 Poster: A snowHead
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Me my familiy would like to France this winter. we are beginnersand would appreciate recommendation which resort is mos t suitable for us. I have done a bit research and since this will be our first time in France still a bit confused.
My list is,
1- La Plagne -- many choices and biggest
2- Les Tignes -- same as La Plagne
3- Les Menuires -- seems good for novice and beginners
4- Les arcs (could Les Arcs be too much for us, seems like most of pistes are rated BLUE) 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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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Most of the runs back into the Tignes resorts can be a bit crowded, are a little steep and with that often get icy in the evening.
Don't know La Plagne
Had a couple days at Les Menuires, prorobably suit beginers quite well.
Les Arcs is OK and should suit you if you stay on the western side of the hill on the Vallandry side. Lots of big wide blues and greens and an easy lift system.
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Happy New Year cihans, and welcome to showHeads.
A few more details would help. Are you complete beginners (never skied before) or done one or two weeks before? Why France? What ages are you - I presume there are children? How long are you going for? When are you going?
Five questions - sorry!
I have skied all four. But even just considering your shortlist is not as easy as it seems.
Les Arcs and La Plagne are actually a collection of resorts. Even Tignes has at least 3 parts to it. Only Les Menuires could be considered a distinct entity (as Ian Hopkinson hints, others less charitable might use another word from distinct to describe "Les Manure" - looks, not smell).
As snowHeads know, I am a firm La Plagne Fan, but it does not suit everyone.
Give us a few more details cihans and we'll try to help.
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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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cihans, if you go to Les Arcs I would choose Arc 1800 in preference to 1600 or 2000, as it has the best beginner slopes.
Another resort which I'd recommend for beginners is Les Gets in the Portes du Soleil area. It's got a nice village atmosphere and friendly slopes.
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Hi cihans
We went to Les Arcs 3 or 4 years ago, and whilst I wasn't a beginner we went with a couple of people who were and they said the nursery slopes were rubbish (that was at Arc 1800). There didn't appear to be too many lifts servicing them, so most of their first 2 or 3 lessons seemed to involve walking back to the top of the slopes. Maybe things have improved since then?
There were some really nice runs for them once they had found their skiing feet mind.
As Ian said, piste grading systems aren't consistent. I believe its up to individual resorts to grade their own pistes, so one resorts red is anothers blue etc etc
Where ever you go, have a great time!
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Happy new year to everyone and thanks for all the good comments...To answer Jonpim...We all are skiied around total of 3-4 weeks and with a bit courage we can do blue-red I guess. What we like long slopes with everything in it...We all are in 30s and we all discovered skiing a shot while ago. Why France? we had friends been in la plagne last year ( snowboarders) they loved it...I have done a bit research found those 4 places in Savoie...But Gets is a good one, Serre Che looks acceptable..Too many places and that makes us confused...
I found one place in La plagne, one in La toussuire and one in Menuire, Serre and Arcs 1800...When I compare the locations, I look at the number of slopes, lifts and percentage of greens and blues...I would appreciate any recommandations that can help us to choose one of them...Thanks...One more things wifes love to go around, so it must be lively place...
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cihans, I'm afraid I don't think that La Plagne would suit your wife. Night life is fairly limited there, although the skiing would probably be good for your group. In fact not many French purpose built resorts have much in the way of ambience. Les Menuires certainly not. Have you considered Austria? Somewhere like Zell am See might suit your varied requirements?
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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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But if we put Night life aside...What would be a better place to go? I already spent some time for France and we speak French that may be better for us to go France.
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cihans, you may like to consider La Rosiere, jezzah and his family, who hadn't skied before came to La Rosiere and stayed in our chalet, see the ad for Tracks Vacations in snowShops. It's a great resort for families and very snow sure. As it's a smaller resort it's friendlier than the mega stations nearby and the lift pass for 150 kms of piste in France and Italy is tremendous value.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Yes, if France is preferred then one of the "smaller" resorts is probably a better bet. You are more likely to get a real "village" or "town" atmosphere than in the mega- places as David says, and there is lots of good skiing to be found. The skiing in La Rosiere would be ideal for your group by the sound of it.
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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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cihans, Megève is a nice town/village with a large ski area and plenty of scope for beginners.
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Green runs in France can often be a narrow, flattish 'road' which can become an endless, painful snowplough when they are crowded or if you are not good enough to wiggle down them in style. Check the piste map and if they are below the tree line and just giving a gentle way back to a village, they'll probably be like that and not really suitable for cruising all day. cihans, as Alan says La Plagne would suit you well for skiing - loads of motorway blues and some I call 'purples' but it's not renowned for night life. It's high so if you are going late season you'd be OK there. I'm a fan of LP but this January I'm giving Les Arcs a try. Serre Chevalier might well suit your group altho' again there's not a lot going on in the evenings. Haven't tried the others you've short listed.
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You know it makes sense.
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In case of Serre Che, where to stay? There are 3 towns (Chantemerle, Briancon and Villineuve) are those all three have easy access to the liftf...
LP is also my first choice...any suggestion about the place to stay...We 6 and we need 40-55m2 with 4 beds apartement...Any suggestion on that?
La Rosiere, would you provide me some more info about accomodation? Thanks
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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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cihans, Serre Che - Briancon is the lowest, a medieval fortified town and is at one end of the Serre Che linked series of slopes and villages. Not therefore the best for access but not too bad. Chantemerle has excellent lift access into the 'middle' of the area. Not so sure about Villeneuve and there is also Monetier to consider. Somebody will help with those. We have some Serre Che experts in snowHeads.
Consider Chalet Balcons in Belle Plagne. Some tour ops have it listed. It's ski-in ski-out and well positioned for access to the higher slopes but I've not stayed there myself. I used the hotel next door - now a Mercure, formerly the El Dorador. The bar in the Hotel Balcons next to the chalet complexes is one of the better ones in BP. And the Saloon Bar is an easy walk. Lots of the apartments in LP are in multi-storey complexes. There are few stand-alone 'chalets' in the normal sense of the word.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Hi cihans, you could think about Puy St. Vincent in the southern Alps, it won family ski resort of the year 2004 in the good ski guide. Puy has had very good early season conditions. Puy is a smaller friendly resort and is very good value for money. Take a look here for more details on Puy and other resorts around it.
Hope you find what you want. 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Since ww will go with kids we dont want to walk to much to get to the lifts, lifts also must be easy to use by the kids..Buttons sometimes hard for them...How close is Puy St. Vincent to Serre Che...
And from Lyon airport how easy to access Serre Region..Thanks...I can still use info about accomodation for Serre, LP and Les Arcs 1800...Any idea why I should not go any or them ?
Thank you to all...very very helpfull...
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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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cihans, have a look at our ad in snowShops, there should be a link to our website. If not go to www.tracksvacations.com, we can arrange appartments if a chalet isn't your preference, when do you want to go?
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I think that will be LP, Les Arcs 1800-1600 or Serre Che....Maybe Megeve whereever I can find a nice place to stay...
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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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27jan-03feb or 30jan-06feb. we prefer la plagne region but want to know your prices for La rosiere for this date. Thanks...Can you do something for LP, Serre or les arcs as well? Thank you
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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cihans, Flying Squirrel is a snowHead who will find S/C accomm. in Les Arcs and does not charge commission. Since he's not been posting here lately, here's Will's email address will @ plan-peisey-accommodation . co . uk
Just knock out all the spaces I've put in.
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cihans,
If you are thinking La Plagne check out www.smittenbysnow.com who are based in Belleplagne. This is one of the more attractive purpose built sattleites in the valley and the skiing should be perfect for you. However, don't expect it to be lively.
Megeve is a pretty and chic resort with very flattering runs. Keep an eye on the snow conditions as it is low. Can be expensive as they used to call it Paris in the snow..Very French..!!
In general, France has the quieter apre-ski. Exceptions are Val D isere and Chamonix, the later not being sutable for people that regard themselves as beginners.
For an all-round ski-holiday Austria may be a better destination but you will not be disappointed with the skiing in France
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At Arc 1800 there is a selection of free beginners slopes, which can save you a few quid in lift passes at the start of a holiday. As DG says, Arc 1600 is not suitable for beginners.
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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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lifts also must be easy to use by the kids..
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I have skied the higher parts of La Plagne for a week without once using a button drag. Yes drags do exist there especially for complete beginner areas, but you can easily cruise blues and reds in a large part of LP using chairs and gondolas only.
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FAQ
I've done about 6 weeks ski=ing, so can remember my early days still. I found that after a 2-3 weeks tuition I was confident tackling blue pistes - I'm not a very quick learner! The only pistes rated easier than BLUE are GREEN, the green 'label' doesn't appear to be applied consistently across Europe - it doesn't appear at all in Austria as far as I can recall and in France it is generally used to indicate nursery slopes (where the week 1 learners hang out) and little else. So go for some of those blues, or get some more lessons!
