Ski Resorts with Short Transfer Times

The Chamonix Valley cuts deeply through Europe's highest glacial mountains and has long been a place of pilgrimage for those wanting tough off piste terrain coupled with stunning scenery. The town itself is steeped in mountain traditions and Chamonix hotels offer a glimpse of the grand 19th centu...

Les Houches is situated 6km from Chamonix and is covered by the regional Mont Blanc pass including the resort of St Gervais. It is a pleasant village sitting in the shade of the Mont Blanc Massif comprising of a pretty church, with modern chalet developments spreading towards Chamonix. Its ski ar...

Chatel which is part of the massive Portes du Soleil ski circuit is a pleasant, lively, French dominated old village with its own extensive, pretty intermediate terrain. The resort is made up of modern unpretentious chalet style hotels and apartments mixed in with some old farms where cattle stil...

In the early 1960's Marcel Breuer, the eminent Bauhaus architect (famous for the Wassily Chair made from tubular steel) was entrusted to create a ski resort that despite its confident architectural style would blend into the local topography of the mountainside. You will either love or loathe the...

Les Carroz is a traditional family orientated resort with an attractive village square, pavement cafes and some interesting shops. The gondola and chair lift link directly to Flaine and the Grand Massif but involve a steep 300 metre walk from the village centre. Apartments make up the majority of...

Morillon is a traditional, quiet valley village with a gondola link to its modern ski satellite mini-resort, Morillon 1100. The skiing starts and finishes at this higher, modern resort. If you are staying in the old traditional valley village at 700 metres altitude then you ride the gondola down ...

Samoens is a truly traditional mountain town and is the only French ski resort that is designated as a Monument Historique! Once a thriving medieval centre for stone masons Samoens is now a charming mountain town relying on tourism as its number one income provider. There is a traffic free centre...

La Clusaz has managed to maintain its traditional mountain village charm and very French atmosphere despite developing into a major resort. The pistes, although spread out, are largely suited towards intermediates and beginners, but experts will struggle to find any truly challenging terrain (wor...

Le Grand Bornand is part of the Aravis skiing area (the other resort being La Clusaz) and has 90km of slopes descending from Mont Lachat, the highest peak at 2,100 metres. Together the two resorts, which are linked by local bus service, offer a considerable 220km of pistes which can be accessed u...

Les Contamines remains one of the quieter and unspoilt traditional French resorts with stunning views towards Mont Blanc, towering above the attractive village. The core of the village is compact, but the resort spreads widely with chalets dotted over a 3 km stretch of the valley, and the main ac...