Val Thorens, Popular France Ski Resorts

Val Thorens, located in the Tarentaise Valley, Savoie, French Alps, is the highest ski resort in Europe, at 2300 m altitude. It is located in the commune of Saint-Martin-de-Belleville in the Savoie département. The resort forms part of the 3 vallées linked ski area which, with over 600 km of piste, is the largest linked ski area in the world.

Given the high altitude of Val Thorens and the Glacier de Péclet the often large volume of snow means that the resort is usually open from September until about May. The highest ski-able peaks are Pointe du Bouchet (3220m) and Cime de Caron (3200m), with its cable car of the same name, one of the biggest in the world with its capacity of 150+1 passengers.

Many of its slopes face north and north-west, providing for good snow conditions. This means that the slopes are not as sunny, so the resort tends to attract a crowd more interested in skiing than "terracing." However, the resort itself faces south, and many people enjoy sitting outside in the sunshine when they have finished skiing. As well as a combination of 68 marked runs, Val Thorens also has 5 terrain parks giving access to bordercross tracks, quarter pipes and jumps.


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Tignes, Popular France Ski Resorts

Tignes comprises 5 Villages; Val Claret, Tignes le Lac, Le Lavachet, Tignes Les Boisses and Tignes-les-Brévières. The first three are close together at 2100m and Les Boisses and Les Brevieres are further down the valley, above and below the dam respectively. Les Brévières is an old village whereas all the others were created as part of the Dam construction or development of the ski resort. All the villages are part of the ski resort known as Tignes.

After the loss of the old village it was decided to develop a ski resort at the higher lake (Le Lac). This was surrounded by a bowl that is ideal for skiing and is headed by the Grand Motte glacier. The resort was developed largely during the 1960s and the building style reflects what was regarded as good building design at that time. In recent years the town has worked to improve the look of the new villages with some success.

The lifts of Tignes have been managed since 1967 by the company STGM. Many lifts are fast 6 or 8 person chairlifts and there are 113 snow cannons which produce 450,000m² of artificial snow each year.The ski area is linked with the resort of Val-d'Isère and the entire ski area is called Espace Killy. At 4.2 km, Tignes boasts the 4th longest funicular in the world

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Méribel,Popular France Ski Resorts

Méribel is a ski resort in the Tarentaise Valley in the French Alps, situated near the town of Moutiers. Méribel refers to three neighbouring villages in the Les Allues commune of the Savoie département of France, near the town of Moûtiers (45.401°N 6.5655°E), called Méribel Centre, Méribel-Mottaret and Méribel Village. The villages are within the Vanoise National Park and a part of the Les Trois Vallées interlinked ski system.

Méribel Les Allues is a ski resort that was developed adjacent to the traditional hamlet of Morel, with its centre situated at about 1400 metres above sea level. It was founded by a Scotsman, Colonel Peter Lindsay, who was looking for a new site for Winter Sports away from the ski resorts of Austria and Germany, because of the growing strength of the Nazi regime. In 1936, he visited the town of Les Allues for the first time. He then imagined how the town could become a ski resort. Firstly, he decided to create a property company in order to develop finances strong enough to build the resort. In 1938, the first lift was placed above Les Allues.

A year later, he began the construction of the first chalets and hotels in the hamlet of Meribel. Three years later, the war would stop the development of the resort, but when it was over, development continued. Lindsay used specialized architects, Paul Grillo, Grand Prix de Rome (1937), and his partner Christian Durupt, so that all buildings would be in harmony with the Savoyard style. For this to be realised, wood and stone must be used for the walls, with slanted slate roofs. In 1950, the Burgin-Saulire gondola was built to link the resort to Courchevel. Peter Lindsay's family continue to hold a financial stake in the resort, and his grandchildren still ski in the resort to this day. Peter Lindsay's ashes and those of his wife are scattered on the Burgin mountain.

Méribel was home to the 1992 Winter Olympics (Albertville). It hosted the ice hockey and the women's alpine skiing events. Until 2011, Méribel was the host to the acclaimed Altitude Festival, with prestigious acts such as KT Tunstall, Marcus Brigstocke and Omid Dijalili performing in the bars and nightclubs around the resort. For 2011, it has been announced that the festival will be moved to Austria, with the organiser Richard Letts citing a reduction in support from the Meribel Tourist Office.

The ski resort is part of the Trois Vallées ski area. The Three Vallees area comprises 180 lifts, 335 Marked Runs (over 600 kilometres) and over 130 km of Cross Country Tracks. The Three Vallees was expanded about ten years ago to incorporate a fourth valley, though the area kept the name 3 Vallees. The area comprises the resorts of Courchevel, La Tania, Meribel, Les Menuires-Saint Martin, Val Thorens and Orelle

Meribel resort offers a broad range of holiday accommodation from large tour operators to more personal independent chalet companies.

The resort comprises the sub villages of Meribel-Mottaret, at an altitude of 1750m towards the head of the Allues valley, and Méribel Village at 1400m on the road to Courchevel

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Chamonix-Mont-Blanc,Popular France Ski Resorts

Chamonix-Mont-Blanc or, more commonly, Chamonix is a commune in the Haute-Savoie département in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. It was the site of the 1924 Winter Olympic, the first Winter Olympics. The commune's population of around 9,800 ranks 865th within the country of France.

Situated near the massive peaks of the Aiguilles Rouges, Chamonix shares the summit of Mont Blanc with its neighboring commune of Courmayeur in Italy, and owns the title of highest commune in France. The commune is well known and loved by skiers and by mountain enthusiasts of all types. Mont Blanc, at a height of 4,810 metres, is the third most visited natural site in the world.With an area of 245 square kilometres, Chamonix is the fourth largest commune in mainland France.

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Chamonix

http://ski-france.com

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