Ski Guide: Living Experience in France

Winter is here, looking forward to snow and holidays in a heated house. No matter how old you are, you have a restless heart.

When I was studying in France, I could see the spectacular scene of the snow-covered Alps when I pushed the window in Grenoble ~ When the skiing season comes, everyone who can see the Alps is eager to fly from the snowy slopes at the top of the mountains in Europe, even if you are not a sportsman, it will be a good memory to experience once.

Coming to France, you are in a unique position to ski, because compared to ski resorts in Switzerland and Austria, skiing in France will be about 30%-50% cheaper.

In addition, French ski resorts have modern and advanced skiing facilities, and the ski resorts are known worldwide for their vast skiing space.

Here are the five best ski resorts in France for your reference.

Les trois vallées Three Gorges Ski Resort Reasons to recommend

Composed of Courchevel, La Tania, Méribel, Brides-les-Bains, Val Thorens, Les Menuires, St-Martin-de-Belleville and Orelle, the Three Gorges ski area is currently the largest interconnected ski area in the world. There are 335 trails with a total length of more than 490 km.

It is one of the most famous ski resorts in France and the world, with a wide range of facilities, from affordable to luxury services, popular with skiers from all over the world.

For people

Skiers of all levels

With a wide variety of slopes for beginners to advanced skiers, from a large number of gentle beginner slopes to two big black runs with maximum slopes of 85% and 80% respectively, there is something for everyone. It's worth mentioning that the ski resort will also place fun props on some of the beginner trails for kids to play with.

Getting there

The closest town to the Three Gorges ski resort is Moûtiers, about 20 km away, the city of Grenoble is about 107 km from the Three Gorges ski resort and Lyon, about 200 km away. By plane, you can choose Grenoble or Lyon as your destination. By train, you can reach the Moûtiers-Salins-Brides-les-Bains station via the TGV high-speed train or the TER intercity express, and then transfer to the Altibus shuttle bus to each ski resort.

Accommodation is a bit more expensive than in other ski resorts, especially in Courchevel and Méribel, which are known for their luxury apartments and ski chalets. Students can choose the more remote Brides-les-Bains ski area, a 30-minute gondola ride from the town to Méribel. Learn more：les3vallees

Chamonix

Reasons

Chamonix is a place for skiers, a small town of 10,000 people that hosted the first Winter Olympics in 1924 and is a popular destination for snow sports enthusiasts from all over the world, as well as a base camp for climbing Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in Europe.

It is also home to the famous Valleé Blanche, a 23-kilometer wilderness trail created by alpine skiers, which is a great test of fitness and skiing skills. In addition to skiing, you can also participate in a variety of fun activities such as snowshoeing, dog sledding and paragliding.

Suitable for intermediate and advanced skiers, mountain skiers

There are fewer beginner trails here than at other ski resorts, making it more suitable for intermediate and advanced skiers, and it is definitely a milestone stop in my personal skiing experience. But even if the skiing level is not high, it will be a good experience to take the cable car to enjoy the Alps at 360 degrees.

Chamonix is about 200 km from Grenoble, 80 km from Geneve and 220 km from Lyon. You can take the TGV or TER to St Gervais-le Fayet station and transfer to the Mont Blanc Express to Chamonix station. Chamonix. Learn more：chamonix

Alpe d'Huez Alpe d'Huez Ski Resort

Reasons to recommend

Located just 1.5 hours from Grenoble, the ski resort of Alpe d'Huez was the venue for the 1968 Grenoble Winter Olympic Games bobsleigh event and is one of the most famous and largest ski resorts in Europe, with 133 trails of all kinds, totalling 250 km. It has not only the longest single piste in the world, Sarenne, but also Tunnel, one of the most difficult black runs in the Alps.

Suitable for beginners, skiers of all levels, family ski vacations

As a mega resort, it is suitable for skiers of all ages and levels.

The closest city to the ski resort is Grenoble, 63 km away, and Lyon, 173 km away. You can take the TGV high speed train or TER intercity express to Grenoble station and transfer to Transaltitude to reach the ski resort, or take a flight to Lyon airport and take the ski line directly to the ski resort. Learn more：alpedhuez，les2alpes

Esace Killy Ski Resort

The Esace Killy ski resort is composed of two large ski areas, Tignes and Val d'Isère, with more than 300 km of ski runs and a maximum altitude of 3,450 meters. Named after French skiing legend and 3-time Olympic gold medalist Jean-Claude Killy, the ski resort not only offers a wide range of recreational activities, but also has several highly regarded and famous restaurants.

For people

Intermediate to advanced skiers

The high standard of pistes and the quality of the environment make the Killy ski area ideal for intermediate and advanced skiers.

Access

The nearest town to Val d'isère and Tignes is Bourg-Saint-Maurice, about 30 km away. The ski area is about 160 km from Grenoble and Geneve and about 240 km from Lyon. You can reach Bourg-Saint-Maurice by TGV high speed train or TER intercity express and transfer to the Altibus shuttle bus to the ski area, or take a flight to Chambéry airport and transfer to a shuttle bus to each ski area.

Learn more：espacekilly

Paradiski Ski Paradise

Reasons

The ski resort of La Plagne, Les Arcs and Peisey-Vallandry, close to the Three Gorges, has 232 trails with a total length of 425 km and a maximum altitude of 3417 m. It also has the most modern high-speed lift in the world today.

Suitable for beginners and skiers of all levels

La Plagne has a large number of gentle runs, suitable for beginners and recreational skiers, while Les Arcs is more technically demanding.

Access

The closest town is Bourg-Saint-Maurice, 150 km from Grenoble and Geneve and 169 km from Lyon. You can reach the ski resort in 7 minutes by direct train from the train station, or by connecting bus from Chambéry airport to the ski resort.

Learn more：paradiski

Pre-trip preparation

Students with poor physical fitness before going skiing should do the appropriate physical training to lay a good foundation. It can be through weekly aerobic exercise, such as treadmill walking slope, climbing stairs or cycling, adhering to a month will make more obvious progress.

For equipment, ski jackets, ski pants, ski gloves, thermal underwear, padded clothing, thermal pants, ski socks and ski goggles can be purchased on their own, knee pads, hip pads, helmets, skis, snowshoes and poles because it is not very convenient to carry can be purchased or rented at the snow resort, the price is about 25€ / day or 120€ / week.

The first experience of the students directly renting the equipment provided by the ski resort can be, after all, the price of ski equipment is not expensive, or consider clearly before deciding whether to enter the pit.

Specific to each snow field, how many lifts, how many kilometers of snow, snow field scale and ski map can be searched in advance from the website. There is a need to pay extra attention to the cable car line and operating hours. The upper line business hours are basically 9:00-16:30, from the top to the bottom of each snow track begins to clear the field time of about 5:30.

The last thing is to pay attention to safety. After all, skiing is a dangerous sport. Don't be careful when riding the cable car or skating.

Being in France, you should enjoy the magic and beauty of the snowy mountain tops in winter. The grandeur of nature can relieve a thousand sorrows, so let your body and dreams get high together this winter!