Contents A series of 4(6)-page features on popular alpine destinations worldwide... ...fast forward by clicking your preferred destination page France Megève Haute-Savoie, Rhone-Alpes 10 With180 lifts,600kmofskiingon330 markedpistes,TheThreeValleys in thenorthernFrenchAlps isprobably theworld’s largestski-liftconnected skiarea. It’shighaltitude,snow-sure terrainwith85%of the runsbeingabove1800m. Unsurprisingly then, ‘LesTroisVallées’ishome to Europe’shighestski resort,ValThorens,with its highest liftbringingskiersandboardersup to3200m ...andwhennature fallsshort thereare2000snow cannons tofill thegaps,especially in the lowerareasof this immenseski terrain. It’ssoextensive thatyou couldspendaweekandskiadifferentareaeachday. Across the threevalleys therearenumerous resorts,andeachvalleyhas communitiesstartegically locatedat inceasingaltitudes,mostbenefiting withdirectaccessonto theefficient liftsystem.For instance in themost easterlyof thevalleys,Courchevel, thereare6villages ranging froman altitudeof1,100mmatSaintBon (where itallbegan in1908)all theway up toCourchevel1,850m.This top resort isgenarally regardedas the winterequivalentofSt-Tropezwithaverychic reputation that is mirrored in itsveryhighconcentrationof luxuryaccommodations. includingseventeen5-starhotelsand three ‘palaces’aswellassublime chalets,michelin-star restaurants,spasandchicboutiques. Similarly, themiddlevalleyconsistsof the5 ‘Meribel’villagesstartingat the traditional ‘LesAllues’at1,100mclimbing to ‘Mottaret’at1,750m.The advantageof themiddlevalley is thatyouare in theheartof the terrain andyoucanmaximiseyourski touringobjectives. Thehigheryoustay, thebetterandmoreprolonged thesnow conditions,and this is theessenceof themostwesterleyvalley,Belleville, which featuresanumberof resortsculminatingat2,300mwith the purposebuiltskistationofValThorens. Skiing ispossiblehere fornearly 6monthsof theyearbetweenNovemberand thebeginningofMay. From fashionable fun tohighadrenalin thrills Les Trois Vallees Couchevel, Meribel & Val Thorens (6 pages) 14 Val d’Isère & Tignes Haute Savoie, Rhone-Alpes 20 Chamonix Haute Savoie, Rhone-Alpes 6 Bolzano Innsbruck Munich Salzburg Ljubljana Vienna Zurich Geneva Grenoble Venice Verona Milan Turin
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