 Poster: A snowHead
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Anyone stayed in Briançon? We stayed in Chantemerle last year(Residence l’Adret) and loved it; great resort, good nightlife and well-appointed apartments. Have seen some decent-looking accommodation in Briançon (Aigle Bleu from www.peaktretreats.co.uk if anyone is interested) but we are not sure what Briançon will be like to stay in. So:
1. is it easy to get on the slopes and easy to get back to in the afternoon?
2. does it have a bars/restaurants/nightlife?
3. how do 1 and 2 compare to Chantemerle?
Also, we were planning to get the train there from St Pancras, but the Eurostar/6-berth couchette costs about £360 each wheres we can fly to Turin from Gatwick and get a taxi for about £220 each (flights = £110 with BA, taxi is £450 return, split between four people). Does anyone have an opinion on the travel options? Getting the train directly to the resort we stay in does appeal, but the cost seems prohibitive (the difference is almost the cost of the lift pass).
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Never stayed in Briancon before. There should be people with more experience who in time will reply to your questions.
A reputation for quiet nightlife. Bar Eden gets busy and has a local French atmosphere to it. Plenty of restaurants especially in the quaint old town.
Main differences between the two are the size as Briancon is a considerably sized town and ability to ski back to the resort. Often you will be unable to ski back to the town depending on snow conditions and will have to resort to taking the gondola back down into town. Bare in mind it'll take you longer to get over to Monetier and some of the main skiing.
Have a look at the TGV to Oulx in Italy requiring a change across Paris from Eurostar to TGV and then the bus from Oulx to Briancon. http://www.autocars-resalp.com/_dynamique/revuesPresses01/fichiers/new-grille-bri-mtg-oulx-48.pdf
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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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If Chamtemerle is a village then Bricon is a town. It has everything Chantemerle has got plus much more.
However Briancon is at the end of Serre Chevalier domain so it is a pain to start everyday from the extreme end. This is also the end that loses the snow faster than others.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Stayed in Briancon twice - loved it. Old town is really nice & in general it's a fairly relaxed place. We found prices a fair bit cheaper than places like the 3Vs & Tignes.
Ski area is excellent - on both our trips (one in April) - we skied back to Briancon. We were staying about 5 mins from the gondola, which was great.
Rather than an end to end, there & back ski, we quite enjoyed getting the free bus from Briancon to Monetier & skiing back from there.
The casino in Briancon has one of our favourite Alps restaurants - nice surroundings, nice food & decent prices.
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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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£360 does seem ridiculously expensive.
Have you seen how much it would cost if you went in the day-time? Looks to be about a 10 or 11 hour journey so if you leave at 7.45am you get to Briancon at 6.45pm.
How did you get your quote? Was it through the Rail Europe website? One suggestion I've heard is to get prices for the two legs (London-Paris and Paris-Briancon) separately.
Caan't resist a quick plug for the SkiRail Map of the Alps (http://rogerlascellesmaps.co.uk/SkiRail_Map_Main.aspx) which shows all the main rail routes to, and through, the Alps but perhaps not a huge amount of help in your case.
Good luck!
Monsieur Neige
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| ginjaninja wrote: |
Anyone stayed in Briançon? We stayed in Chantemerle last year(Residence l’Adret) and loved it; great resort, good nightlife and well-appointed apartments. Have seen some decent-looking accommodation in Briançon (Aigle Bleu from www.peaktretreats.co.uk if anyone is interested) but we are not sure what Briançon will be like to stay in. So:
1. is it easy to get on the slopes and easy to get back to in the afternoon?
2. does it have a bars/restaurants/nightlife?
3. how do 1 and 2 compare to Chantemerle?
Also, we were planning to get the train there from St Pancras, but the Eurostar/6-berth couchette costs about £360 each wheres we can fly to Turin from Gatwick and get a taxi for about £220 each (flights = £110 with BA, taxi is £450 return, split between four people). Does anyone have an opinion on the travel options? Getting the train directly to the resort we stay in does appeal, but the cost seems prohibitive (the difference is almost the cost of the lift pass). |
The Aigle Bleu is built on what used to be the main car park for the prorel Lift, so the answer to:-
1. is it easy to get on the slopes and easy to get back to in the afternoon? couldn't really be much easier or closer to the lift. Ski bus stops right outside.
2. does it have bars/restaurants/nightlife? Casino and restaurant next door, creperie facing, auberge du Mont prorel bar/hotel adjacent, dutch bar in the apartment block
behind, loads of bars restaurants in the town/old town.
And in answer to some of the comments that it loses the snow first, we have always been able to ski right back to the bottom even in bad snow years in late march, and the Vauban and remparts are some of the best runs in my opinion.
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Thank you for all the responses. Some really useful info here. Will read and digest with the family and book that place in Briancon very soon.
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