Serre Chevalier or Montgenevre and who to book with...

A snowHead

I have searched and found a couple of older threads about Serre Chevalier against Montgenevre before and it was helpful, but I have some more specific questions that weren't covered and could do with a bit of help/gentle persuasion to help us decide where we're going this winter.

Any time I've been to Montgenevre, we've not had kids (3yo) to think about. We've also not had grandparents to think about!

We really really like the area as a place to ski, but i'm not sure about it being ideal for a couple of 2nd week skiing old(er) folks and having a 3 year old in tow. She'll go to lessons of some sort at least for half the days, but I'm not convinced there's enough for her to do other than ski and sleep.

The accommodation we'd be in Le Hameau des Airelles Apartments. If anyone has stayed there it'd be good to hear about locality to slopes etc. The complex has a pool which is a major bonus with having the wee one with us.

One major thing about going to Montgenvre is that we have friends that we made during our visits to Claviere who we'd like to see.

One of the attractions of Serre Chevalier is Briancon just down from where we'd probably stay. Being a proper town is there lots of stuff to do for those in the group who may get tired of skiing and are looking for some culture?

Big thing for me personally is the skiing. I've read a lot on here about the various areas of Serre Chevalier over the years and i'm pretty sure i'd be more than happy with everything it has to offer. However, would it suit a mixed group and how are the ski schools with wee kids?

Accommodation in Serre Che would be the Residence l'Alpaga, Villeneuve. No pool, but is there a local pool that can be used or is it a bus trip into Briancon?

Holiday will be self catering unless we can get a good deal somewhere as budget is tight. Local food being better in Serre Che could possible swing the decision one way or another. I can't remember being too impressed with the food in Montgenevre, whereas the food in Claviere can be fantastic if you know where to look. What's Serre Che like for food choice?

I'm pretty convinced that both ski areas offer the same level of skiing, please correct me if i'm wrong.

Lots of questions, but I have a quiet afternoon at work and have nothing better to do Very Happy

Anything i've missed, please tell me.

Looking to book next week so it's getting to the crux.

Merci!

A snowHead

shoogly, A few points Briancon is a pleasant place though a bit varied the old fortified town is a lovely place for a wander around and enjoyable to visit though it is not a City and expecting a week of culture would not be realistic, but there is certainly more than up in Montgenvre.

I think Serre che is excellent for mixed groups. Buissoniere was a very good ski school for our kids when they were young but that was a few years ago now and I don't know how much things have changed I do know that some of the instructors have moved over to a new ski school run by a Brit I think.

I have not stayed in Villeneuve itself the only pools that I know of are down in Briancon excellent and up in Monetier where there is a thermal spa and pool. Very good according to my family though I have not actually visited.
My experiences of eating out in Serre Che have been generally good but have not eaten out in Villeneuve in the evening, On the mountain my experiences in Sere Che are definately better than in Montgenevre.

Same level of skiing? possibly. Serre Che certainly has more skiing easily accessible than Montgenevre as there are not the awkward connections like Cesana. Also I would say that there are a few somewhat tougher pistes. The off piste is pretty good in Serre CHe and much of it readily accessible, I am not so familiar with The milky way off piste only having done a a very small amount.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Chantemerle seems to have more activites than Villeneuve which is OK for being about at the middle. Ser Che is 2.5 times bigger than Montgenevre so it pays to stay at the middle so that one can head off in either direction and come back in good time. Depending on the time of the visit the Briancon end of Ser Che can lose snow a lot quicker than the rest of the resort.

Briancon does have a lot more shops and a sizeable centre de Commerical. It is a cross road town.

Montgenevre is OK for young family as the place is compact and concentrated. However going to the rest of the Milky Way is a long drag through Claviere and Cesana.

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shoogly, we stayed for a week at le Hameau des Airelles apartments last year and found it all very good there. For the number of you that there are I would book the largest that you can. We got to visit quite a few of the different apartments, size and location/aspect, while we were there as there was a water problem for a few days in our particular section of the block - they could not have done more to help though giving us bottled water and keys to empty apartments to go and use the bathrooms there, and also more china. This meant that we had the chance to spy out different places and certainly ours which had the balcony overlooking the pool area and out to the mountains was very nice - some of them seemed to face a bit of a wall, so maybe you get put in those if you are late booking.
We paid to park our car in the underground car park which seemed well worthwhile as it was much easier to leave our skis in the car than in the lockers - boots came upstairs with us to be plugged in. Also meant that if we needed to take the car out it would be ready to go - in the event we didn't move it all week.

Eating out during the day on the mountain - we almost always ate on the Claviere side - we didn't go there to eat in the evenings - perhaps we should have done. In fact I think we only ate out in Montgenevre once in the evening and catered in the apt otherwise - just the two of us but visited various places for a drink early evening, and found our favourite but couldn't tell you where it was.

I think, but I may be wrong, that the pool did not open till something like 3 or 4 in the afternoon.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

We've stayed in Le Hameau apartments in Montgenevre with primary school age children and a relative who was an adult beginner and are returning next season.

The Montgenevre beginners area is one of the best we have found. Our daughter was just 5 when we were last there and had group lessons with Apeak who are very good. However check what age their group lessons start - might be 4. There is also the ESF option and I gather they have now opened a creche in Montgenevre with ski lesson/creche options.

We were happy with our apartment in le Hameau. There was a decent kitchen/living area. The main bedroom was nice. Our apartment had a pleasant outlook over the pool and mountains and was away from traffic noise. The drawback was that the bunk room was very small with a tiled floor - we put cushions on the floor by the bunks at night time.
The swimming pool was warm enough and I enjoyed it. Not sure if it is so good for young children as I don't remember there being a shallow end and they might get cold in an outdoor pool. The spa area is very limited and you only have a couple of sessions a week.

In your position I'd also look at the new MGM CGH apartments, Chalet les Dolines, situated behind le hameau des airelles. we have not stayed in this residence but have stayed in CGH apartments in other resorts and they usually have a very good indoor pool which would be better for a 3 year old and the grandparents would be able to spend time enjoying the steam room, jacuzzis etc. as there isn't that much to do in the town.

You'll need to Register first of course.

shoogly, there is a pool in Villeneuve which is open to the public. I haven't used it though. We stayed in the Alpage apartments a while ago on our first couple of trips to SC. Again, book the largest you can, some even have two bathrooms I seem to remember. Not sure about lessons for a 3 year old, you will probably need to use the PiouPiou kindergarten. ESI start at 4, so do Ski Connections, although Buissoniere seem to do a Mini club from age 2.5, they are based in Villeneuve. I can also give you details of a good crech there if you need it.
I don't agree with Saikee about Chantemerle, Villeneuve has more to do and we've stayed in both several times.. There's a bus along the valley though and it also runs until about 11pm.
Restaurants in Villeneuve are better than Chantemerle too, great selection in the old part of the village and in Le Bez, both 5 minutes maximum walk from the apartment. There's also a couple of takeaway pizza places and a great creperie close by. Mountain restaurants are excellent, and it's easy for anyone not skiing to meet up at most of them via the lifts.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Hells Bells,

Haven't eaten at Villeneuve I will take your word for it. After all you are our resident expert in Serre Chevalier.

After all it is free

Thanks for all the info peeps! Much appreciated. Going to try and decide today and then book this week.

Been to both.

IMO, Serre Chevalier has a better lift system and a better ski area. We enjoyed the Via Lattea area but did think that Montgenevre is a bit out on a limb and the connections to Sestriere etc can be a bit faffy. We stayed in Sauze D'Oulx on a return visit and found the area better connected from there. We also found that some of the runs in Montgenevre itself are a bit short. We did still enjoy Montgenevre though - and had fantastic snow when we were there.

For serre Chevalier (which we've visited twice), we have stayed in Briancon, which we've really enjoyed - especially the fortified old town. And food and drink prices are much more reasonable there than other French areas like the 3Vs, Espace killy etc. The ski are is very big - we've particularly enjoyed getting the free bus from Briancon to the far end of the ski area (Monetier les Bains) and working our way back from there.

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Big fan of Serre Chevalier. Learnt to ski in Montgenevre and have to a certain extent have rose tinted spectacles about the place. Much greater variety and extent to Serre Chevalier, which is why it wins my vote every day. My family who aren't the most confident skiiers didn't enjoy staying in Monetier as they found a limited amount of confidence building pistes, therefore I'd stay in Villeneuve or Chantemerle.

Do a week in Serre Chevalier with a day in Montgenevre/Claviere therefore getting the best of both worlds. Been returning to those two resorts for the past 5 years, this is the first winter I won't be visiting. Slightly envious, enjoy!

snow reports

moffatross, a new lift has greatly improved the link across to Monetier.

agree Hameau are vertually ski from the door
the pool is open from 3 every day, but the spar area is only for adults
the whole new Obelisque area of Montgenenvre is very nice and expanding year by year.
the apts are very nice with the toilet sperate to the bathroom.
The resort eems quiet at night, once the teatime apres ski is over, with most restaurants having better lunch-daytime menus than in the evening.
as others have said on trip adviser the best eateries are La Capitaine for pizza pasta and Le refuge for steak and fondu etc

You know it makes sense.

Having been to both resorts last year, I think both will be fine for you. It depends what exactly you are looking for.

Ski area:
SerreChe has greater variety and better linked pistes, and I think the overall difficulty/challenges of the pistes was a smidge tougher than Mon. However, if you are looking to ski more locally (to meet up with the other generations) rather than clocking up the miles, then Mon being more compact might suit you better? The beginner/snow garden areas seemed better located in Mon, which would be easier with your little ones. Both areas offer tree and open skiing, with full range of piste difficulties, and you can always do a day trip to the 'other' resort for variety.

Accommodation:
I really liked Villeneuve as a base, the PV apartments are well located for the supermarket. There are a few nice restaurants in the old town and there is a little sledge area near the village nursary slopes. There are a choice of good ski schools with English widely spoken. Free valley buses with lift pass, so going to the thermal baths in Monetier or to Briancon town is easy. However, it will be a walk or bus ride every day to the nursery slopes/snow gardens and lifts, albeit only 5 - 10 minutes.
I cannot comment on the Mon apartments other than they look to have easy access to the slopes and the onsite pool seems tempting. Also, I think a bus does go to Briancon from mon/clav, not sure on cost or times, but if you do plump for Mon, you could still visit Briancon if some of your group want a break from skiing.

Personally, I love SerreChe ski area, and if it was just about the skiing then I would go there. However, I like the ease of the more compact base of Mon when considering the family.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

I know Montgenevre very well. Hameau des Airelles is bang on the piste. If you want a posh hotel, the Anova has just opened up the hill. If you want a great B&B which also does evening meals, try Le Pot de Miel...further up in the new Hameau de l'Obelisque area. If you want lessons, the competitor to ESF is excellent - A Peak, run by the brothers Nico and Seb...great guys.

Montgenevre is quieter than Serre Che, but consistently has better snow - the village is at 1860m.

A snowHead

Oh! And if you need to book via someone, Go Montgenevre are the people to use.

A snowHead

ibendzeeknees,

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

shoogly, did you book?

May be academic by now but, from experience, I placed my daughter (2 on first trip and 3 on second) in Les Oursans (the nursery) in Chantemerle - right at foot of slopes by the lift system. She absolutely loved the place - a really fabulous environment. We used to have to drag her out (though that may say more about the parenting than anything, of course Laughing

) In fact, we managed to leave her sunglasses at the place on the last day and, I kid not, they recognised us a year later and handed them over Shocked

Anyway, I imagine there is a very similar set-up in Villeneuve for providing some form of child care.

The old village of Villeneuve is pleasant and Le Bez is nice for a stroll around - an excellent restaurant there though the name eludes me for the moment.

I've skied both Monetier and Serre Che, though only stayed in the latter (6 times) and reckon there is much more variety there. The options for maybe the non or part time skiers and your daughter meeting up with you in the mountains are good. Serre Rattier for example - some nice restaurants and areas to play - which is above Chantemerle.

Again, from experience, Chantemerle and Villeneuve are great bases and handy if anyone is looking to spend the day in Briancon. As mentioned, the old town is charming.

If you have any specific questions (as I say, assuming this is not academic now), fire away.

Help!!

Serre Chevalier or Montgenevre and who to book with...

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