If you’re looking for excitement and adventure this winter look to the French Alps, which are famous for their beauty and access to numerous outdoor activities including skiing and mountaineering, making them a popular holiday destination.Skiing, snowboarding, snow shoe walks, ice skating, snow biking, dog sleighing, snowmobile, ice fall climbing, diving under ice … are just a few of the activities on offer for lovers of snow and mountain sports.For those who prefer to relax and take in the scenery there are snowy peaks, high altitude lakes, waterfalls and the natural parks of Vercors, Vanoise, Ecrins and Queyras to enjoy, plus a number of authentic villages, which provide the ideal place to buy local pork delicacies, wooden souvenirs, wines and cheeses to help capture the essence this wonderful region.Treat yourself to a stay in the French Alps this winter and choose between a large resort and one of the typical mountain villages. Either way, Youth Hostels provide you with a whole range of exciting activities in a lively atmosphere and offer the ideal base for action-seekers to discover the large resorts where they can ski and enjoy extreme sports.
HI has many hostels in the French Alps. To inspire you, here are some fantastic things to do and some unforgettable places to stay…Chamonix is the world skiing and mountaineering capital, which offers a wide variety of skiing areas and breathtaking landscapes. You can’t miss the uninterrupted view of Mont Blanc, with its 4,807m peak. After a hard day on the piste, relax and enjoy the leisure facilities the town centre has to offer including a bowling alley, cinema, ice skating rink and swimming pool. If you still crave some downhill action, try night skiing at Les Planards…you won’t regret it!
Les Arcs offer limitless snow sports with some of the longest ski slopes in Europe. Blue, red and black runs, a snow park with half-pipe, a boarder and Olympic downhill skiing slope. Located in the heart of nature, between a forest and a river, the Seez-les-Arcs Youth Hostel stands in the middle of the Olympic Area, near this big resort of Les Arcs in the Tarentaise region
In addition to these world-famous resorts, the Alps offer you other enchanting sites and ideally-located hostels at the foot of the ski slopes such as La Clusaz, an authentic small village nestling in the heart of the Aravis massif; La Toussuire, with its 310 km of slopes in the Sybelles resort bringing together traditional and modern values or Lanslebourg/Val Cenis and Chamrousse. If you want to focus on cross-country skiing and relaxation, push on into the Alpine lakes region to Annecy and Aix-les-Bains. Or if you want to combine city life with a little time on the slopes, why not visit Grenoble, the capital of the Alps, a young university city with a wealth of cultural, sports and festive events. Make the most of your stay in the Alps and slalom between the warm ambience and cosmopolitan atmosphere in one of the 11 youth hostels located in the heart of the alpine ski resorts.
Feeling inspired yet? Book your stay in the French Alps today!
