 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi,
I'm new to Snowheads, so if I ask anything really silly please be gentle!!!
We're coming to ski in France in early January 2017, 2 parents and 4-year-old from Australia. We (the parents) are on lower side of intermediate and little one was skiing beginner slopes well last year (she's off the nursery slopes, but wouldn't be intermediate). We have only skied in Aus normally and once in Canada, but not in Europe so looking for some advice!
The resorts I've looked into so far which look possible for us are: Avoriaz, Arc 1950, Valmorel and maybe Chamonix? We will be coming from the Lyon/Grenoble area with a hire car - which we will drop off somewhere before the skiing (Bourg St Maurice, Albertville, Grenoble etc). After the skiing we will be catching the train up to Paris Disneyland before flying home.
Our priorities in choosing a resort are:
* Ease of getting there and away with transport options available (least connections, smallest travel time and reasonable expense are considerations in both directions)
* Lots of wide easy runs (hopefully long!) which we can ski together as a family - without having to transfer from where we're staying to get to them. We'd like to stay on snow, in ski in/ski/out accom, and be able to reach the easy runs/ski school from the accommodation without having for e.g. catch a bus transfer to a different area of the resort. It would be silly if we were staying in a part which was great for more experienced skiers but unsuitable for us!
* Most likelihood of reliable snow in early January, so easy runs are open!
A nice European village feel for Aussies would be great!! Loved the idea of the horse sleighs in Avoriaz and Chamonix, but Le Village in Arc 1950 was our original choice for the feel of the village, and Valmorel looked lovely as well - so the other priorities are more important, and I'm totally confused by all the options
Thanks so much for your help! 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Just come back from 1950, absolutely loved it, it is a beautiful village, very well designed. However, for easier skiing you might want to consider belle plagne, it a nice little village which is ski in / ski out, not as pretty as 1950 but I think la plagne has more blue pistes than les arcs, and even the reds in la plagne seem easier than those in Les Arcs, so everywhere is easier to link up.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Not Chamonix as that involves buses.
Avoriaz has a very safe children's village in the centre and some very gentile slopes down under Proclou lift. You dont get more ski-in/ski-out than here. The resort architecture itself splits opinions from monstrosity to quite spectacular (when covered in snow at least). Sounds like you will mostly want greens, which could be a bit limited? Some of the blues may be a little challenging for a 2 and 4 year old with limited experience.
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@Snowbird79, I think the area of Avoriaz stretching across to the Super Morzine gondola would work. A decent range of pistes ranging from virtually flat to just about red run standard (they are all officially green or blue) would give you a full range to go at with the kids. If you get to the point that you wanted something steeper there are plenty to go at.
And welcome to Snowheads.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Can heartily recommend 1950. They will put on lots for the little ones and it is truly ski in skiout which makes life much easier. Ski school will be outside the front door in the middle of the village, so really good for your little one. Also swimming pools and areas for sledging will be good for you.
Lots of blues around 1950 - Been there with my now 7 year old, since she was 5 and she loves it. Nice blues for her to practice on, (though now trying reds and more)
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Hi there- Chamonix would not involve buses if you stay in Les Houches- lovely village at the bottom of the valley- get something in the prarion area- this is where all lessons start from & is great for little kids- my son is 3, did nursery slopes in Les Houches this year and is now doing some of the very gentle blues at the top.
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Arc 1950 seems to meet all your requirements, although as a purpose-built resort it might not have the village feel you are looking for. From a skiing point of view there are lots of long, gentle runs available, and all the accommodation is ski in/out. 1950 is more compact than Avoriaz, and mostly more convenient than Valmorel. I've not stayed in Chamonix or Les Houches so can't compare. Avoriaz, Arc 1950 and Valmorel should all be equally snowsure in early January, and Les Houches also in a typical season.
Getting to Disney from Arc 1950 by train is pretty easy - down to Bourg St Maurice for a fast train to Paris Gare du Lyon, then a suburban RER train from Gare du Lyon direct to Disney. One possible wrinkle in your plan is the difficulty with getting a one-way car rental from Lyon or Grenoble airports with a drop-off at Bourg St Maurice. If this doesn't work there are plenty of transfer options from Lyon to Arc 1950 by private or scheduled bus service.
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I'd agree with the suggestion of avoiding Chamonix. It's not convenient without a car. Yes, Les Houches is nice but the bottom is low, if snow is a bit dodgy. And a fair bit of the accommodation in LH is not that close to the lift, not with ski boots, skis and a 4 year old in tow.
One of the really convenient, purpose built, places has a lot to commend it with a small child. Traditional villages are low down and likely to involve a lot more schlepping around.
From my experience it's important, with a 4 year old, to have accommodation really close to the ski slopes so you can pop out just for a short ski (it can be very cold and bleak in high places in January) or pop back for lunch - saves you a fortune.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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I've been to both Avoriaz and Arc 1950 and would say Avoriaz of those two.
Neither are villages in the true sense, both being purpose-built up-the-mountain resorts but both are also modern ones, built after the French realised they could actually make the places look nice and that they didn't have to be just grey concrete blocks!
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| rob@rar wrote: |
| . Getting to Disney from Arc 1950 by train is pretty easy. |
Shouldn't be hard Arcs 1950 IS Disneyland. Just seems way to fake for my personal opinion. On the plus side great accommodation and truly ski in/ski out. If you want traditional alpine village the only one on your short list is valmorel.
Have fun
Andy
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@Snowbird79, @rob@rar, one way rentals to BsM are certainly possible, had friends out to stay with us in 1950 who have done it a couple of times.
Each year I take all the shtick about 1950 being a Disney village from the  massive, but I still love the place. With the extensive entertainment packages put on for the little ones every afternoon hot indoor and out, as well as the various pools (and the sweet shop!), it really does offer you both the skiing and alternatives in cases of tiredness or poor weather.
PS welcome to Snowheads!
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| anderoo wrote: |
| rob@rar wrote: |
| . Getting to Disney from Arc 1950 by train is pretty easy. |
Shouldn't be hard Arcs 1950 IS Disneyland. Just seems way to fake for my personal opinion. On the plus side great accommodation and truly ski in/ski out. If you want traditional alpine village the only one on your short list is valmorel.
Have fun
Andy |
Well, different strokes for different folks I suppose, but do you think that Valmorel would be the 'traditional' village that it is without the ski industry. All ski resorts are 'fake' in one way or another, having been developed in response to the needs of the ski industry to a greater or lesser extent.
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| Arctic Roll wrote: |
| one way rentals to BsM are certainly possible, had friends out to stay with us in 1950 who have done it a couple of times. |
Be interested to know more about this.
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You know it makes sense.
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@rob@rar, But at least Valmorel is an alpine village that became a ski resort not a prefabricated resort like all of the arcs resorts but especially 1950. To me it looks like a film set but just my opinion as you say.
Andy
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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As far as I'm aware Valmorel is a purpose built ski resort. However it has more of a real village feel than Arc 1950. I loved our week in Arc 1950 from a skiing perspective but a couple of the restaurants did seem a bit like at Disney/Centre parks - not particularly good food and trading on a captive market. There are one or two nice ones though.
For a weeks family ski holiday both resorts are lovely. I'd also recommend La Rosiere, Montgenevre and Les Saisies for the type of skiing you are looking for. However you would need to hold on to your car for the week with Les Saisies. Resorts in the Tarentaise like Les Arcs, La Rosiere and Valmorel are more accessible by public transport.
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Poster: A snowHead
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For your three priorities, Avoriaz wins in each case. However Les Arcs is the best resort overall (consider Vallandry too as it's cheaper and quieter) and Valmorel is the prettiest village with many easy blue runs below the tree line. If I had a young child I would pick Avoriaz due to the large nursery slopes, lack of traffic in the village and ease of progression onto more challenging slopes.
I *think* you can get to Paradiski directly by train and take a bubble up to 1950 but check this.
This is no help in you making a decision, but all three are great resorts that would suit your needs.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@SkiTsar, There is a funicular to Arc 1600 only. From there I think you'd need to take a bus. We booked a private taxi from Bourg St Maurice station to Arc 1950 and that is probably the best option with children and luggage.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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@Snowbird79, First of all I would rule out Chamonix. You need a ski bus to get around and kids and ski busses do not go together well.
That leaves Avoriaz, Arc 1950, Valmorel. All are good places for your holiday and I would base my choice on how easy they are to get to and the quality of accomodation. However, there are dozens of other places equally good.
As others have said Les Arcs is the easiest to get to by train. I would leave the car in Lyon or Grenoble and use the train to get there and back. Getting too and from Albertville to Valmorel is a bit harder as is Avoriaz to Cluses for the train to Paris.
None of your resorts are tradditional european villages. They are prupose built ski resorts. Tradditional villages are built below the snow line so to a large extent are not ski in ski out. Some exceptions exist, such as Val d'Isere where the tradditional village has been expanded to include skiing, but the character of the original village has been lost and St Martin de Bellville which still has some of the original character in exchange for a small hike to the ski slopes.
Then it is simply a question of the best accomodation for the money.
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I second Valmorel - Lots of beginners slopes within the village, plus some at the tops of lifts! It is certainly more "village" like than the other resorts mentioned.
The only potential down side is that it isn't the highest resort - but it seems to have lucked out the last couple of bad years.
To be honest - I'd go for anywhere except Chamonix - Find accommodation you like and go for it.
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