France is a major alpine ski nation and the most popular alpine country for British skiers and snowboarders. France didn’t build many of its resorts until the 1960s, so it was possible to select the highest, most snow-sure places to ski in France.
France is home to the vast area of the 'Les Trois Vallées which is arguably the biggest linked ski region in the world. The Three Valleys is dominated by four major resorts: Courchevel, Meribel, Les Menuires and Val Thorens. Val Thorens is the highest ski resort in the Alps. Each of these four resorts has more than enough terrain to keep a skier or boarder happily occupied for a week or more during a skiing holiday in France, so the opportunity to ski all four provides unlimited permutations.
In the Portes du Soleil, neighbouring Avoriaz and Morzine are gateways to a dozen or more family ski resorts in France and Switzerland.
Chamonix dominated by the Mont Blanc Massif, is another major attraction with several resorts scattered along the valley, including Argentière, rated by some keen off-piste skiers and boarders as one of the best ski resorts in France - or the entire Alps for that matter. They will also be keen to try the Vallée Blanche – a classic off-piste descent - with a high-mountain guide. The traditional route is not seriously demanding, leaving skiers to concentrate on the outstanding scenery, but a guide will help negotiate the occasional crevasse. There are a handful of more demanding alternative routes including the Vraie Vallée Blanche and the Envers du Plan.
A giant of French skiing is the Espace Killy named after the celebrated Olympic triple-gold medallist Jean-Claude Killy. The Espace Killy is made up of the linked ski resorts of Tignes and Val D'Isere. Together these neighbouring resorts provide some of the most exciting skiing in France, particularly for off-piste enthusiasts. Tignes has the added advantage of regular glacier skiing on the Grande Motte glacier.
Two more giants of the French skiing world which are joined at the hip and undoubtedly among the best family ski resorts in France are La Plagne and Les Arcs. They from the ski area known as Paradiski. La Plagne has a dozen or so linked hamlets and villages spread across slopes in all directions, while Les Arcs too, has a handful of ski villages and satellite resorts at various altitudes. Les Arcs is the easiest resort to access from the Ski train which stops at nearby Bourg-Saint-Maurice.
Further south in the French Alps are two more favourites: Les 2 Alpes and Alpe d'Huez. Nearby to them you will find the Serre Chevalier ski area. This contains the UNESCO world heritage site of Briançon and enjoy the wonderful Roman baths in Montier.
France is a great destination for high altitude snow sure skiing. However, with many of its resorts having built in the 1960's they are not is architecturally as appealing to the eye as the chocolate box villages found in other alpine countries.