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Ceillac, France
Description: Ceillac is situated near Serre-Chevalier in the Haute Alps District and not too far away from the highest village in Europe, St Veran. Here you will find French rustic charm with wooden buildings.
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Les Orres, France
Description: Les Orres is situated in the Hates-Alpes department of the Southern Alps and it is a bit of a transfer from Grenoble or Lyon. However it has one of the largest ski fields in the area and has purpose built accommodation. It is a good family resort with great prices to match and with the added attraction of a pedestrianised centre.
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Samoens, France
Description: Samoens is one of the prettiest mountain villages and is listed 88th in the French National Office of Historic Monuments, and the only ski resort in France to be so listed. Once a thriving stone-cutting centre, it still retains an ancient church, medieval fountains and a variety of old rustic buildings. It lies at the foot of the Criou mountain and the Grand Massif range and the surrounding scenery is spectacular. The land is fertile and one of the famous products from this area is Reblochon Cheese. Access to the Grand Massif ski area is easy in the eight seater gondola.
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Puy St Vincent 1600, France
Description: Puy St Vincent is situated in Les Ecrins, the largest park in France with a staggering 92000 acres. The year round resort is split into two main levels, 1400 and 1600m. Puy 1600 is larger than 1400 and a better location for lift access. Sadly there is a bit of a concrete block right in the middle which sticks out a little.Puy 1400 is the more relaxed of the two resorts and really a sweet little hamlet. Nearby you will find other hamlets like Le Villaret, Les Pres, Les Albers and the original village Le PUy with its churches. When you arrive at your chosen accommodation you will be given a Guest card which give syou some good discounts on ski school, lift passes, the cinema and numerous other activities
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Auron, France
Description: Auron is a good family resort. Built in the 1930's it is the biggest resort in the Alpes Maritime area.
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St Sorlin d Arves, France
Description: A pretty unspoilt traditional mountain village situated up a very windy narrow road. St-Sorlin-D;Arves is open all year round and includes a boulangerie, framgerie, established shops and a baroque church. Because it's built on a ledge the resort stretches along a strip which makes wandering around a bit of a pain. However there are lovely view and it's a nice example of how to mix a modern ski resort with old authentic buildings.
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Flaine, France
Description: OK it’s not the prettiest resort with its 1960s Bauhaus-style concrete blocks, reminding you of Eastern Europe. There are some nicer areas though they are a trek from the slopes and village like Hammeu-de-Flaine with it’s wooden chalet style buildings. Also not everyone can boast sculptures by Picasso, Vasarely and Dubuffet in their ski resort. Recently Intrawest the North American Ski area developer has come to town and is creating 2500 new beds in the faux hamlet of Flaine Montsoleil. What makes Flaine so great is that it really is close to Geneva at just over one hours drive. Further up the hillside is Faline Foret with it’s own bars and hops and the bus service runs this far. The resort is child friendly with the main areas being car free and with play areas. There are further villages around with links to the main lift system and both Les Carroz and Samoens are two of the more beautiful ones. If you travel by car you can easily reach the Portes du Soleil ski area which includes Chamonix, Megeve or Cormayeur in Italy.
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Vallandry, France
Description: Description of Vallandry: Situated above the old village of Peisey that dates back 1000 years, this little cluster of villages is known as Peisey-Nancroix. There’s a new club med and quite a few English chalets here. There is a cable car to La Plagne which leaves from Plan-Peisey. Villandry itself is a couple of hundred metres or so away from Plan Peisey and is linked by shuttle bus.
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Les Saisies, France
Description: Les Saisies is just 25km from Albertville the host of the 1992 Olympics and lies between 2 valleys The Beaufortain and the Val D'Arly and what's more it's right next to Mt Blanc. It is occassionally referred to as the French Tyrol and is the home of Frack Picfcard the Olympic medal winner.
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Courchevel 1650, France
Description: Rather less famous than its sister at 1850m it is somewhat less cosmopolitan too. Not a bad thing either. It is a friendly place and give you great access not only to Courcheval but the Trois Vallee or 3 Valleys as well. The main road to 1850 cuts through but doesn't spol the attractive village centre.
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Chamrousse (Arselle), France
Description: Chamrousse is situated in the Belledonne Area on the Isere department. I held the Olympic Men's and Women's downhill events in 1968. Being only 40 minutes away from Grenoble it is one of the easiest resorts to get to and makes and ideal weekend trip. It is also popular with families and is great value for money.
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Les Deux Alpes, France
Description: This really is a year round resort where the Northern and Southern Alps meet. The centre of the resort is along the main drag of over a kilometre long and here you will find a number of hotels, bars and shops. Not the prettiest place but it does have everything you need for a great week's skiing. There is a free shuttle bus which cuts down on the walking. An interesting idea is that the 6 day lift pass also gives you two days in Alpe d'Huez and Serre Chevalier. Why not catch a heicopter for only £40 return to Alpe d'Huez. Resort Map Here
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Chamrousse, France
Description: Chamrousse is situated in the Belledonne Area on the Isere department. It held the Olympic Men's and Women's downhill events in 1968. Being only 40 minutes away from Grenoble it is one of the easiest resorts to get to and makes and ideal weekend trip. It is also popular with families and is great value for money.
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Valberg, France
Description: Valberg is located on the Guillaumes and Peone Communes and part of the Maritime Alps. It's a charming medieval village only one hour from the Mediterranean coast and the spot that links the Mediterranean area to the Alps. It's an all year round resort with loads of tradition. The ski resort itself started being developed around the 1930's. Nearby villages are Beuil (6km), Péone (9km), Rabbets (14km
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Puy St Vincent 1700, France
Description: Puy St Vincent is situated in Les Ecrins, the largest park in France with a staggering 92000 acres. The year round resort is split into four levels, 1400, 1600,1700 and 1800. Puy 1600 is larger than the rest. Sadly there is a bit of a concrete block right in the middle which we find at Snowbrainer find a bit ugly.Puy 1400 is the most relaxed of the four resorts and really a sweet little hamlet. Nearby you will find other hamlets like Le Villaret, Les Pres, Les Albers and the original village Le Puy with its churches. When you arrive at your chosen accommodation you will be given a Guest card which give syou some good discounts on ski school, lift passes, the cinema and numerous other activities.1700 has good access to the slopes.
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St Lary Soulan, France
Description: St Lary Soulan is situated in the Haute Pyrennes Department within the Pyrenees, a much underated region. This beautiful mountain village sits on the border of Spain. It offers a peaceful, attractive environment with the houses in traditional stone and the cable car running up the side of the village to tak you to the runs.
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La Toussuire, France
Description: A modern car free resort with 1960's buildings. There's not a lot of charm here. La Toussuire and Le Corbier have been linked since 1986 but if you look at the piste map you will notice that they really are the central resorts for the greater linked Le Sybelles area.
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Meribel Mottaret, France
Description: Mottaret sits above Meribel Centre and is a modern built satellite station of Meribel. It's quieter than Meribel centre so if you are looking to party either chip in and hire a taxi for a night out or look to stay closer to Meribel. Having said that there are still some great bars and lets face it, the access to Les Menuire, Val Thorens and up to Courchevel is much better from this position.
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Molines en Queyras, France
Description: A family ski resort near the Italian / French border and it is the regional park of Queyras.
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Superbolquere, France
Description: Bolquere is a recently made ski resort situated in the Languedoc Roussillon Region within the Pyrenees Province. Bolquere sits at 1632 m and is about 2.5m from Font-Romeu. It's other claim to fame is being the highest railway station in France so do check out the little Yellow train . The resort is south facing and Bolquere is both a ski resort and a residential village. There has been a lot of growth over the last few years and the village has spread. You can stay at the foot of the ski runs at Pyrénées 2000, or in chalets in the Superbolquère forest or in the village of Bolquère.
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Les Arc 1800, France
Description: Arc 1800 is the largest of all the villages making up Les Arcs. There is a mix of appartment blocks and also some prettier wooden buildings tucked away in the wooded areas
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Puy St Vincent 1800, France
Description: Puy St Vincent is situated in Les Ecrins, the largest park in France with a staggering 92000 acres. The year round resort is mostly split into two levels, 1400 and 1600m. Puy 1600 is larger than 1400 and a better location for lift access. Sadly there is a bit of a concrete block right in the middle which we find a bit ugly with shops below.Puy 1400 is the more relaxed of the four resorts and really is a sweet little hamlet. Nearby you will find other hamlets like Le Villaret, Les Pres, Les Albers and the original village Le PUy with its churches. Puy 1800 is the newer part of the resort wher you tend to find chalets built in the traditional style. When you arrive at your chosen accommodation you will be given a Guest card which give syou some good discounts on ski school, lift passes, the cinema and numerous other activities.
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Arc 1800, France
Description: Arc 1800 is the largest of all the villages making up Les Arcs. There is a mix of appartment blocks and also some prettier wooden buildings tucked away in the wooded areas
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Plagne 1800, France
Description: One of the most skied resorts in Europe, La Plagne Domain offers some fantastic flattering skiing, good snowmaking facilities and owners who constantly invest in the lift system. It’s a terrific resort for families as there is lots of blue runs to learn on and there is less of an après ski scene. Consists of 10 Villages Aime La Plagne,Plagne Villages/Soleil, Belle Plagne, Plagne Centre, Plagne Bellecote , Plagne 1800,Montchavin, Les Coches, Montalbert Montchavin / Les Coches = very pretty Bellecote / Aime la Plagne = ugly Plagne Centre = good access to slopes Belle Plagne = central to the Paradiski area (La Plagne & Les Arcs)
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La Foux d Allos, France
Description: La Foux d Allos was founded in 1937 and is located in the Southern Alps. The espace Lumiere linking the Foux d'Allos with Pra Loup has created a ski friendly 170km of pistes whih is on of the largest in the Southern Alps. Ther resort itself is entirely built by timber and is very much a French Family ski resort
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Les Menuires, France
Description: Les Menuires is a great place to stay for access to the 3 Valley ski fields. It is cheap as well and it's cheap for a reason, its ugly. Very ugly. But much prettier at night and in the last two years a number of the largest buildings have been knocked down to be replaced by wooden chalets. There is still a way to ,but this is a notable improvement. Generally the resort attracts a lot of French holiday makers.
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La Mongie, France
Description: La Mongies is a village in the Pyrenees frequented mostly by French and Spanish. It sits at the foot of Pic du Midi mountain. On top of the mountain ius Europes largest 19th Century observatory which you can visit by cable car beofre skiing down. What's more they even offer you the chance to stay up there, enjoy a dinner all for the excellent price of £100
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Avoriaz, France
Description: The town itself is designed as a ski-in ski-out resort back in the 60’s and Avoriaz is built on different levels at the edge of a cliff so it’s pretty dramatic. These different levels are connected by internal elevators. Practically all of the accommodation is ski-in ski-out which is a really big bonus. Car free you ski down to the lifts every morning. Getting around when you arrive means hiring baggage sledges for only €1. Frp, 08.00am to 7pm you can hire a sledge to transport you for €5-13 depending on journey length. After these hours you need ot hire a shuttle at aprox €8
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La Rosiere, France
Description: La Rosiere is located past Bourg St Maurice on a road towards Petit St Bernard, the pass into Italy which is unfortunately shut at winter. It is a traditional alpine village, somewhat sleepy but nonetheless very friendly.
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Risoul, France
Description: The ski resort , Risoul 1850, was developed in the 1970's but the area itself has been populated since the bronze age. The resort is a mixture of concrete chalets covered with wood shingles and integrates well into the forest area. making it a more attractive purpose built resort than some.
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