Ski Holidays in France

Chamonix has the highest top altitude among our resorts in France, 3,842 metres above sea level. Next come Les Deux Alpes, Tignes and Val d'Isère. Altitude is the single biggest factor for snow reliability, especially early and late in the season.

Les Sybelles has the most piste kilometres of our resorts in France, 310 km, in the ski area its own guide describes. Next come La Toussuire, Alpe d'Huez and Serre Chevalier. For some resorts that figure is the local pistes only, for others the whole linked system the lift pass covers.

French resorts usually open around the first weekend of December and close in mid to late April. Val Thorens and Tignes open as early as late November and run into early May thanks to their altitude. French half-term in February is the busiest week of the season.

By car from Calais, La Rosiere is closest, around 7 hours' driving, and most resorts in France are within 13 hours. By car via the Eurotunnel or the Dover-Calais ferry, most French resorts are a full day's drive further south. By plane, Geneva, Lyon and Grenoble are the usual airports, with Chambéry handling charter flights for Savoie in winter. The TGV runs direct from Paris to several alpine stations, including Bourg-Saint-Maurice.

Prices vary hugely by resort. Courchevel and Val d'Isère are among the most expensive in Europe, while resorts such as Les Sybelles, Valmorel and La Rosière offer much better value. Self-catered apartments are more common than hotels, which keeps costs down for families.

La Plagne, Les Arcs and traffic-free Valmorel have wide beginner areas and ski-in ski-out apartments, which is why they are popular with British families. In our comparison, Avoriaz, Brides-les-Bains, Courchevel, Flaine and Isola 2000 are marked as family resorts, and the table above shows altitude, piste length and driving time for every resort.

The most snow-sure resorts are the highest ones: Les Deux Alpes, Tignes, Alpe d'Huez and La Plagne. All of them offer skiing above 2,500 metres or sit in a village above 1,500 metres, which gives reliable snow from December to April even in a low-snow winter.