Les Trois Vallees

a great choice for all family skiers

With such choice, the area really does have something for everyone.

So, to work out resorts suit families with kids just starting to learn to ski, here are a couple of things to compare:

• accessibility of runs from ski accommodation
• position of resort with the 3V network

Which ski resorts make Les Trois Vallees?

Slopes above Courchevel 1850 with view to Saulire.
Image courtesy of magicmonkey

The Vallee de Meribel also has 150km of pistes and contains Mottaret at 1700m, Meribel village and Meribel Les Allues, as well as the gondola link down to Brides Les Bains.

The Vallee de Belleville contains St Martin de Belleville, Les Menuires, Reberty and Val Thorens and has 300km of pistes. At 2300m Val Thorens is the highest ski village in Europe, and gives access to a fourth linked valley. Drop off the top of the Cime de Caron in Val Thorens and you’ll enter the ski area of Orelle in the Maurienne valley.

Which is the best resort in Les Trois Vallees for family ski holidays?

Vallee de Couchevel
Based on skiing we’d choose Couchevel 1650. As it’s at one side of Les Trois Vallees, the wide, gentle runs are often quiet and are great for building a child’s confidence. There are green and blue runs down from the top of the Ariondaz gondola – tree-lined Indiens is a particular favourite. For intermediate skiers there are several good red runs – try Chapelets. If you’ve an advanced child skier, the black Chanrossa run off the top of the Roc Merlet chairlift is well worth trying.

A close second is La Tania. It’s a quiet resort with everything easily accessible. The opening of the green Plan Fontaine run has made it much easier for beginners to ski back to the resort. Previously the blue Folyeres run would be a challenging ski for beginners as it would become icy.

Vallee de Meribel
For skiing we’d choose Meribel, which has a good selection of greens and blues for beginners on the Courchevel side of the valley. Blanchot is a nice wide green run near the Altiport – a source of fascination for children to see planes take off and land on the mountainside. As accommodation in Meribel is quite dispersed, it’s worth finding something that really is piste-side ‘ski in / ski out’, otherwise you’ll have to catch the free ski bus. That might be great for older children, but with younger ones you’ll probably want to make life as easy for yourself as possible.

The wide, gentle Blanchot beginner's run near Altiport in Meribel, Les Trois Vallees.
Image courtesy of Matt Squirrell

Vallee de Belleville
St Martin de Belleville does have more of an alpine ski village feel to it, but in the end, our vote has to go to Les Menuires. Look beyond the utilitarian, purpose-built architecture (well, you’re there to ski after all) and Les Menuires ticks our family ski holiday boxes.

There are plenty of runs for beginners – you can ski on blues and greens all the way from Le Roc des 3 Marches on the Meribel side of the valley – that are ideal for children finding their skiing legs.

On the opposite side of the valley, the runs on La Masse would suit confident intermediates and are often overlooked and uncrowded.

If you’ve got beginners in your party you won't need full area passes, so get local passes which will be cheaper. If you do buy area passes, you can save €74 if you buy a family ticket, and kids under five-years-old get a free lift pass.

From modern, purpose build ski resorts, to traditional wooden clad chalets in a village feel, Les Trois Vallees is well worth a visit for your family ski holidays.

Return from Les Trois Vallees to skiing in France.

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