Planning a week in July for the family and wondered which villages might best fit the bill. Places look so different when the snow has gone. I guess we look for:-
1) France
2) Picturesque traditional village
3) Activities - canoeing/sailing, cycling, walking, history, etc
I immediately thought of Morzine having been twice this season to ski, but there must be others that would be even nicer? I'm planning to drive, so distance from the Channel ports is a factor.
Any thoughts?
Thanks.
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
noggy,
Bit further away but we went to Briancon a few years ago and it was superb.
It is a town rather than a village though there arel loadsof villages and hamlets in the vicinity.
There is very attractive old fortified bit to the town with loads of history designed by Vauban the military engineer many of his forts are scattered round the area, Tons of walking in hte area Queyras park, Valle de la Claree, Vallouise Ailefroide and much more.
The Durance is well known for canoeing and has rafting available. Sailing is a bit further away down at Serre Poncon I think.
Plenty of mountain biking available with uplift if you need it in Serre Chevalier. Road biking it is a stopover for the Tour de France and they regularly close of a couple of the local cols to cars for people wanting to cycle up them.
Bit further south than Morzine and possibly a bit warmer and sunnier.
We loved it and thought about returning this year but have decided that with the expense involved in getting there we will go back up to the West of Scotland instead.
brian
brian Guest
noggy, we have 2 weeks free in July (3-10 and 24-31).
1) how about French speaking Switzerland?
2) check (with knobs on)
3) check (well the sailing might not exactly be nearby, probably Lake Geneva which is about an hour's drive, http://www.lacetmer.ch/)
Click the '.' in my sig below. Ours is a 4 person appt, if you need bigger I can recommend our neighbours'.
noggy, Thonon, on Lake Geneva, might be worth thinking of if sailing is one of your things. The lake is gorgeous in summer. Very close to the mountains, too. Lake Annecy, too - this place http://lac-annecy-menthon.ternelia.com/ is in a wonderful position, and is an impressive building. Never been in it, but we stop nearby for coffee or lunch on the way back and for to Geneva airport in nice weather.
There's a sailing school next door, boats for hire, a very nice (and cheap) municipal "plage" with paddling pool for little ones, swimming in the lake, showers, shady trees, grass. Mountains all around, of course. One of France's premier places for paragliding, too; dangerous manoevres like deliberate stalls are practiced over the water with a safety boat in attendance. The "vibe" in summer is really quite Mediterranean. Annecy itself gets very busy, but from Menthon St Bernard (which is on the quiet, eastern, shore of the lake) you could get a boat trip across to visit - the old town is well worth a visit, with restaurants Venice-style, along the water courses.
noggy, There is a wealth of things to do round here in the summer: hundreds of kilometres of walks (guided themed ones too - historical, gastronomic, flora and fauna, fitness hikes etc.), via ferrata, rafting, canyoning, natural pool swimming, mountain biking (30-circuit domain with ski lifts) and the Tour de France comes up through La Clusaz, over the Col des Aravis and right through the village where we are based (La Giettaz) on the 13th of July this year. We are only 38km from Menthon St. Bernard and Lake Annecy for sailing and a trip to the beautiful Annecy town, and an easy drive from Calais too.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Annecy is also a bit closer to La Rosiere I believe.
After all it is free
After all it is free
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.
To be honest, I knew I'd get in trouble for the post... but I did take my cue from Brian. I thought that was only fair...
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
miranda, It would only be polite if a link to snowHeads appeared on your website.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
miranda, Is that the link in Brians site which links back to here?
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.
Oh... ok - that's no problem - we're happy to add links to our website, particularly to a relevant site such as snowheads!
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
noggy, if you're looking around Annecy I can recommend Talloires - lovely base. Also have a look at Les Gets and Samoens.
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
one of the disappointments of Lake Annecy is because so many properties run right down to the water's edge there are only limited areas where there are nice walks along the shoreline. I've never had a boat out on the lake, but intend to rectify that this coming summer. That would be the best way to see the place. Many people rent bikes and cycle round the lake. I used to think that was a nice idea till the first time I hit the area on a busy Sunday - for much (not all) the way the cyclists are on the road, all over the place, looks quite dangerous. There's also a huge hill just north of Talloires (and a gorgeously sited campsite up there, too, though a bit of a hike down to the water).
More and more resorts are doing intelligent things with lifts to allow mountain bikers to make big circuits with minimal effort but I'm no mountain biker - I'm dead scared of going over the handlebars and breaking something. I prefer to walk.
For the full gamut of stuff to do in the summer it would actually be hard to beat Chamonix - the high (and very easy) "Balcons" walks there are unbeatable, with easy lift access in the season. We go there at least once each summer trip, when the weather is good. Depends what you want. Chamonix (and Annecy lake) are super busy in the summer. Our place is generally very, very, quiet though with plenty of action within reach. We lent our apartment to friends one June. Although we warned them that nothing would be open (as it's between seasons) they clearly thought we' d exaggerated and were astonished to find it was actually true. Our idea of an ideal day out (when Chamonix is too much of a hassle) is a local walk out of the back door, with a ham and cheese sandwich and a couple of bottles of cold beer. The woods are full of raspberries early in summer, wild strawberries (harder to find) later and the ambiance is an utter delight. Cows with bells, pastures carpeted in flowers, etc. But some people can't cope with the lack of organised "activities" and shopping opportunities out of season.
brian
brian Guest
PimperPolizei out in force today I see.
Just trying to help a find somewhere nice.
Anyways, in miranda's defence, le Tour is quite cool, we went to see the finish in Verbs last summer ...
Imagine our surprise when leader Alberto Contador turned up ...
Doesn't seem to put his fans off though ...
That's more like it, feeling Kim Kirchen's pain ...
Gratuitous heli en montagne shot ...
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
There can't be many locations for a holiday home which provide such fantastic opportunities for most (at least 10.5 months - there's not much to be said for late November and early December before the lifts open) of the year. Much of the Med is cold and windy in the winter and too hot and crowded in high summer.
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?
noggy, We love the Alps in summer and in the past three years have spent our 2 weeks in Les Gets and St Gervais, with Morillon this August. The two former places would tick most of the boxes, and Morillon promises to offer lots too. I'd agree that the climate in summer is (for us....) much nicer than the Med in the peak weeks, places are less crowded, the opportunities for outdoor pursuits are endless, lots of interesting spots for a day out. We chose the resorts we have been to as they were all within an hour of Geneva for the lake, Annecy (gorgeous in summer), Yvoire (stunning lakeside town), Chamonix etc but also lovely in their own right. Can't wait now
Samoens, Morillon and possibly Montriond are very nice villages, with Morzine and Les Gets being a little bigger. Megeve worth a visit if you're feeling affluent. The banks of Lake Annecy certainly, or slightly further afield Gap is a lovely bustling town. Even further afield, but worth it in my opinion, is Saint Martin Vesubie - beautiful place perched on the side of the southern Alps, towards Nice. Wouldn't really suit the OP I think as it is rather out of the way! I've travelled the Route des Grandes Alps from Lake Geneva to the Mediterranean a number of times by various modes of transport and the variety and character of the little villages on the way never ceases to amaze me.
I quite agree with you pam w! Our little place is in Verchaix and is oft used by us, by family and by friends in summer just as much as in winter!
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Annecy is far too busy and far too expensive (those damn Savoyards will fleece you). Try somewhere like Embrun with the Lac de Serre-Ponçon. Better weather than oop North too.
Have you sailed on alpine lakes? I've only sailed on lac Montenyard. I'm told Annecy is not too hard but the lac du Bourget has very difficult sailing conditions due to the configuraton of the mountains. Geneva is supposed to be good for sailing but you'll have to duke it out with all the Hooray Swiss.
try Nice, I spent a year there and the winter weather is great, avoid the Bouches-du-Rhône - Tiger Mosquitos, fog and rain and unbearably hot plus one of the most polluted parts of France.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Pralognan, Vanoise - stunning little place on the edge of the national park.
After all it is free
After all it is free
norris, our season ski pass gives us a free day in pralognan - maybe we should try to get over there. What's the skiing like?
davidof, yes, it can be nice in the winter, certainly. But that mistral...... even well east of the Rhone Valley. Days of being buffeted and checking warps every hour.
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.
Another vote for the area around Briancon. An abundance of good sumer mountain activities, good meditereanen weather normally and surrounding by high mountains.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Lake Garda takes a lot of beating for a summer holiday in the mountains excellent sailing and cycling.
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.
Zell am See In Austria is magic in the summer, warm clean lake, and loads to do 2 championship golf courses, skiing etc and the quality of the accomodation is generally so much better than France, Saas Fee is great as well.
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Another vote for Lake Garda, esp. if MTB is your thing.
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
pam w, small but empty - worth a day out just for the views etc
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Thanks for all of the suggestions (but please keep them coming!) I think Lake Garda and the Southern Alps really are a bit too far in terms of driving, but some of the villages mentioned are certainly on my list to do further research on.
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Widen your search and have a look at the Jungfrau Region in Switzerland
noggy, wherever you go you won't be disappointed. the Alps in summer are stunning (and quite warm). I can almost guarantee it will put you off boring beach holidays for the rest of your lives.
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?
Oh... ok - that's no problem - we're happy to add links to our website, particularly to a relevant site such as snowheads!
Well done Nice link added.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
easiski's point about the weather bears repeating. We've spent considerable time in the Alps during all the last 7 summers and the weather has consistently been better than the UK - warmer, and with a lot fewer wet days. Heavy storms happen, of course (and can be very impressive) but we don't seem to have lots of grizzly, drizzly, day - and we get a lot more sunshine up on a south facing mountain than down in the deep valleys. It's not always warm - but it's mostly bright. Of course you can get unlucky - I still have vivid memories of camping in the Salzkammergut in Austria in the early 'sixties and getting swamped with rain, day after day. But it's less likely than it is in Cornwall. I think British instincts about mountain weather in the summer stem from our experiences in places like the Lake District and the Scottish Highlands. Beautiful as those places are, the Alps are much more consistently cheerful in summer and mostly very much less crowded.
After all it is free
After all it is free
pam w, Even a rainy day in the Alps in the summer is better than a summers day at home
brian
brian Guest
... and don't have midgies!
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
brian, well yes, there is that! Though there can be some pretty lethal "taons" (horseflies, I think) in places. And one summer I got a tick after wading in the undergrowth picking raspberries. And some of those pretty cows can be very bad-tempered. And then there are the electric fences.....
FAQ
Poster: A snowHead
find somewhere nice. 
Days of being buffeted and checking warps every hour.
And then there are the electric fences.....