Europe · Mountain guide
Big ski areas, where resort height, transfer and après priorities quickly narrow the field.
Is it right for you?
A strong fit for
First ski trips, groups and confident skiers.
We would think twice for
Anyone booking ski dates without checking altitude, because low resorts in a warm season can mean slush and closed runs, and the resort's height matters more than its brochure photography.
What we would want you to know
Cheap accommodation is poor value if it creates a difficult daily journey to the lifts.
Si has been here
Si skied Chamonix with friends in March 2026, and this page also draws on the group ski weeks we plan, where Val Thorens and Alpe d'Huez have gone head to head on snow, transfers, lift passes and nightlife. We run the same side-by-side comparison for every ski enquiry, because the right resort depends on who is in the group.
From our trips
Filmed by Si on the trip itself and shown without sound. No stock footage.
Weather and seasons
Snow and school holidays set the Alpine calendar. At Val Thorens' altitude, January days average around -4°C with nights near -9°C, which keeps the snow dry and the slopes quiet once New Year is over. February is the most expensive month, because British half term and the staggered French school holidays all land in it. March brings longer, sunnier days on a deep base, while by April the lower villages can turn slushy by lunchtime, so height matters more the later you go. From late June the lifts reopen for walkers and mountain bikers.
Worth timing a trip around
Ski instructors carry flares down the slopes in the dark, usually followed by fireworks over the village. Most resorts hold one, and several repeat them weekly through the season.
Val d'Isère hosts early-season World Cup ski races on the slopes above the village, and the finish area is free to watch from.
A week of concerts on stages set up on the slopes of the Portes du Soleil, reached on skis, with Morzine and Avoriaz the natural bases.
Chamonix's mountain guides celebrate their company with a mass, a blessing of ropes and ice axes, and demonstrations in the town.
| Month | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | -4°C | -9°C | 59 mm |
| February | -3°C | -8°C | 39 mm |
| March | -2°C | -7°C | 53 mm |
| April | 0°C | -5°C | 42 mm |
| May | 4°C | -1°C | 76 mm |
| June | 10°C | 4°C | 62 mm |
| July | 14°C | 7°C | 68 mm |
| August | 13°C | 6°C | 68 mm |
| September | 8°C | 3°C | 43 mm |
| October | 5°C | 0°C | 55 mm |
| November | 0°C | -5°C | 94 mm |
| December | -2°C | -7°C | 110 mm |
Temperatures are 2015 to 2024 averages from NOAA records for Col Du Grand St-Bernard, 78 km away at 2472 m. Rainfall is from the GPCC rain-gauge analysis (Deutscher Wetterdienst) for 2010 to 2019 and shows the typical (median) month, so one freak storm does not skew it.
Map and areas
The highest resort in the Three Valleys, built above the tree line at around 2,300 metres, so the snow is reliable from late November into spring. Almost everything is ski-in, ski-out, and the après is loud. The catch is exposure: with no trees, a snowstorm or flat light can wipe out a day, and January is bitterly cold.
The middle of the Three Valleys, with chalet-style buildings of wood and stone and tree-lined runs that stay skiable when the weather closes in higher up. A long-standing British favourite with a big catered chalet scene and good ski schools. Prices reflect its polish, and some chalets sit a bus ride from the lifts, so check the walk.
A big, sunny resort on a south-facing shelf above the valley, reached by the famous road of 21 hairpins. The skiing ranges from wide beginner slopes by the village to the long Sarenne black run, and the bars keep groups busy. Sunny slopes soften by the afternoon late in the season, so spring skiing here starts early in the day.
A real village with an old stone church at its heart, sharing a high, snow-sure ski area with Tignes. Steep terrain and off-piste draw confident skiers, and the après runs late. It is among the dearer French resorts, the drive from the airports is long, and beginners have gentler options elsewhere.
A cluster of purpose-built and village-style resorts at different heights, linked to Les Arcs by the double-decker Vanoise Express cable car to form Paradiski. Wide, cruising blues suit intermediates and families, and most beds are on the snow. Some of the older centres are functional rather than pretty, so which village you pick matters.
A traditional Savoyard market town rather than a purpose-built resort, with lifts into the huge Portes du Soleil and up to car-free Avoriaz. It is close to Geneva and lively in the evenings. The catch is height: the village sits low, so in a warm spell the runs home can be thin, and Avoriaz is the safer bet for snow.
Things to do
From Chamonix the cable car climbs to a rocky summit station facing Mont Blanc, where a glass box, the Step into the Void, hangs over the drop. Go early on a clear day and take it slowly at the top, because the altitude hits hard after such a fast ascent.
The track built for the 1992 Winter Olympics gives public rides in a padded bob raft or, for the brave, a bobsleigh steered by a professional pilot. Rides sell out in the school holidays, so book on arrival.
France's first national park borders the Three Valleys and Val d'Isère. A guided snowshoe walk follows chamois and ibex tracks through quiet valleys, a good morning for non-skiers or tired legs.
When the lifts close, bars on the slopes and in the resort centres fill with dancing in ski boots. Val Thorens, Val d'Isère and Alpe d'Huez are the loud ones; Méribel and the smaller La Plagne villages are calmer.
Several resorts offer rides behind a husky team on quiet forest and valley trails, with a musher doing the driving. Book a day or two ahead, and wrap up well: you sit still while the dogs work.
A lakeside old town of canals, flower boxes and arcaded streets, an easy stop on a Geneva transfer day or an outing from the northern resorts. In summer the clear lake is warm enough to swim.
From late June to early September many lifts reopen for walkers and mountain bikers, and lake swimming and via ferrata routes take over. Morzine and Les Gets turn into mountain-biking towns, with lift passes far cheaper than in winter.
Food and drink
Potatoes, bacon lardons and onions baked under a whole melting Reblochon cheese. Heavy, warming and exactly what a cold afternoon calls for.
Beaufort, Comté and Emmental melted with white wine for dipping bread. Tradition says whoever loses their bread in the pot buys the next bottle.
A half wheel of cheese melted under a heater and scraped over potatoes, cured ham and pickles, usually for a whole table to share.
A herbal liqueur made from an Alpine plant related to wormwood, sipped after dinner or poured into a hot chocolate on the mountain.
Small square buckwheat pasta from Savoie, baked with cheese and ham as croziflette, a slightly lighter cousin of tartiflette.
Money
A ski week is a stack of costs: flights, transfer, accommodation, lift pass, equipment hire, lessons and lunches on the mountain, and we quote the whole stack rather than the headline. Half term and New Year are the dearest weeks of the European winter, and a January week can cost far less for the same snow. Catered chalets and half-board hotels tame the food bill at altitude. Money spent on ski-in, ski-out accommodation pays back every morning in boots not walked and buses not waited for.
Flights and transfers
Direct winter flights run from Leeds Bradford, Manchester and Newcastle to Geneva, Grenoble and Chambery, with resort transfers of one to three hours beyond them. Transfer length is part of the resort choice: a Saturday changeover in half term can double it, and we say so upfront.
Flights from UK airports
Route check September 2026. Some routes are seasonal and schedules change, so we confirm the live options when we quote.
Practical details
1 hour ahead of the UK
Euro (€)
French, with English widely spoken in the big resorts
Type C and E, 230V
On the right
Safe to drink, straight from the mountains
Service is included; in a catered chalet a tip for the staff at the end of the week is usual
Entry for British passport holders
Visa. No visa needed for tourist stays of up to 90 days in any 180-day period across the Schengen area.
Passport. Issued less than 10 years before you arrive, and valid for at least 3 months after the day you leave the Schengen area.
The EU Entry/Exit System is now in use, so you may be asked to register your fingerprints and photo at the border on your first visit. It is free.
Summarised from the FCDO travel advice on gov.uk, checked 29 September 2026. Rules change: read the current entry requirements and the full travel advice before you go.
Questions we get asked
Val Thorens for snow-sure skiing at the top of the whole Three Valleys and very loud après; Alpe d'Huez for sunshine, a shorter transfer from Grenoble and a bigger village with more going on off the slopes. Val Thorens is colder and more exposed, while Alpe d'Huez's sunny slopes soften sooner in spring.
Resorts with nursery slopes right by the accommodation and wide, easy blues above them: La Plagne's villages, Les Arcs and Alpe d'Huez all fit. Look for free beginner lifts and English-speaking ski schools rather than the size of the lift map, because big-name resorts built for experts can make a first week hard.
For snow and value together, mid January to early February and the March weeks outside the school holidays. The New Year week and the February school holidays are the busiest and dearest. Early December and April are a gamble in lower resorts, though high ones like Val Thorens usually hold good snow at both ends of the season.
Usually, yes, and especially with children. Walking in ski boots carrying skis, or waiting for a bus at eight in the morning, wears thin fast, and being able to pop back for lunch or a rest changes a week. Purpose-built resorts like Val Thorens and La Plagne make it easy; older villages rarely do.
Yes for any week in February, at Easter or over New Year, when group classes fill and the hire shops run short of sizes, and booking ahead is often cheaper too. January and March are more flexible, but for beginners we still arrange lessons with the holiday.
High resorts rarely have a problem, which is why altitude matters so much when we choose. Lower villages rely on snow cannons and the upper slopes in a thin year, with a lift ride down at the end of the day. Check that your travel insurance includes piste closure cover before you buy it.
Photographs
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