettle and find extensive avalanche-controlled off-piste in the challenging Col de Balme area. It’s not the highest resort (aim for mid-season for the best snow), but paired with nearby Le Grand Bornard, there are nearly 93 miles of pistes for all abilities to enjoy. Everything from accommodation to restaurants is far more affordable than you’d find elsewhere—and as the birthplace of Reblochon cheese, artery-clogging plates of tartiflette are in no short supply.
Where to stay: By far the smartest place to stay in town, Au Coeur du Village Hotel & Spa, has two superlative restaurants, a knockout spa, and an onsite ski hire shop, making getting out on the slopes on your first day a total breeze.
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Courchevel
Best for: People-watchers
A word of warning: you’ll need seriously deep pockets to get under the skin of Courchevel at its highfalutin best. This is the winter playground for hobnobbing oligarchs and the new-moneyed set, and there’s nothing unusual about flaunting a box-fresh Chanel ski suit or forking out $75 for a cheeseburger. But for truly sensational skiing coupled with all the long, rose-fuelled lunches you could possibly wish for, there are few places quite like it. A refreshingly fast modern chairlift system serves 93 miles of groomed pistes in Courchevel alone; beyond that, all 373 miles of the Trois Vallées—the mothership of European skiing—are at your fingertips. Predominately north-facing slopes slash the chances of water skiing by lunchtime. It's also a great ski resort for beginners—newbies can ease themselves in on the gentle runs down in the marginally less fashionable pockets of Moriond and Le Praz. Non-skiers have plenty to do too, with plush spas and smart boutiques lining the resort’s heated pavements. There’s even an altiport for easy zipping in and out.
Where to stay: Outside of Paris, Courchevel has more five-star hotels than anywhere else in France. Big names including Cheval Blanc, Aman, and Six Senses have all laid down roots here, while The Pig Hotels’ little sister Portetta offers luxury at a less galling price tag. Uber ski chalets are everywhere—some come with weekly price tags as high as $284,912.
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Avoriaz
Best for: Pure convenience
When architect Jacques Labro’s Le Corbusier-inspired Avoriaz was conceived in the '60s, it was the ultimate marmite resort. Critics called out the angular grey design of its purpose-built high-rises for being too avant-garde for such a picturesque spot in the French Alps. But for pure convenience, resorts don’t get more faff-free than this one. There’s hardly a corner in the whole of Avoriaz that you can’t reach on skis, with motorway-style runs for all levels covering vast terrain across the Portes du Soleil, a ski area that includes Morzine, Les Gets, and Chatel. Crisscrossing the Swiss border, Avoriaz is a mecca for snowboarders and freestylers, and there’s a 394-foot-long superpipe and a feast of gnarly rails and runs in the resort’s five snow parks. Best of all, it’s leading the way in responsible ski tourism; The whole resort is run on biofuel, horse-drawn sleighs replace polluting vehicles in the car-free center, and the Stash—a fun snow park squirreled away in the forest—has been built using fallen trees.
Where to stay: An abundance of ski-in, ski-out self-catering accommodation makes Avoriaz hugely popular with families and big groups. Hotel-wise, Avoriaz’s original, Hotel des Dromonts is still the best. Outside, it resembles a giant fir cone; inside, it’s the epitome of trippy '60s chic.
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Megève
Best for: A sophisticated stay
Cobbled, car-free and about as chocolate-boxy as they come, Megève is—and always has been—one of France’s most exclusive and impossibly romantic ski resorts. Planted on the map in the '20s by Baroness de Rothschild, the resort’s medieval aesthetic belies its more modern history. In its heyday, Megève was a stomping ground for rich, well-connected Parisians; today, it still attracts a predominately Francophile crowd and remains the perfect jumping-off point for intermediate skiers looking to cruise along gentle tree-lined runs. Megève’s relatively low altitude means you’d be better off heading to nearby Chamonix after a snow dump, but the areas below Mont Joly and Cote 2000 offer enough taxing terrain to keep expert skiers happy. Upmarket après-ski revolves around jazz clubs and fine dining (three Michelin-starred Flocons de Sel is one of the finest eateries in the Alps), but there’s also a Folie Douce for anyone who’d prefer to stay in their ski boots.
Where to stay: Despite the chichi veneer, accommodation in Megève can be surprisingly affordable, with a bevy of cozy wooden chalets and apartments to rent. For the ultimate splurge, book into the Four Seasons, where the Rothschilds have left their mark by filling spaces with art and antiques from their own private collections.
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Chamonix
Best for: Free-riders and powder hunters
Any skier worth their salt has ambitions to visit Chamonix, the undisputed winter sports capital of Europe. Skiing here is practically a religion, and while you could come here to cruise the blues and reds, that sort of misses the point. In the shadow of Mount Blanc, there’s natural beauty and stunning scenery from all angles, and it’s well worth hiring a guide to unlock the resort’s world-class off-piste and hidden gems. The legendary Vallee Blanche is a rite of passage for many, with 12 miles of thigh-burningly tough ground to cover, while others come here to skin up the vertiginous cliffs or heli-ski in the pristine wilderness. The one downside? The lift system hasn’t quite kept up with the pace of adventure, so you’ll need to be prepared to unclip your skis and board several buses throughout the day. The town itself throngs with laidback seasonaires, keen to swap stories of the day’s conquests before re-emerging bright-eyed and bushy-tailed in time for the first lift in the morning.
Where to stay: Deliciously remote Refuge du Montenvers perfectly parcels up what Chamonix is all about. Much of its magic lies in the journey to get there: the most adventurous route involves skiing, hiking, or swooping in by helicopter—but there’s also a fire-engine red steam train for those who’d prefer a more leisurely arrival.
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Les Arcs
Best for: A no-fly ski break
It’s easy to avoid a carbon-guzzling flight on a visit to Les Arcs. The Eurostar ski train whooshes straight into Bourg St Maurice, which is just a seven-minute chug up the mountainside to Arc 1600, one of four satellite villages making up this down-to-earth French ski resort. A mishmash of the purpose-built and the traditional, there’s something for everyone, with car-free centers; easy ski-in, ski-out access; gentle woodland runs; and steep, high-altitude bowls. A lightning-fast double-decker cable car connects the resort to neighboring La Plagne and the vast Paradiski area, and thrill-seekers can launch themselves off the hair-raising 10,587-foot-high summit of Aiguille Rouge. Park rats love it here—up in lively Arc 1800, the Mille8 freestyle snow park hosts sound and light shows, and the resort regularly comes alive with music festivals, ski competitions, and buzzing nightlife.
Where to stay: For larger groups and families looking for a week off from cooking, Penthouse Misha in Arc 1950 masquerades as a fully-catered chalet but benefits from all the facilities of a hotel, including a nanny-supervised playroom.
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Serre Chevalier
Best for: Swerving the crowds
Nestled in the southern reaches of the French Alps, Serre Chevalier is not so much one resort but rather a series of interconnecting villages still flying mercifully under the radar to foreign visitors. Fringing the Italian border, it’s all about the skiing here, which ticks all the boxes for every level of expertise and takes in some of the most glorious scenery in the Alps. The lift system is being rapidly modernized, linking together the four main ski hubs: the UNESCO-protected ancient walled city of Briancon, family-friendly Chantemerie, purpose-built and fuss-free Villeneuve, and rom-com-worthy Montier les Bains. With an average of 300 days of sunshine a year, bluebirds are two-a-penny; when it’s chucking it down, two-thirds of the pistes dip into Narnia-like pine forest. There’s not much of an après scene; each village has its own clutch of cozy bars, family-run restaurants, and B&Bs lining its narrow-cobbled streets, but there’s plenty to do off the slopes, from dog-sledding to ice-climbing.
Where to stay: Forget five-star hotels; most accommodation options here are simple apartments or charming family-owned lodges. Chalet-wise, fully-catered Chez Bear Ski Lodge is packed with character and comes with a chauffeur to shuttle you and your guests to and from the pistes.
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Meribel
Best for: Covering a serious amount of ground
A much-loved Brit classic, Meribel sees the same loyal visitors flock back year after year. This family-friendly resort’s biggest draw is its sheer footprint. As part of the mega Trois Vallées, it sits at the heart of the world’s biggest ski area, with 373 miles of sun-dappled pistes stretching out from the lofty peaks of Val Thorens to the sybarite’s paradise of Courchevel. But it’s happily unpretentious, and visitors come here to ski rather than show off, with beginners finding their feet on the sheltered slopes around the Altiport. Powder-hunters make a beeline for the resort’s off-piste and hair-raising drops—the formidable La Face slope was created especially for the Winter Olympics, while Le Roc des Trois Marches offer some pretty intimidating descents. At 3 p.m., it’s time for table-stomping at the Folie Douce or the Ronnie; after that, everyone throws off their skis and heads into town for burgers, beer, and dancing well into the night.
Where to stay: The lion’s share of Meribel’s accommodation comes in the form of high-end chalets, but if a hotel is more your bag, opt for Le Coucou—owned by the same family behind Provence’s Crillon Le Brave and Lou Pinet in St Tropez, interiors are designed by heavyweight French designer Pierre Yovanovitch and the Tata Harper spa is a godsend after a long day on the slopes.
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Val Thorens
Best for: Early- or late-season snow
"Like living in the Wild West" is how French Olympic ski champion Christine Goitschel described Val Thorens when it first opened to visitors in the '70s. The highest resort in Europe has come a long way since those humble concrete jungle beginnings, and it now boasts a crop of Michelin-starred restaurants, fresh-faced hotels, and some of the best snow and terrain in the whole of the French Alps. As more and more resorts suffer from the consequences of rising temperatures, Val Thorens is proudly one of the first to open and last to close each season—and while visibility can get a little dicey during a heavy blizzard (most of the slopes run off a steep, treeless bowl), a Trois Vallées lift pass enables a retreat to the more sheltered pistes in Meribel and Courchevel. The resort’s reputation as a party town is here to stay, meaning there’s a sufficiently rowdy après scene for those hankering for it.
Where to stay: Scandi-inspired Altapura was the first five-star hotel to land in Val Thorens, and it still remains one of the best. Opt for a room overlooking the slopes—from the entrance, it’s just a quick schuss to the nearest chairlift.
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