The village of Megeve is delightful and full of charm. It has the added advantage of being a traditional ski resort based on a mountain village without high-rise "concrete monsters" but at an altitude sufficiently high enough to attract good snow cover throughout the season.

The streets are full of surprises with designer boutiques, antique shops and art galleries alongside restaurants and bars and where horse-drawn sleighs carry excited holidaymakers on a "winter wonderland tour".

However, Megeve is more than just the resort. It is all about skiing and considerable investment has been made in providing the most modern of uphill transport to ensure skiers get quickly to the slopes.

For skiers looking for a bargain, Megeve offers "enticing weeks" through January and from mid to end of March.

The skiing area is vast and open with Mont Blanc as a backdrop to acres of alpine meadows and undisturbed pine forests. The Chamois Gondola leave from the centre of Megeve and this, together with the other 102 lifts can transport more than 95,500 skiers an hour around the slopes. An impressive figure!

If the 600 hectares of Megeve slopes are not sufficient, skiers will find lifts connecting across to St. Gervais and Mount Joux as well as neighbouring Combloux combining to provide 1,200 hectares. There is also a snowpark with halfpipe, moguls, a pyramid and tables. Since 2001 skiers have enjoyed a "hands-free" ski pass which contains a microchip thereby saving the skier from having to remove gloves, pull out an old fashioned pass from within the ski jacket and then repeat in reverse!

Megeve is certainly a family resort and a children's paradise with so much happening, it will be difficult to finally depart at the end of the holiday. In addition to numerous excellent hotels and catered chalets, Megeve's gastronomy is difficult to equal and has become known as the "alpine capital of good food and wine". You can also spoil yourself with beauty and fitness programmes or visit the casino and cinema.

If you are looking for professional and personal ski instruction, then look no further than "Certified American/French Ski Instructor, Michael "Mike" Beaudet, who has an excellent personality as well as knowing all the right people within the Megeve area. Mike describes himself as "your native English-speaking instructor" but when he speaks French, you would think he was a "native" of that country as well! Mike can be located at: mikeskifrance@yahoo.com A journey by car will take around 9/10 hours from Calais via the French autoroute network. Alternatively, you can fly using either the airport at Chambery or Geneva.