Skiing in France

Going skiing in France is a popular choice for families. In fact, it is so popular with the British that there are some places we deliberately avoid visiting. We much prefer to visit places where you won’t hear many other people speaking English, but that’s our personal choice!

The popularity is a good thing – it means that you’ll be spoilt for choice finding a resort for your family ski holidays.

Where can I go skiing in France?
There are two main areas. The most extensive is the Alps to the east of the country bordering Switzerland and Italy. The Pyrenees to south bordering Spain and Andorra are a far smaller mountain range in comparison. Nevertheless, there are several decent-sized areas resorts to tempt you – such as Cauterets or La Mongie.

Why is skiing in France popular with families?
Simply, there’s something for everyone. If you’re looking for something in particular from your family ski vacations, you’ll have such a wide variety of resorts to choose from. Large or small, high or low altitude, village or town - the choice is yours.

You can go skiing in France in some of the largest linked ski areas in the world. For clocking up family skiing miles, try Les Trois Vallees (The Three Valleys), Paradiski, Les Portes du Soleil, or L’Espace Killy. Or you can find a hidden gem – quieter, off the package holiday trail like Les Contamines, Puy St Vincent, Pra Loup or Chamrousse.

Is the snow reliable?
France has a good selection of high altitude resorts, meaning good snow cover. Resorts with glaciers are a good choice even during early and late season. Try Les Deux Alpes, Alpe d’Huez, Val Thorens, Tignes / Val d'Isere, La Plagne, Les Arcs or Chamonix if you’re looking for snow-sure resorts.

Is there a good choice of family accommodation?The usual large tour operators feature France heavily in their winter programmes, but we find better value either making all our arrangements completely independently, or by booking with one of the numerous small winter holiday firms that operate in France.

If you want to take the family skiing in France with a small owner-run ski company, then you’ll find the widest choice compared to other European resorts. Why is this? Probably because of the popularity of France ski resorts with the UK market. For the most part these are located in the popular Alpine resorts – but search carefully and you can find brilliant companies catering for families that deliberately operate in smaller resorts.

What about getting there?
For families travelling from the UK, skiing in France makes a practical choice. If you’re flying, flights to Lyon, Grenoble, Chambery and Geneva take on around 1 ½ hours from London and many regional airports offer direct flights during the season. Taking the high speed Eurostar train from London is another option if you’re planning to visit resorts in the Savoie region.

For us, the most convenient way to travel there is to drive. Just load everything and everyone into the car and off we go, crossing the English Channel either by ferry (good for getting the children to stretch their legs) or by Le Shuttle, the car-carrying train that goes under the Channel (good for not disturbing sleeping tots). From the main port of Calais we allow anywhere between 9 and 12 hours driving to get to resort – depending on where we’re going and how many stops we have to make along the way.

What about ski school?
The French are generally very welcoming to families, and if you’re looking for ski instruction in English you’ll find it readily. We’re all for speaking as much of the language when we visit another country. But it’s no fun for a five-year-old to be in a class when he doesn’t understand what’s being said to him.

All French resorts will have a branch of L’Ecole de Ski Francais (ESF), so just ask for an instructor who’ll take classes in English. Many resorts have a choice of several ski schools, and we can heartily recommend L’Ecole de Ski International.

From purpose-built resorts with their very angular 1960s and 1970s design boasting a 2000m vertical drop, to picturesque mountain villages, if you decide to take your family skiing in France, you’ll not be disappointed by the sheer choice available.

To return from the skiing in France page to the home page, please click here.