You are about to choose your holiday destination for your next ski holiday, but you are still hesitating about the perfect place to pack your bags? Don't panic: here to help you, our little guide to the Northern Alps.
With a wide mosaic of immaculate peaks, the Northern Alps are definitely a ski paradise. From its glaciers to its medium mountains, its lakes and its large estates, the region offers immense opportunities for activities at any time of the year.
Very popular in winter, the Northern Alps sector has many ski resorts that are well known to skiers and snowboarders: whether you like downhill or cross-country skiing, freeriding, snowshoeing, sleigh rides, paragliding, golf, sledging or snowboarding, you will find your happiness there. In Haute-Savoie, in Isère or in Savoie, from the snow-covered slopes of the Maurienne massif (Valfréjus) to the slopes of Les Écrins (Les Deux Alpes), via those of Les Aravis (Le Grand Bornand, Les Saisies) and La Vanoise (Chamonix, Tignes, Val d'Isère), you can only be amazed by the uniqueness of the panoramas of the Northern Alps.
The 3 Vallées domain in the heart of the Tarentaise region will offer you more than 600 kilometres of vertiginous descents for all levels, spread out between Méribel, Courchevel, Val Thorens, Brides-les-Bains, Les Menuires, Saint-Martin de Belleville and Orelle. Not far away, the immense Paradiski domain definitely bears its name well: recognized as one of the eldorados of French skiing, Paradiski has nearly 425 kilometres of slopes perched at an altitude of 3250 metres. From La Plagne to Peisey-Vallandry, passing by the famous resort of Les Arcs and its 5 villages facing the famous Mont-Blanc, it is a concentration of all that is best in terms of skiing that is offered to you in an idyllic setting at the foot of the highest peaks of the hexagon. On the Savoie side, against the backdrop of the Aiguilles d'Arves, Mont-Blanc and Pic de l'Étendard, heading for the Domaine des Sybelles: with its 6 authentic resorts (Les Bottières, Le Corbier, La Toussuire, Saint-Jean-d'Arves, Saint-Colomban des Villards and Saint-Sorlin-d'Arves), this estate is more family-friendly and will delight parents and children for sunny stays. Finally, the Portes Du Soleil ski area completes the long list of ski areas in the Northern Alps: located on the immaculate slopes of the Chablais massif, this vast Franco-Swiss area is divided into 12 resorts, including Avoriaz 1800, Champéry, Châtel, Montriond, Les Gets, La Chapelle d'Abondance, Saint-Jean d'Aulps and Morzine-Avoriaz. If it is a small paradise for skiers in winter, on sunny days, the Portes du Soleil domain unveils a huge open-air playground for mountain bikers, the largest in Europe with more than 600 kilometres of enduro, cross-country and downhill mountain bike trails.
But the Northern Alps also have many tourist, cultural and heritage towns that you will love to visit in both winter and summer: Grenoble, Annecy and Chambéry, to name but a few, are really worth a visit!
Finally, how to evoke the Northern Alps without talking about gustatory pleasures! If raclette is a must for all good restaurants, don't miss the opportunity to taste the other local cheeses, from Emmental to Aravis buckshot, including reblochon, tomme de Savoie, comté, abondance and fondue. With this, what would you say to letting yourself be tempted by diots, raw ham, gratinated crozets, and a piece of Savoy cake drizzled with a glass of genepi?
