Prove me wrong?

Hello,

My wife is French (we live in England) and we've skiied for the last 10 years in Austria, Italy and Switzerland. However, Mrs JohnSki's national tendencies are taking over and she's talking about skiing in France again!

My response has been, too crowded, too many rude French/embarassing English, overdeveloped, overpriced, bad food etc etc.

Can somebody recommend a French resort that will prove me wrong?

To give some context, we've really enjoyed Champoluc/Monta Rosa over the last couple of years. Attractive 'real' village, charming locals, 200km of empty pistes and nice lunch with a beer for about 10 Euros. Small villages in Zillertal Arena have been similar.

Can France compete???

Thanks

Wait til Ian Wickham hears this.....he is a proper francophile and always goes to Le Grand Bornard.

I have not skied much of France, mainly for exactly the reasons you just posted, but I am heading back to Serre Chevalier in March for a 2nd trip in 12 months as the skiing there is excellent (250km) and not crowded in low season at all (we go 1st week in March) and food and drink were priced as reasonably as I have found in France. I would recommend taking a look.

Hi,

From a totally biased perspective I can say Les Arcs tickes a lot of the buttons, although some of the architecture in parts of the resort dates back to the 70's (although steps are being taken to bring things up to date and more pleasing on the eye)....the ski area cannot be faulted and being linked to the area of La Plagne to form the area known as Paradiski, it is one of the largest resorts in the world for sheer size and amount of skiing.

Along with some of the best restaurants in the alps(just my opinion) with Le Ferme in Le Pre ,L'Ancolie near Vallandry and the Hostillerie du Petite Saint Bernard, La refuge Alt.810 ,La Tarteflette ,La Savoyarde in Bourg Saint Maurice for example.

Also within striking distance you can ski La Rosiere ,Sainte-Foy, Val and Tignes, and a bit further affield the resorts of the Troi Vallee's.

Other gems to wet your appetite are Serre Chevaliere ,Megeve ,Chatel,Morzine etc, im sure all the good people on J2SKI will be able to offer a wealth of info.

All the best

jon

[From a totally biased perspective I can say Les Arcs tickes a lot of the buttons, although some of the architecture in parts of the resort dates back to the 70's (although steps are being taken to bring things up to date and more pleasing on the eye)....the ski area cannot be faulted and being linked to the area of La Plagne to form the area known as Paradiski, it is one of the largest resorts in the world for sheer size and amount of skiing.
quote]

Hi Mr Johnski

I went to Les Arcs last winter and yes it was a great place as was La Plagne. However, it was horrendously expensive to eat on the slopes. Prices were the topic of conversation every time we bumped into another Brit.

I also went to Italy & Austria and Austria was the most reasonable price wise.

I suppose you ought to go to France, though, as I guess your wife does have an affinity with the place!

I particularly like Alp D'Huez

jonG wrote:I can say Les Arcs tickes a lot of the buttons

Hi jonG, great helpful post but can I be pedantic, does it push a lot of the buttons or tick a lot of the boxes :lol: not sure ticking buttons would get you very far :wink:

Jenno wrote:

jonG wrote:I can say Les Arcs tickes a lot of the buttons

Hi jonG, great helpful post but can I be pedantic, does it push a lot of the buttons or tick a lot of the boxes :lol: not sure ticking buttons would get you very far :wink:

Lol :D ,boxes, buttons, levers and paddles what the hell, in my brain i knew what i meant, it's just the message didn't get down to my hands when typing.

The prices in resort are a little high i admit, but as the Paradiski area caters for mainly self catering ,the best and cheapest option is to stock up at either Lidl,Intermarche and SuperU before heading up the road to Les Arcs, and to eat down in Bourg-Saint-Maurice a few times a week to keep prices down, in BsM you can have excellent 3 - 4 course meals from between 14euros to 24 euros per head, and in places such as ski Roc exceellent freshly made and cooked pasta dishes, omelettes ,pizzas and burgers for under 10 euros (with all meals being large and hearty),also Bazoom's is a grat place to eat and party away.

Although without transport (car etc) getting back up to Les Arcs if you miss the last funicular means a taxi ride up the hill.


jon. :D

johnski96 wrote:too crowded, too many rude French/embarassing English, overdeveloped, overpriced, bad food etc etc.

Yep, there are about half a dozen that can be like that... and about 300 that never are.

As jonG has illustrated, even the biggest resorts (and Les Arcs is fabulous) can be done without a daft budget if you're prepared to plan a little. But the easiest way to find what I think you seek is to look for the villages that have become ski resorts; and there are literally hundreds of them - often linked in to the larger ski areas.

johnski96 wrote:Can somebody recommend a French resort that will prove me wrong?

You enjoyed Champoluc, like a real town and lovely locals? Then The Aravis resorts (La Clusaz and Le Grand Bornand) should do you just fine. 8) The skiing's not bad either... and once you've realised how wrong you were about real French skiing you've got plenty more resorts to try. :D

France has the best lift systems in the world, and the most extensive ski areas in the world. Yes the resorts get busy in peak weeks and if you don't know how to queue, you may take 15-20 minutes to get to a lift, but I'd bet you'd spend less time on the slopes in many other resorts around the world.

Architecture can leave something to be desired as there aren't many traditional mountain villages in the major ski areas, but the mountains are pretty dramatic.

There are also plenty of excellent restaurants in the mountains if you know where to go.

Ultimately it depends on which boxes you want ticked! :x