The Rhone Alpes, with its 180 ski resorts and 18 linked ski areas, boasts the largest ski area in the world. Every winter millions of holidaymakers are drawn to its slopes, and in the summer its mountains become a magnet for enthusiasts of sports such as mountain climbing, rock climbing, glacier hiking and paragliding. The Rhone Alpes’ mountains are, in fact, the region’s most popular holiday destination.
The Alpes remain top of the list of destinations favoured by the region’s tourists, offering a much appreciated combination of traditional villages such as Le Grand Bornand, Samoëns, Megève, Les Gets, Morzine and Valloire and the more modern resorts of Tignes, La Plagne, Les Arcs, Les Ménuires or Val Thorens. The latter resorts all have large ski areas attracting skiers from the world over, eager to enjoy the wide open spaces and excellent off-piste skiing opportunities.
The Tarentaise offers 600 km of ski slopes in the Trois Vallées area, whilst the Espace Killy (Tignes and Val d’Isère) offers 300 km. In the Haute-Savoie, there are almost 300 km of ski slopes in the Grand Massif, whilst the Portes du Soleil shares its 650 km between France and Switzerland. Since 2003 there has been the addition of two new ski areas, and not small ones at that.
Paradiski links the resorts of La Plagne, Les Arcs and Peisey-Vallandry, offering 420 km of slopes. Whereas the Sybelles area, linking 6 resorts (La Toussuire, Saint Sorlin d’Arves, Le Corbier, Les Bottières and Saint Colomban des Villards) offers 310 km. © RA Tourisme / S. Chappaz