 Poster: A snowHead
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I am probably asking a ridiculously specific question. But we went to Megeve a couple of years ago and loved the town - we loved how the gondola station was right in the middle of the buzzy village and so we could come down at the end of the day, leave our skis in the locker and then go and have a nice drink without having to faff around with busses, and we liked that it had a proper centre where we could wander out for dinner. And I was hoping to find somewhere with a similar vibe but that would still have good snow at Easter. Does such a thing exist? And as a bonus does it exist anywhere with a less than 3 hour transfer to a major airport?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Describes lots of places, not all of which even require a gondola download e.g. you can ski to the bottom in some places.
St Anton, Mayrhofen, Ischgl, Kitzbuhel all spring to mind. Plus most French purpose built resorts will download/ski right to the front de neige.
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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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@Flipjango,
I would have said a central gondal describes many resorts, and even all/majority of villages in some.
Perhaps you should concentrate on the Easter snow quality/reliability, and 3 hour max transfer?
Where would you consider flying into?
Exactly what about Megeve did you like? What budget & accommodation are you looking for?
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Arc 1800 and Cervinia would both fit that bill.
Cervinia feels more like a village than 1800. There we hired lockers at one of the hire shops that was directly on the piste. We'd ski to the door at the end of the day, change back into normal boots, and head off for dinner and drinks.
About an hour and a half from Turin.
Valtourneche, just below Cervinia would also meet that requirement. Ski up in Cervinia as the two are connected by lifts. It's about 20 minutes closer to the airport as you don't have to go fully up the mountain road.
Last edited by You need to Login to know who's really who. on Tue 4-11-25 21:30; edited 1 time in total
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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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Verbier also a candidate here.
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Lech!
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I'd second Cervinia, as @Owlette, has given for that match in walk out around a village aspect to.
I've a, very, soft spot for Arc 1800 too, but could see that it may not have that "traditional" layout to match Megeve, there's more to it than looks though, and great ski area.
Additional places to consider, Champéry with cable car direct from village to good altitude. Lovely village, ultra convenient via that transit to and from centre.
Another, Grimentz. Beguiling and similar in that it has centre of village lift to altitude, possibly one of the best looking village to ski from  thoroughly recommended. I dont feel anyone would regret this one after a visit, something special.
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Mayrhofen is the first place that springs to mind for me.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Cross the Atlantic. Vail. Whistler.
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Morgins has a brand new - well it's two years old now - télécabine from the middle of the village which also includes ski lockers in the base station. The apres-ski scene has evolved significantly since it was installed, with several bars now guaranteed to be quite lively at the end of the ski day, much more so than was the case with the old chair lift, and some people will now party a bit at the top station and then simply take the lift down and carry on in the village, particularly so in the spring when there's still sunshine at the top of the mountain - the view from there over the Dents du Midi are among the best you'll find anywhere.
It's still not the liveliest of places, particularly later in the evening, it's no St. Anton for sure, with a village vibe, absolutely not a party resort vibe, and no hoards of drunken revellers and DJS pumping over-loud dance music out, but that's actually what I like about it.
Oh, and definitely meet your transfer time requirement.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Courchevel, Meribel, St Anton (and Lech), La Plagne, Tignes, Val D'Isere loads of places basically!!
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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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Prolognan la vanoise was the village that sprang to my mind.
Though arc 1800 is a traditional ski village the gondolas in the centre do not really serve skiing. The skiing is served by chairlifts. Of course bourg st Maurice no longer has a téléphérique serving the ski area. It was replaced by a funicular.
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As mentioned, my first thought was also Mayrhofen. Literally right in the centre of the main street, 2 apres bars next door, Bruck'n'Stadl a few hundred metres away. Ski lockers underneath the lift in Bründl sports, and a whole host of restaurants all walkable round the town.
Snow will be fine, you'll get typical spring conditions, and you also have a bus ride up to the glacier if you wish.
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You know it makes sense.
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Since it happened accidentally in Andorra, I now rent my skis from any shop that is a very short walk to the lift. Makes life easier each day. (But I was very disappointed in Baqueira when the shop charged us for storing their own skis overnight!)
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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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Of all the places I've been I think only Courmayer didn't fit the thread title. Only question mark would be available ski lockers but i don't use them to know.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| afterski wrote: |
| Verbier also a candidate here. |
| kitenski wrote: |
| Courchevel, Meribel, St Anton (and Lech), La Plagne, Tignes, Val D'Isere loads of places basically!! |
None of these is what I'd describe as a Village. Perhaps my perceptions have shifted from living in a real one, but any village feel in those places disappeared several generations ago.
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Wed 5-11-25 12:24; edited 1 time in total
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@adithorp, I have a vague memory of a trip to Courmayeur in 2006 when we used ski lockers up the hill. Possibly our rental shop was up there and we stored them there over night, along with boots.
https://www.alpineve.it/deposito-sci-courmayeur/?_gl=1*10tj7w1*_up*MQ..*_ga*MTg2NDYzMjI4My4xNzYyMzQxNTM5*_ga_4JTC6T9FLY*czE3NjIzNDE1MzckbzEkZzAkdDE3NjIzNDE1MzckajYwJGwwJGgw
Looks as though that shop offers that.
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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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| adithorp wrote: |
| Of all the places I've been I think only Courmayer didn't fit the thread title. Only question mark would be available ski lockers but i don't use them to know. |
You've obviously been spoilt then. There are loads of ski stations where there are just drags and chair lifts from the village level, and loads also where the cable-car is on the edge of, or just outside, the village itself.
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Chantemerle in Serre Chevalier has a central gondola in the village
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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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@Chaletbeauroc, you're correc,. a lot were chairs and I wasn't distinguishing between those and gondolas as skiing back it makes no difference. So Courmayer is the only one I've been to where the slopes weren't directly accessible from the village.
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Pal/Arinsal totally fits that but is probably on the extreme of the 3hr transfer and isn't the biggest area - the gondolas in both Arinsal and Pal drop down into he heart of the village, with bars there in front of you, and I know from staying in Arinsal we could leave our skis at the mid-station shop and come down in our trainers, saved a lot of hassle.
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| Chaletbeauroc wrote: |
| afterski wrote: |
| Verbier also a candidate here. |
| kitenski wrote: |
| Courchevel, Meribel, St Anton (and Lech), La Plagne, Tignes, Val D'Isere loads of places basically!! |
None of these is what I'd describe as a Village. Perhaps my perceptions have shifted from living in a real one, but any village feel in those places disappeared several generations ago. |
OP uses town first, then village second. Then quantifies what he actually wants as ski lockers and no buses for a drink and a meal. Not sure that he is hung up on the definition of a village.
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| afterski wrote: |
| Chaletbeauroc wrote: |
| afterski wrote: |
| Verbier also a candidate here. |
| kitenski wrote: |
| Courchevel, Meribel, St Anton (and Lech), La Plagne, Tignes, Val D'Isere loads of places basically!! |
None of these is what I'd describe as a Village. Perhaps my perceptions have shifted from living in a real one, but any village feel in those places disappeared several generations ago. |
OP uses town first, then village second. Then quantifies what he actually wants as ski lockers and no buses for a drink and a meal. Not sure that he is hung up on the definition of a village. |
Mind you they seem to think the atmosphere is important and maybe don't want to sit down in a monstrous concrete eyesore like La Plagne, Tignes Val d'I etc.
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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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One man's cutesy village atmosphere is another's " dead here innit" as he surveys fur boutiques and way too many artisan sossage shops.
As a liker of Megeve it suggests the OP may be more in the fur with his n her white jeans or full Moncler bracket. So Lech would meet that low on riff raff spec.
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I was mainly arguing for Verbier but was too lazy to edit the quote.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@Chaletbeauroc,
| Chaletbeauroc wrote: |
| afterski wrote: |
| Verbier also a candidate here. |
| kitenski wrote: |
| Courchevel, Meribel, St Anton (and Lech), La Plagne, Tignes, Val D'Isere loads of places basically!! |
None of these is what I'd describe as a Village. Perhaps my perceptions have shifted from living in a real one, but any village feel in those places disappeared several generations ago. |
Slight issue is that in Morzine the tulips might be out already at Easter.
And comparing La Plagne/Tignes c.s with Lech/Megeve c.s. to me sounds like food for a psych!
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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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@Langerzug, where was Morzine mentioned, not even in that quoted text!!
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i think almost all the resorts in Austria have to be in the list....except obertauern and a couple more
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You know it makes sense.
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I suspect the OP's point was that she wanted the "base village" to be snowy and wintry. Megeve is not likely to have much snow - or not much looking at all nice - at Easter.
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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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| Origen wrote: |
| I suspect the OP's point was that she wanted the "base village" to be snowy and wintry. Megeve is not likely to have much snow - or not much looking at all nice - at Easter. |
That's not how I read the first message at all. I took it to mean good snow for skiing, but a village with a buzzy feel and bars and restaurants in the evening with no need for a ski bus.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Quote: |
I was hoping to find somewhere with a similar vibe but that would still have good snow at Easter
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I inferred that that meant that the "buzzy village" would also be snowy at Easter. Otherwise, as many responses have noted, there are any number of resorts down in valleys, from which you go up in a gondola!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Flipjango, most skiers use the gondola to go up the hill and then ski down. If you're doing it the other way round then maybe you're doing something wrong! Are you sure you even need to worry with the skis - not everybody does.
Val d'Isere is surely the best place for you to go to. Nasty slopes you wouldn't want to ski down, hence the need for the gondola down. There are even multiple gondolas that fit this description. Likelihood of snow at Easter at village level. Plenty of cutesy shops selling over-priced furs. Lots of nice bars for drinks. Transfer right on the three-hour limit.
For a shorter transfer, and similarly unpleasant home runs requiring a gondola, then St Anton. Lech if you want to dial it up a price-level. And St Anton is only 1h15mins from Innsbruck airport, Lech being at the other end of the resort is 1h30mins. Towns are lower than Val d'Isere so less snow at Easter, but being Austria they do cute well.
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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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| Origen wrote: |
| I suspect the OP's point was that she wanted the "base village" to be snowy and wintry. Megeve is not likely to have much snow - or not much looking at all nice - at Easter. |
She didn't say that though. Even VT and Tignes can be a bit snowbare in the town at that time of year (or of course slammed by sudden storms). This is where any recommendations fall down - in the absence of a complete dataset of must haves and nice to haves everyone projects their own biases onto a recommendation. Even "buzzy" can mean different things from lots of people partying hard in and outside bars with bands/DJs to lots of people mooching the streets and stopping for a vin chaud.
I can understand the desire to be walking distance to/from upload/download and thus not subject to bus faff and hence the attraction of having bars/restos/shops also in pedestrian proximity. But that's a much broader ask than somewhere that also has to be chocolate box pretty, "real" and with snow in the village at Easter.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| James the Last wrote: |
@Flipjango, most skiers use the gondola to go up the hill and then ski down. If you're doing it the other way round then maybe you're doing something wrong! Are you sure you even need to worry with the skis - not everybody does.
Val d'Isere is surely the best place for you to go to. Nasty slopes you wouldn't want to ski down, hence the need for the gondola down. There are even multiple gondolas that fit this description. Likelihood of snow at Easter at village level. Plenty of cutesy shops selling over-priced furs. Lots of nice bars for drinks. Transfer right on the three-hour limit.
For a shorter transfer, and similarly unpleasant home runs requiring a gondola, then St Anton. Lech if you want to dial it up a price-level. And St Anton is only 1h15mins from Innsbruck airport, Lech being at the other end of the resort is 1h30mins. Towns are lower than Val d'Isere so less snow at Easter, but being Austria they do cute well. |
No need for sarcasm! Maybe I'm using the wrong terminology? Loads of resorts that have proper 'towns' (as opposed to the purpose built resorts) have a telecabin that goes from the town to the foot of the slopes if the town is low lying - my last two holidays have been Megeve and Saint Gervais and in both in February you certainly wouldn't have been able to ski back down unless a) you were comfortable with tricky Reds and b) you wanted to hike across mud towards the bottom.
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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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| Kenzie wrote: |
@Flipjango,
I would have said a central gondal describes many resorts, and even all/majority of villages in some.
Perhaps you should concentrate on the Easter snow quality/reliability, and 3 hour max transfer?
Where would you consider flying into?
Exactly what about Megeve did you like? What budget & accommodation are you looking for? |
What did I like about Megeve? I think we liked that there was a real village with atmosphere and supermarkets and things to do other than skiing - quite a lot of shops, places to wander, ice rink and restaurants and that we weren't isolated in a hotel. And we liked that it opened us up to being able to rent an airb&b and not be limited to chalets or hotels. We really liked getting off the lifts at the end of the day and heading for a drink in town before going back to our apartment. We like skiing but probably not quite as much as our kids do, so we're not the first on/last off the lift types and like to have a few other things to look at in the town.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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I would have thought Ischgl would tick a lot of boxes.
There should still be decent snow at Easter and I think it stays pretty busy all the way through to the closing concert.
The area around the Silvrettabahn gondola is usually buzzing especially if the weather is nice.
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| Quote: |
And we liked that it opened us up to being able to rent an airb&b and not be limited to chalets or hotels.
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Most resorts, and all French resorts, will have a good range of self-catering places to rent, from simply to very luxurious - the resort's own website is the first place to look. Some, but by no means all, and not the majority, might be available through AirBnB
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@Flipjango, with that description, my point still stands for Mayrhofen too.
https://www.visorium.at/
This would be quite a good facility in town too with teenagers
Last edited by After all it is free  on Thu 6-11-25 18:12; edited 1 time in total
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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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| Origen wrote: |
| I suspect the OP's point was that she wanted the "base village" to be snowy and wintry. Megeve is not likely to have much snow - or not much looking at all nice - at Easter. |
No, absolutely don't care about base village being snowy/wintry. In some ways it'd be easier if it wasn't. Megeve certainly wasn't when we were there. I definitely DO want good reliable snow on the slopes though and high/glacier so no afternoon slush as I'm just not good enough yet to deal with it.
Don't really care about village or town - though definitely I would lean closer to town than tiny village if I had to choose. We're there with kids (young teens though, not little ones) so we're not after loud apres, just somewhere with atmosphere and places to eat and a couple of bars for a beer at the end of the day.
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Cervinia then. Its very high, so snow sure. The weather should be settled by Easter, so less chance of high winds, so you can also get across to Switzerland for the day.
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