France ski holidays

One of Europe’s prime skiing destinations, France has a bit of everything: for every major hub like Les Arcs, there’s a boutique Megève. For every groomed Courchevel, you’ll find a free-riding La Grave.

Around 300 holiday ski resorts are spread across three main, mammoth ski regions: the ill-defined Northern and Southern Alps, plus the mostly smaller-scale French Pyrenees. Such size and range, combined with extensive accommodation options and those Gallic staples of fine wine and good eating, means that everyone from novices to those seeking ultra-tough runs will find satisfaction.

The world’s three biggest skiing areas are all here: Paradiski (combining Les Arcs and La Plagne), Les Trois Vallées (including Courchevel and Méribel) and the northerly, most-easily-accessed Les Portes du Soleil (containing Les Gets and Morzine), which extends into Switzerland.

All are enormous, interconnected areas of villages and resorts linked by hundreds of high-capacity gondolas, chairs and cable-cars. The numbers are dizzying: Les Trois Vallées alone, at almost 26,000 skiable acres (10,500 hectares), exceeds the five largest US resorts combined. All levels and budgets are catered for and the après-ski scene is prodigious.

Also here is the almost-as-big Espace Killy area in the Tarentaise Valley, home to Val d'Isère and Tignes plus hundreds more miles of runs, and world-famous Chamonix, situated at the foot of Mont Blanc and glittering with style.

Below Grenoble are the Southern Alps, where Alpine and Mediterranean cultures meld into a slightly slower-paced way of life. Resorts are a blend of behemoth and bijou; most definitely in the former category is Les Deux Alpes and its renowned nightlife. Again, the options are extensive – but prices are typically higher than further north.

Snowboarders will be in heaven: La Grave’s epic terrain is a free-riding playground of vertical drops, chutes and gullies, while uncrowded Serre Chevalier features countless tree runs.

At the far south, only 85km (52 miles) from Nice airport, is dinkier Isola 2000. Despite its petite size, there are ample pistes and modern facilities here – and the chance of a holiday combining skiing with Cote d’Azur beaches.

Over by the Spanish border, French Pyrenean ski resorts tend to be less showy, more family-oriented and – hooray – affordable. You’ll find France’s cheapest ski holidays here. Most renowned is the Grand Tourmalet, an area combining La Mongie and Barèges.

Look to stay in the handsome old spa town of Cauterets, whose classy 19th-century architecture overlooks thermal baths which are supposedly great for arthritis and rheumatism.

Seasons last from late November to mid-late April. Prices soar across the country during Christmas, New Year and the February half-term, while January tends to be cheapest. At the super-resorts in particular, lots of bargains are available.

There are various music festivals to look out for, headlined by the week-long Rise, held in Les Deux Alpes and featuring igloo discos and outdoor raves. Kano and Ms Dynamite are among former guests. Snowboxx puts on a rival show in Avoriaz, while free Rock the Pistes stages 80 concerts a day for a week on both sides of Portes du Soleil’s Franco-Swiss border.