Resorts with altitude and easy access remain most sought-after in 2017-18 season
Access, length of ski season and altitude should be key considerations of international investors choosing a resort for their perfect ski home this season, said new-build ski specialist Skiingproperty.com in October.
“The Savoie region in the French Alps, in particular, is home to established high altitude resorts with excellent skiing and easy access from the UK and Europe,” said Skiingproperty.com director Julian Walker. “These resorts include Tignes, Val d’Isere, Courchevel and Meribel. We also recommend Alpe d’Huez a little further south.”
Tignes Part of the Savoie department’s Espace Killy ski area, with its 300 kilometres of slopes reaching from 1,550m to 3,456m, Tignes is made up of four villages, each at different altitudes. The highest is Val Claret (2,300m), followed by the main village at Le Lac (2,100m) and further down are Tignes Les Boisses (or Tignes 1800) and Tignes Les Brevieres. The Grande Motte glacier, which offers summer skiing, is accessed via Val Claret. Transfers to the resort from Geneva and Lyon are around two-and-a-half hours, or two hours from Chambery. Skiingproperty.com has luxury chalets in Tignes available off-plan from €2.28million.
Val d’Isere
The other half of the Espace Killy ski area, the lively resort of Val d’Isere lies at an altitude of 1,850 metres. The resort is about to benefit from a major €200million regeneration project, which follows the opening last year of a €16-million two-year redevelopment of the Solaise area directly above the resort, which includes a new mid-mountain station at 2,500 metres. Transfers to the resort from Geneva and Lyon are around two-and-a-half hours, or two hours from Chambery. Skiingproperty.com has luxury three-bedroom apartments in Val d’Isere available off-plan from €923,000.
Meribel Located in Savoie and part of the Les Trois Vallees ski area, the largest in the world, the heart of picturesque Meribel lies at 1,450 metres but its chalet developments rise up the side of the valley to 1,700 metres. There is also a satellite resort, Meribel-Mottaret at 1,750 metres. A favourite with British homeowners, skiers there can be on slopes at well over 2,000 metres in no time, from which they can link into Les Trois Vallees’ 600kms of slopes. Transfers to the resort from Geneva, Grenoble and Lyon are around two hours, or 75 minutes from Chambery. Skiingproperty.com has off-plan apartments in Meribel available from €1.09million.
Courchevel One of the Alps’ most upmarket resorts and also within Les Trois Vallees, Courchevel is a collection of linked villages at different altitudes. The main village and lift hub is Courchevel 1,850, named after its altitude. A little lower is Courchevel Moriond (1,650), then Courchevel Village (1,550) and then Courchevel Le Praz (1,300). Courchevel has more Michelin-starred restaurants than any other resort in the French Alps and recently opened a £50-million water park. Transfers to the resort from Lyon and Geneva are around two hours, or 75 minutes from Chambery. Skiingproperty.com has off-plan apartments in Courchevel available from €776,000.
Alpe d’Huez Located in the Isere department, the resort of Alpe d’Huez sits at an altitude of 1,860 metres. Its 250 kilometres of slopes, which comprise France’s fifth largest ski area and include the longest black run in the Alps, range from 1,100 metres up to 3,330 metres. A long ski season, typically from early December until late April, is guaranteed thanks to the glacier there. The nearest airport at Grenoble is just 90 minutes’ drive away. Skiingproperty.com has off-plan apartments in Alpe d’Huez available from €315,000.
For further information or to enquire about properties in the French Alps, visit SkiingProperty.com.
