Go skiing in France

The Rhone-Alpes holds the nearest, and largest, world class skiing area to the UK, easily accessible by road, rail and air. For the Brits, this is only part of the attraction. For over 100 years they have enjoyed their Winter sports in the French Alps. Today, skiing has progressed from an activity for the wealthy few, to a healthy and fun pastime for almost everyone. And the choice of terrain, sports, and resorts offered has never been greater.

The ski resorts themselves lie mainly in the departements of the Savoie, Haute Savoie, and the Isere. Together, these form part of the area known as the French Alps, whose crowning glory is Mont Blanc , Europe 's highest peak at 15,780 feet (4,800 metres) which rises from the ski town of Chamonix.

Within the three departements there are well over one hundred resorts, which together offer great skiing for beginners, intermediates and the seriously good! Broadly speaking, the French alpine ski resorts divide into two camps: those that are based around a traditional mountain village like Chamonix, Megeve and La Clusaz, and those that have been created and purpose-built high in the Alps in more recent times: Val Thorens, La Plagne, Avoriaz, Flaine, Les Arcs and Tignes are to name but a few.

And it's not only about skiing. Some alpine resorts offer a whole raft of other snow-related activities. You may be able to choose from ice skating, hang-gliding, go-karting, sight-seeing flights, or just walking a snow cleared trail. There is so much to enjoy, apart from the après-ski! Some resorts also offer the prospect of Summer skiing: Alpe d'Huez, Trois Vallees and Val d'Isere, for example.

For the full list of independent resort profiles covered in this website please click the appropriate box above. Or choose from the search buttons in the top left hand column of this page.

About skiinginfrance.uk.com

This website is produced by www.firstforfrance.com in collaboration with Paul Youden, a respected writer with over 40-years experience in skiing journalism. Until recently, he was visiting between 70-100 skiing venues throughout Europe annually, mostly by car. Paul is currently the editor of two websites, www.europedrive.com and www.skiingthealps.com - for people who want to ski further afield in Europe.