THE GUIDE WINTER 2022/23 Le Pas de l’Aigle


Got a good head for heights? Experience a bird’s eye view of the Alps at the Pas de l’Aigle in Morzine, a 2,019m-high glass footbridge with a 360-degree panorama between Mont Blanc and Lake Geneva. The 15m footbridge attached to the side of the mountain is reached via the Pointe de Nyon chairlift. Otherwise you can follow the one-hour hiking trail down to the lake of Nyon-Guérin and treat yourself to a well-deserved lunch at the restaurant. www.ski-morzine.com/en


Vichy spa break Enchanting Megève has been a ski resort since the 1920s and offers a vast array of winter sports Le Collet


Little-known ski resort Le Collet d’Allevard is a family-friendly destination at an altitude of 1,450m between Chambéry and Grenoble. Its ski area features 27 slopes over 35km – ideal for beginners and families with young kids. Among the activities on offer this season are night skiing (on Tuesdays and Fridays), ski-joering (where a horse drags you along while you ski behind), and astronomy evenings at 2,100m up, far, far away from any light pollution. www.lecollet.com


Megève


Megève has been a ski resort since the 1920s. Up in the Haute-Savoie, close to Mont Blanc, it offers a smorgasbord of winter sports such as glacier hiking, rock climbing, tobogganing, ice skating and ski-joering. Oh, and there’s a fair bit of skiing, too, thanks to the more than 440km of slopes. www.megeve-tourisme.fr/en/ mountain-resort/noel


Learn French while you ski Here’s a brilliant idea: learn to speak French while you ski or snowboard. Alpine French School in Morzine is offering


142 ❘ FRANCE TODAY Oct/Nov 2022


language courses for all levels designed to fit around your time on the slopes. Choose either ten hours or 20 hours of French lessons per week, with maximum class sizes of eight students. Then spend the rest of your time on the snow. Courses run from December until April next year. Great accommodation packages are available too. alpinefrenchschool.com


Val Thorens


“Nobody wanted this resort. Nobody wanted to finance its construction, live in it, or work in it. It was too high, too far, too cold, too windy and too risky. A hostile, treeless environment where green was more of a wistful memory than an actual colour. And yet, 50 years on, it is one of the most famous ski resorts in the world.” The official Val Thorens winter 2022/2023 brochure explains how this Savoie ski resort was initially much unloved. But how things have changed in the intervening half-century. Celebrating its 50th anniversary this winter, this Trois Vallées resort – the highest in Europe – opens for snow sport on November 19, with 150km of ski runs. This season sees the


opening of Le Board, a new sports centre dedicated to fitness, spa therapy, water sports, volleyball, badminton, trampolining and cultural events. www.valthorens.com


Val d’Arly


This valley between Megève and Albertville comprises four village ski resorts, rising from 520m to 2,611m above sea level. There are two ski areas and 292km of slopes. This season’s attractions include electric moon-bikes, a winter treetop adventure course, fatbike riding, and a new apartment-hotel called Chalet de l’Eau Vive starting at €85 a night. www.valdarly-montblanc.com


France has lots of wonderful spa towns and Vichy is perhaps the most famous. The French have been enjoying its thermal waters since Roman times but it wasn’t until the late 19th-century that the town cemented its reputation as a great European spa town thanks to investment from Napoleon III. Nowadays you’ll find all sorts of healthy treatments at the various spas dotted around the city, from facials and cellulite reduction to hammams and thermal cures. One of the most famous is the five-star Vichy Célestins Spa Hotel with its 7,500m2


spa


beside the Lac d’Allier. www.vichy-spa-hotel.com


GOURMET GIFTS If you can’t make it to France this winter, you can always bring a little bit of France to your home. Our shopping guide has


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Indulge yourself at the Vichy Célestins Spa beside the Lac d’Allier


IMAGES © SHUTTERSTOCK, OT MEGEVE/SIMON GARNIER


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