There’s little the French love more than skiing, it’s definitely a yearly tradition and pretty much every French person you meet will already have a ski holiday booked.
Having lived in France for quite a few years, I’ve been skiing countless times, and every time it’s such a great experience. I will go into more depth about my personal skiing experiences in the next blog post, this one is all about the best places to go to.
I myself have always been to the famous Pyrénees. These mountains have everything you could possibly wish for. My favourite place is definitely Les Angles. It’s such a great location and has slopes in every level of difficulty. You can start off on the green slope, which is the best place to learn. It’s just a small slope with a chair lift and you will often find beginners there, getting a hang of skis on their feet. There is also a ski school available, the instructors are excellent at their jobs, you can spend a few hours to a day learning with them, and the next day you’ll be confident and skilled enough to tackle the slopes on your own.
You can take a ski lift up to the top of one of the mountains, there you will find a restaurant and bar with indoor and outdoor seating. I personally prefer the outdoor seating as you can enjoy your meal whilst watching people ski up and down the slopes, and if you’re lucky and a little bit sadistic, you can chuckle to yourself when you see someone fall over! It’s a great place to have breakfast, lunch or dinner. There are a lot of slopes all around, all in different levels of difficulty, it’s a fabulous place to explore. If you do a bit more exploring, you’ll find the more difficult slopes, which are tricky yet enjoyable.
Les Angles also has a beautiful little town centre with a bowling alley, ski rink, swimming pool and quite a few restaurants and bars to enjoy the nightlife. There are a lot of hotels all around, as well as apartment buildings in which you can rent yourself a little room. You can hire your skis and snowboards etc in the town centre.
Font Romeu is another favourite, much like Les Angles, it has everything you could possibly need. While looking for a place to stay, you have a lot of options, including chalets, hotels, gites, apartments, and residences. The village is absolutely beautiful so be sure to have your camera on you at all times. There are a lot of restaurants and bars where you can enjoy Après-Ski drinks, as well as beautiful cobble stoned roads where you can find wonderful architecture and lots of shops (gift shops, sport shops, clothes shops, food shops…)
There is also a Parc Animalier close by, where you can enjoy the wildlife of this ski destination. It’s a great day out for all ages, and is very interesting, just be sure to dress warm as most of it is outside.
You can go on a train ride thanks to the Train Jaune, it is a 63km long trip through the mountains, it’s extremely entertaining so you will definitely not be disappointed, the train runs all year round.
If you’re into sport, then look no further. Other than the obvious opportunities to ski and snowboard etc, you can also visit the gym, go on walks, go horseback riding, climbing, golfing, swimming, ride on quad bikes, practice archery, and so much more.
Andorra is another amazing destination, favoured by a lot of people. With 183 different slopes to choose from, you’re definitely in for an amazing holiday.
Finding somewhere to stay won’t be a problem, thanks to over 250 available hotels to choose from.
If you’re a big shopper, you’ll be spoiled for choice! Andorra has over 1500 different shops, so I think it’s safe to say that you will be able to find whatever your heart desires! You can also spend the afternoon in Andorra’s “aux thermales”, think of it as a trip to the spa!
It also has a lot of culture and is such a beautiful place to wander around, you can visit over 40 churches and the architecture is absolutely stunning.
You’ll also be able to make the most of Après-Ski as there are so many restaurants and bars to choose from, be sure to order the traditional Racelette, you won’t be disappointed!
So there you have it, some of the best destinations to go skiing in the South of France!
