Finding the Universe

Travel tales, photography and a dash of humor

  • Home
  • Blog
  • Destinations
    • Europe
    • North America
    • Asia
    • Australia
    • Africa and Middle East
    • New Zealand
    • South America
  • Photography
    • Buy Photos
    • Photography Gear Guides
    • Photography Tips
    • Location Guides
  • PHOTO COURSE
  • About Us
    • Hire Us
    • Travel Resources
  • Contact
Home » Destinations » Europe » France » Skiing in France
Finding the Universe contains affiliate links, meaning if you make a purchase through these links, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

Skiing in France

Last updated: November 24, 2017. Written by Laurence Norah - Leave a Comment

Skiing is a bit like golf. You either love it, and spend time talking about it at length, or you don’t, and wonder why your friends who do bang on about such a pointless sport, which is basically just walking interspersed with random acts of violence directed at a helpless ball.

I’ve been skiing a few times in my life. For some reason my parents saw fit to send me off to Innsbruck at the young age of fifteen to throw myself down a mountain and see if I enjoyed it.

The conclusion was that I did. (I’ve never got the hang of golf though. This is probably why my corporate career failed). Since then I’ve had a few more goes at killing myself and learning appropriate ski based lingo. I’ve skied in Italy, France, Austria, and, rather exotically (for a European anyway), California.

French Alps mountains ski snow

I’ve had the pleasure of having a couple of ski holidays in France, the country I’m currently happy to call home, with trips to both Chamonix and Val Thorens. The latter is probably best known as being at the budget end of the three valleys ski resort, which boasts more skiable area than anywhere else in the world. The former is just well known for being posher.

Obviously, two resorts in France is just barely scratching the tip of the available skiing area, but these are two resorts that are popular for different reasons. Here are some advantages and disadvantages of both, as well as, naturally, some pictures.

Val Thorens

Val Thorens town

At the top of the three valleys (now with extra fourth valley!), Val Thorens is one of the highest ski resorts in France, which means it is more likely to have snow than anywhere else. The two thousand snow cannons also help. Being at the end of the three valleys means you can ski to both Courchevel and Les Menuires easily and on the same lift pass.

Val Thorens is a purpose built ski resort, which means it is lacking slightly in the olde worlde charms of the older, more traditional ski resorts. Its height also means that this isn’t a place with tree lined pistes. Bare, open mountain side is the order of the day. Which makes for some stunning vistas, and marvellous sunsets.

Val Thorens mountain at sunset

The advantages of a purpose built resort at this height are plentiful. Getting to the lifts from your accommodation involves a very short walk. There are over 600km of pistes. And if you want to, you can ski all the way down to Courchevel, one of France’s poshest ski resorts, and spend all the money you saved by choosing Val Thorens in one of the many Michelin starred restaurants. What’s not to like?

Chamonix

Chamonix at sunset

If you like the idea of a skiing holiday, but aren’t too bothered about the actual hurtling down a mountainside part of the trip, then Chamonix might be more to your liking. This is one of the more traditional French ski resorts, set in a lovely village, with mountains looming all around.

This isn’t to say the skiing isn’t excellent, although the runs are a little more dispersed and usually require some form of transport to access from your accommodation. It’s also on the pricier side.

Snow covered trees

But if the thought of hiring your own chalet complete with outdoor hot tub sounds like the sort of skiing holiday you could embrace, then Chamonix might be the place for you. I’d recommend getting a group of friends together and finding somewhere that’ll make you feel like you’ve fallen into a Bond movie. As a group, prices will become very reasonable for very epic accommodation.

Chamonix Valley

Well, those were my thoughts on a couple of France’s ski resorts. Are you a snow bunny, or does the idea of falling down a mountain at high speed terrify you? Share your thoughts on your favourite resorts below!

Enjoyed this post? Why not share it!

Home » Destinations » Europe » France » Skiing in France

Monthly Giveaway

Don't miss out on our exclusive monthly giveaways with lots of fun travel and photography related prizes! Click here to see our current giveaway and enter!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Let me know when there's a reply to my comment (just replies to your comment, no other e-mails, we promise!)

Subscribe to our monthly Newsletter where we share our latest travel news and tips. This also makes you eligible to enter our monthly giveaways!

We only ask for your e-mail so we can verify you are human and if requested notify you of a reply. To do this, we store your data as outlined in our privacy policy. Your e-mail will not be published or used for any other reason other than those outlined above.

About Us

Laurence and Jessica Norah

Hi there! We're Laurence and Jessica Norah. We've been running this site since 2010 as full time professional travel bloggers. We visit all the places we write about personally, and all our content is based on our own first hand travel experiences. We also take all the photos you see on our sites. So grab a drink, dive in, and read on! You can also find out more about us here. Comic included.
Photography course
monthly giveaway
Carbon Neutral Policy

SUBSCRIBE BY E-MAIL

Want to keep up to date with us and our latest travel tips? Subscribe to our monthly newsletter.

Being a subscriber also makes you eligible to enter our monthly travel and photography giveaways!

Thank you!

Please check your e-mail to confirm your sign up.

Affiliate Information

This website contains affiliate links to products and services that generate a small income to us if you choose to use them, at no cost to you. We only recommend products and services that we use ourselves, and will always link to relevant information, regardless of whether or not there is an affiliate program. See our Code of Ethics for more information.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

  • Privacy Policy
  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Sitemap
  • About Us
  • Work with us
  • Contact us
  • Blog
  • Destinations
  • Travel Resources
  • Photography Tips
  • Monthly Giveaway
  • Web Stories

© Copyright 2010 - 2021 Finding the Universe®· All Rights Reserved ·
Part of Travel Cats Media Ltd. Registered in England and Wales. Company Number: 11524454.