 Poster: A snowHead
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Hello you helpful lot, here again with yet another "where to this year" request!
Last year you lot came up trumps, and we had a fab 3 weeks in Austria, so I was hoping for your help again!
We're limited with annual leave this year, so I've just booked some cheap flights for Christmas week (sat 24th to sat 31st) to Chamberry (flights were better than any of the Austrian / German options, and hire cars seem way cheaper than Geneva!). We're going to rent a car, and are happy to drive up to 2 1/2 hours, which leaves us quite a few resorts to trawl through!!
My initial thoughts were:
Early (ish) season, so head somewhere high - thought possibly one of the 3 valleys (having previously enjoyed trips to VT and Courchevel). We're on a budget though, so I wondered what the realities were like when staying in one of the lower towns / villages such as Orelle / Brides Les Baines / Saint Martin? Accommodation is clearly far cheaper, but is it a daily faff having to bubble up and down, and will we miss being "in resort"? We're not party animals, but a few beers after skiing is something we enjoy....can we get this in the lower villages?
We've also previously been to Tignes (found it a little bleak to be honest) and Montgenevre (loved it) in France - so could be tempted back to either of these, or should we be thinking of somewhere completely different?
Cheers for the help!!
Matthew
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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In the 3V Courchevel 1650 has some affordable apartments, very good skiing and access and not so expensive for the after ski, either.
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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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Just a word of warning regarding the 3V. If there is a serious lack of snow, they can shut the links. This means staying in Val Thorens (also bleak) or Les Menuires.
It happened to me one year and I was stuck in Courchevel doing the one pisted run....though we were bused to Val T for 2 of the days (which takes ages) and also to Tignes for a day (where the snow was much better).
I've stayed at Arcs 1950 over Christmas. It was much nicer than the very bleak Arcs 2000. The snow was ropy enough, but just about enough.
Early season booked in advance, Tignes is probably the safest bet for snow....due to its height and location.
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| Quote: |
Early season booked in advance, Tignes is probably the safest bet for snow....due to its height and location.
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A wise man! If you find the higher villages bleak then try Boisses (1800) or Brevieres (1550) - much higher than the lower villages in the 3V. Brev in particular is pretty, Boisse becoming so with all the new development. Both served by bubbles. If nightlife is your thing Boisses is quiet but has free navettes to the main resort until midnight, Brev you are relying on a taxy or your car but there is a decent selection of restaurants and a couple of bars. Brev is 2 hours from Chambery. If you have little ones Santa will appear in Brev at some stage.
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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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| Quote: |
Early season booked in advance, Tignes is probably the safest bet for snow..
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True. But having booked your flights you could afford to wait till a lot later to book accommodation - Christmas week is not super-busy like New Year.
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As an alternative to being resort based, stay in Bourg St Maurice and sample the nearby resorts. 10 minutes on the funicular to Les Arcs/La Plagne, about the same by car for the chairlift accessing La Rosier and across the border to La Thuile, 20 minutes to St Foy, 40 minutes to Val d'Isere or Tignes, slightly longer to Trois Vallees. Plenty of choices of bars and cafes in Bourg, and accommodation cheaper than resort-based. Only downside is buying day passes for each resort will be a bit more expensive than a 6-day pass for one resort.
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| Quote: |
rue. But having booked your flights you could afford to wait till a lot later to book accommodation - Christmas week is not super-busy like New Year.
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+1 Given the last couple of years, I'd wait to see where the snow is.
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| pam w wrote: |
| Quote: |
Early season booked in advance, Tignes is probably the safest bet for snow..
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True. But having booked your flights you could afford to wait till a lot later to book accommodation - Christmas week is not super-busy like New Year. |
Whilst this is true 24-31st Dec eats quite a lot of the Christmas/New Year hols. I would hazard a guess that New Year week will start on or close to 26th for many French families. As a result accommodation will begin to be booked up for anyone wanting to stay after Christmas regardless of them returning before New Year.
With regards to Orelle it's probably one of the easiest drives to a ski lift in France. It's just a few km off the motorway with little or no climb to drive up - great if the weather is bad. However, there's only really one place to stay here... http://www.residenceorelle3vallees.com. The apartments are nice but there isn't a lot going on apart from a quiet bar/restaurant, a gym, a pool and a small shop with limited opening hours. It also takes a while to get the lift up to the VT ski area. The lift can get very busy with day trippers.
I can highly recommend looking at Valmeinier or Valloire. Not far from Orelle really, another easy drive apart from the last 10-15km. Villages are high. Valmeinier is pretty quiet, but not as quiet as Orelle, there are a few bars. Valloire has quite a bit more going on and is a bit more lively. Plenty of places to stay. Valmeinier has a few Pierre et Vacances type apartment blocks. It's also where Snowcoach have one of their hotels. Their hotel is basic but food was quite good and it was very cheap - they might even do a pick up from Chambery - worth looking at. The cost of a lift pass was favourable compared to the 3V, there is lot less km of piste to go at, but the skiing is still good and varied. We really enjoyed our skiing there.
There's also Les Sybelles to look at. La Toussuire or Le Corbier are fairly easy to get to from Chambery. Only been there in the summer so no idea what the skiing is like. Both villages are purpose built, pretty ugly (look at the mountains, not the buildings!) but have lots of apartment blocks.
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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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Valloire is a good shout.
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Another idea is La Plagne. I've done a few pre-Christmas weeks there. Not massively expensive and Scotty's Bar in Plagne Centre is decent for a few apres beers.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@jellemr, Tricky one but really depends on your priorities and whether you're happy to drive each day. If you wanted to book now, I would probably head for Tinges or VT but as @rob@rar pointed out, Bourg St Maurice is a great base if you can swallow the additional cost of days passes and are willing to get up and drive each morning.
I went to Valloire last season and it's a lovely resort (very foodie if that's you're kind of thing), with three distinct ski sectors and is has good driving access to Orelle.
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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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St Martin is lovely and of course you may get to ski down to the village if there is snow. It's unusual for there not to be, even if it's man made, though the last couple of years have been poor. Last season we drove out there on 27th Dec to join friends who had been there for Christmas week (they have a house out the now). Famously of course there was no decent natural snow anywhere save VT. There was however sufficient man made stuff to get you around the 3V. Their experience in the run up to Christmas was that VT was rammed as every man and his dog were there, and therefore not much fun (verging on the dangerous, it was so crowded) so they abandoned skiing for most of Christmas week and took some nice walks instead. When we arrived, we didn't ski much for the first couple of days, but when we did, we were really pleasantly surprised at how good the pistes were above Les Menuires and down to the bottom of the new St Martin express chair. Then it snowed, at which point being able to ski in trees and easily drop down into Meribel away from any wind was a plus.
We are big St Martin fans, so perhaps can tolerate iffy conditions. If you go there and have a car, it only takes 20mins to drive up to VT if you need to, but you may not need to at all. If you are looking to take in NY's eve, then you may need to get your skates on booking accommodation though.
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@Perty, how easy is it getting up and down on the gondola from St Martin each day? We're happy staying in the lower villages as long as we can easily get to the main ski area quickly in the morning, and are able to get back down each evening (I presume the lifts down run until 4.30 ish?).
Also, is there much going on in St Martin? We're mid 30's, so sadly can't handle partying all night (!!), but would like access to a few bars and restaurants, and a decent supermarket (as we'll be self catering).
Thanks all for you suggestions, as always you've come up trumps 
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You know it makes sense.
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@jellemr, easy peasy getting up and down on the gondola I would say. Obviously it's two stages to the very top, but we had no difficulties downloading (until there was sufficient snow to ski the last leg even if not officially open). There's snowmaking all the way. I reckon you'd be very unlucky not to be able to ski to the resort anyway. We've been going there on and off for the last 10 years, including new year week and only once have we not skied to the bottom. If you pick your route right, to get back from the top above Val T, you need just one more lift (roc de Trois Marches 2) to get back, and it's a great ski all the way.
The village is lovely. Not big on nightlife to be honest-the Dahlia is popular for a drink at the end of the day. There are some great restaurants. We like Le Lachenal, Le Montagnard is good but has got pricey. We tried Le Jardin de Josephine this summer which was also good. There are two supermarkets in the village-a little coop and the bigger Huit a Huit does the basics. There's a good butcher and a couple of nice deli type places that do some ready meals or a spit roast chicken. There's a great Boulangerie which does some gorgeous patisserie. Up the road as you drive into Les Menuires (10 mins away) there's a bigger Carrefour, and if you want to do a big shop before heading up the mountain, there's a huge Carrefour about 200 yards from the dual carriageway turn off in Moutiers, or if you want the French equiv of Waitrose, the Super U is in Moutiers about 1km up the road towards Courchevel.
We have used Agence des Alpes to rent places on a number of occasions in and around St M. The satellite hamlets and villages are charming,though none have any bars or restaurants to speak of (so you may want to avoid staying in one of those). For a real splurge there's always La Bouitte in St Marcel with three Michelin stars and prices to match! The staff at Agence des Alpes are efficient and friendly.
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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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I'm contemplating going to Risoul 23rd-30th Dec.
Never been before. Does anyone know much about the resort? - specifically what conditions are usually like around Christmas. I've noticed it's a pretty high resort - around 1800m, so quite hopeful.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| mikeycharlton wrote: |
I'm contemplating going to Risoul 23rd-30th Dec.
Never been before. Does anyone know much about the resort? - specifically what conditions are usually like around Christmas. I've noticed it's a pretty high resort - around 1800m, so quite hopeful. |
This is a good website for understanding weather/resorts/snow conditions....and during the season, it tracks weather patterns:
http://www.weathertoski.co.uk/top-10s/
This is not directly answering your question, but the "Top Tens" is a good place to start your research.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@jellemr, a variation on your original question about Orelle, it really is just a big lift and carpark there but going straight past it on your way from the airport, then 30 mins further along that valley gets you to Val Cenis, a great place for all the things you're asking with village, bar restaurants and decent food shops. It has a good cost level for accommodationand lift passes, access direct to slopes on the doorstep and some really good terrain to ski.
Like anywhere the last few years it's pot luck with snow levels but has the option of jumping into VT via Orelle while staying at a nice alpine village, the slopes run up to the Italian border area and to 2800mtrs, so good chance of snow cover with north facing slopes and mix of open slopes going down through treeline back to village with main runs covered by snowmaking. It's really a surprisingly competent area largely ignored by uk general ski Co's.
In addition, another 20mins or so further up the valley brings you to Bonneval sur arc which seems to have a good as any chance of snow and you can either bus it there on the lift pass bus or drive,, it's a lovely valley to venture along anyway and there's extensive cross country skiing between the two villagers well.
Overall it's about 1 1/2 hours from Chambery airport on roads that just don't seem to get busy, we don't even use the autoroute going there.
We've bought our last two visits accommodation there direct on French sites.
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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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@mikeycharlton, ask Cameronphilips on here, he has high praise for Risoul.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Cheers. I'll send him a message.
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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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| hammerite wrote: |
| @mikeycharlton, ask Cameronphilips on here, he has high praise for Risoul. |
I'm struggling to find that name in the users database list.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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@ski3, Bonneval sur Arc and Pralognan la Vanoise are high on my list of ski resorts to visit, more for where they are rather than the amount of piste skiing available. I must find some time and visit both of them - or get a guide to take me from one of the bigger resorts nearby.
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| mikeycharlton wrote: |
| hammerite wrote: |
| @mikeycharlton, ask Cameronphilips on here, he has high praise for Risoul. |
I'm struggling to find that name in the users database list. |
Cameronphillips2000
Send message, find user name cameron* select from the drop down
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@holidayloverxx, cheers
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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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@johnE, we went to Bonneval last March as a day out from Val Cenis as I'd read about it a few years back. We are family of 4 with two children of 12 and 9 so normally piste skiing for us at the moment but we had a great day out there with snow showing very little use and mostly empty pistes right the way from top at 3000mtr all the way down to village. Really good food slopeside, no queing at all, spectacular views across the alps and all very relaxed. Well worth a visit but of course much easier if staying in that valley as it's right up the far end on the pass that heads over to Val D whish is closed during winter months.
We had time when lifts closed to look round the old village which is the part which many published pictures reference, a intriguing place in which you are walking round on packed snow sometimes about 6 foot up the sides of the old buildings like a suspended walkway. Very picturesque.
We are, after the going to Val Cenis for the last two years, quite struck with the whole valley and are gradually filling in the gaps in our experience of all the local ski areas along there. Good costs, very good local food and very decent people working there make it a particularly good time away for us.
Well worth a visit.
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@johnE, Pralo is beautiful! We took our caravan there one half term years ago, left it there and went back at (early that year) Easter. The skiing in Feb was really good but by Easter ... not so much! However in the spring sunshine the treks up through the National Park were just awesome! I hope to get back there one day!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I would add to this - it's not a great idea this year to book flights without accommodation over x-mas. Whilst it's usually a good suggestion, this year x-mas and new year fall on a weekend which means that there are a large number of different options for x-mas and new year dates, so it's worth checking out some options before you book.
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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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@CaravanSkier, I have been to Pralognan quite a bit during the summer. As you say there is some excellent walking and a really good beginners via ferrata. It looks more like an old mountaineering centre than a ski resort (a bit like La Grave), which I like. I would like to experience the skiing there.
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@jellemr, @Perty, We're also big St Martin fans....
The piano bar (behind the church is nice and there is a fab resturaunt opposite, French run, with it's own bar.
The new speedy ST Martin 2 x6 chair is speeding things up - so long as it works !!
The village is great at Christmas eve, they have the usual instructors ski down the mountain & fireworks, lovely in the village.
We've been many times, much better than VT & Les Mingers, although Bettex is a good alternative, with the old ST Martin 2 chair opening things up, with an easy early morning start into Les Menuires...
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You know it makes sense.
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Hi all,
Thanks for all the feedback, very helpful as usual - we've found and booked a nice apartment in Brides, 5 min walk to the gondola up to Meribel...very excited!
I'm contemplating hiring a car at Chambery airport, unless anyone has experience of cheap / reliable transfers from Chambery to Brides? I think there's a train, but I'm struggling to obtain info!!
Cheers
Matthew
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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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@jellemr, The odd problem with Chambery airport is that there is no shuttle bus into town and the railway station. My wife got a shared taxi with 3 other people she met at the taxi rank. My nephew found a bigger problem on returning - no taxis at the railway station! He reprted that it was very stressful.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| johnE wrote: |
| @jellemr, The odd problem with Chambery airport is that there is no shuttle bus into town and the railway station. My wife got a shared taxi with 3 other people she met at the taxi rank. My nephew found a bigger problem on returning - no taxis at the railway station! He reprted that it was very stressful. |
It does seem a bit odd - I guess with it being a smaller airport this may be the issue.
We can hire a car for the week, but I just thought there may be a cheaper way of transferring, seeing as the car will be sat there doing nothing for the week!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I have often thought there must be a business opportunity for someone to co-ordinate a shared car hire, ie two groups jointly hiring a car, one group from airport/train station to resort, the other from resort to airport/station. I can see there would be a myriad of practical problems but surely some bright person could make a business model for such a thing?
@jellemr, There do seem to be various busses that run from Chambery to ski resorts but I`m not sure if Brides is one!
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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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| Quote: |
we've found and booked a nice apartment in Brides, 5 min walk to the gondola up to Meribel...very excited!
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Have a great holiday!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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After the last two years, anywhere with snow! 
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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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> French Alps - Xmas Week, where would you go?!
Nice?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Hoping there's no repeat this year. We're booked Xmas week in Val Thorens. Start the snow-dancing now.
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@jellemr, for transfers we use snow bound transfers. Might be more than a car but they have been good and less stress than self drive
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FAQ
Jan 4th 2016 after everyone had gone home...