Resort height: 1650m
The mountains
There are 220km of pistes here, including some fast, wide and snowsure carving tracks up on the glacier. It sounds like an attractive package, but it doesn't quite add up to the sum of its parts. Alpe d'Huez has a more coherent piste network, and intermediates should seriously consider taking the chopper over there for at least a day to cruise its runs.
By contrast, off-pisters will have a ball in Les Deux Alpes. I've snowboarded on fantastic powder in Les Deux Alpes, on runs that start in fast open bowls, before narrowing down to tight, intimidating couloirs. Conditions permitting, you can also be dragged by a snow-cat over towards La Grave, which is on the other side of the Dome de la Lauze. Don't go there without a guide - La Grave is regarded, alongside Chamonix, as the home of the most extreme skiing in the Alps.
Two other groups will like Les Deux Alpes. The first are freestylers, who have at their disposal a 120m half-pipe, a skier-cross course, and lots of jumps and rails. The other group is complete beginners, who are well-served by the nursery slopes immediately above town. What's more, Les Deux Alpes is home to a sizeable community of English-speaking instructors (for example, in the European Ski and Snowboard School), who can make a big difference to your first few days on snow.
Getting there
Grenoble is very close, but annoyingly the airport is on the far side of the city, and so the transfer can take two hours. The train journey from Grenoble is pretty straightforward too, and of course you can also drive there from the UK
Rating: 
8/10
Après-ski
All the adrenaline generated up on the mountain - in both half-pipe and powder - adds an extra buzz to the Les Deux Alpes party atmosphere, in bars such as Smokey Joe's, Smithy's and the Secret. For dinner, target the P'tit Polyte and the Bel'Auberge.
Rating: 
5/10
Non-skiers
Activities include ice-skating, snow-mobiling, scenic chopper rides, and snow-shoeing. But Les Deux Alpes isn't one of the great non-skiing resorts of the Alps, to rank alongside Seefeld, St Moritz or Grindelwald.
Rating: 
7/10
Cost of living
These days, France is not a cheap country to ski in unless you stay in a self-catering apartment. Fortunately, for those on a budget, Les Deux Alpes has plenty of them!
Rating: 7/10
Attractiveness of the resort
The town has a fired-up, life-loving atmosphere, but is no beauty to look at. Once you get up onto the mountain, however, the high-Alpine scenery will make your jaw drop.
