Stress free ski with Eurostar and The Private Chalet Company

We all dream of an easy route to a stress-free ski holiday – and the combination of The Private Chalet Company in Sainte Foy and Eurostar offers just that. Forget lengthy trips to the airport and waiting on baggage collection, in less than 8 hours you can be on the slopes without leaving the ground by taking the high-speed ski train into the heart of the French Alps. Be whisked overnight from London St.Pancras directly to Bourg St. Maurice, waking up refreshed to a welcome of champagne and canapés at your chalet of choice.

Ski holidays in France

France 

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France is an incredibly diverse country boasting glorious cities and charming little towns, as well as landscapes of snow-capped mountains, rugged Atlantic coast and picturesque Mediterranean shores. The most dramatic mountainous region is the Alps, bordering Switzerland and Italy, and offering an array of exciting ski slopes. The Pyrenees are a mountainous region bordering Spain, also offering good skiing. July and August are the busiest times in Paris; however, there is skiing all year round at some resorts, with the busiest times from November to April.

Les Trois Vallées is located around 160kms from Geneva, in the famous Savoie region of the French Alps. It is one of largest ski areas in the world and encompasses seven resorts: Courcheval, Meribel, Les Menuires, La Tania, Orelle, Val Thorens and Brides-les-Bains. Courchevel is the largest resort in the region and boasts one of the worlds biggest armies of ski teachers (over 550 of them in six schools), offering classes in eight languages for every standard and discipline.

Located at the foot of Mont Blanc, Europes highest peak, and sheltered by a closed valley, Chamonix is one of the best known ski resorts in the Alps and is Frances oldest. The first Winter Olympics were held here in 1924. A picturesque Alpine resort, Chamonix has 76 ski runs. From most points in town, you can admire the magnificent Mont Blanc (4,785m).

Les Deux Alpes is a charming resort at the summit of Veneon Valley, in the centre of the Oisans. Frances second-oldest ski resort after Chamonix, Les Deux Alpes combines world-class ski areas, the largest skiable glacier in Europe and an array of après-ski options. With summer skiing available from June to September, the resort is busy throughout the year. There are a plethora of other ski resorts in France, including Alpe dHuez, Argentière, Avoriaz, Flaine, Isola 2000, Les Arcs, Montgenèvre, Morzine, Pralognan, Tignes and Vars.

The Pyrenees are home to 38 ski resorts, along with around 1,000kms of cross-country trails. The ski season begins in November, if the snow arrives, and ends after the French Easter holidays.

Les Angles is the largest and most advanced ski resort of the Languedoc-Roussillon province area and is mainly geared towards intermediate skiers, who have more than half of all pistes. Les Angles is bordered by forests and lakes, making the skiing especially scenic. Additionally, the resort offers excellent facilities and has a pleasant atmosphere. There are a number of fashionable boutiques and ski/sport stores as well.

Luz Ardiden ski resort is cradled amid forests and rocky mountain terrain, close to the Spanish border. It is an ideal resort for families, and offers pistes for all abilities along with an excellent range of cross-country trails. Luz Ardidens resort village, known as Luz-Saint-Saveur, is situated 15kms southeast of the ski area and has a relaxed atmosphere, good choice of accommodation and a few quiet nightlife venues.

Saint Lary Soulan is one of Frances most popular ski resorts and is situated just 20kms from the Spanish border. A quality resort, it is also the training site for the Spanish national ski team. As well as offering excellent slopes, Saint Lary Soulan is well equipped with modern amenities, an array of shops, and a fine selection of accommodation.

Tarbes-Ossun-Lourdes Airport is most convenient to resorts in the French Pyrenees and you can catch connections to here from other airports in France. Airports in Toulouse, Perpignan, or Barcelona (Spain) may also be near to some resorts.

Frances efficient SNCF trains link the Rhine Valley, Frankfurt, Berlin, Munich, Geneva, Zurich, Milan, Barcelona, Madrid, Brussels and Amsterdam, among other destinations. Frances road network is very well developed and carries an enormous amount of intra-continental traffic.

http://www.franceguide.com/

Being a circular route, the Tour of Mont Blanc could be walked in either a clockwise or an anti-clockwise direction, and started from any one of a number of places. By tradition it has begun in the Chamonix valley (the Vallée de l’Arve), but not in Chamonix itself, for in order to make the most of the splendid views afforded of Mont Blanc from the slopes of the Aiguilles Rouges chain, the route avoids the bed of the valley except to cross it at either end. Instead, by tradition the TMB begins about 7km downvalley from Chamonix, in Les Houches, and tackles the circuit in an anti-clockwise direction.