Serre Chevalier: A Laidback Skiing Experience

If you want to avoid the expensive, more glamorous ski resorts in the French Alps

for reasons of taste, sensibility, or simply budget, then the smaller but friendlier Serre Chevalier maybe your best alternative. Located in southeastern France, Serre Chevalier is actually a string of about a dozen villages that starts from the town of Briancon. Here youll find a more laidback, countryside feel, which is most evident in the cozy comforts of the catered chalet you may be staying. While, as a whole, Serre Chevalier boasts about 250 kilometres of ski slopes, the individual villages that make up the resort retain their respective charm and character. For example, the village of Monetier-Les-Bains was a popular Victorian-era spa, and it has retained this ambiance even to this day.

Simpler doesnt mean less convenient

Staying in Serre Chevalier is endearingly homey. You can find a wonderful catered chalet a few minutes from the lifts, or, if you want, there are several family-run hotels who take pride in walking the extra mile when it comes to ensuring the comfort of their customers. Many accommodation providers are members of the Logis de France consortium, which serves as their badge for reliability. It is important to note that, as in its more luxurious counterparts, the accommodations in Serre Chevalier are great enough to allow you focus on your skiingthey can take care of all the mundane tasks, such as transfers, passes, equipment, and even temporary child care.

Snowboarding haven

Serre Chevaliers natural terrain, where natural obstacles can be encountered in what feels like all the right places, makes it perfect for snowboarding. In fact, avid snowboarders regard it as one of their favourite destinations in France. After a hearty breakfast in your catered chalet, you get out and about to try your hand in snowboarding in areas such as those around the Rocher Blanc lift at Prorel. If youre just a beginner or if you dont know how to snowboard, you will find a snowboarding school called Generation Snow in the village of Chantemerle; you will learn how to take advantage of the areas natural character and enjoy this thrilling sport.

Culinary Feasts

Dining in Serre Chevalier can mostly be described as good value. Hotels often have their own bars or restaurants and theres nothing wrong with staying in your catered chalet and enjoying what is on offer! But if you want to sample other local restaurants, there is a good number of dining options scattered throughout the different villages. In Chantemerle, for example, there is a restaurant called the Loup Blanc that serves excellent food. Overall, the dining options are diverse enough to excite the palatefrom succulent steaks at the Petit Pont, to good old French culinary fare at the Marotte, to the seafood at Le Bez. And if you have a hankering for, say, Mediterranean food, theres the Triptyque to sate your craving.

by:Andrew Mulvaney

POST COMMENT

An Introduction To Skiing For A Learner Heli-skiing Is Unlike Any Other Winter Sport Packing For A Skiing Holiday Body exercises for controlled skiing sessions British Columbia Skiing - the Perfect Winter Vacation Perisher Ski: The proper Equipment for Skiing and Boarding Accommodation Snowy Mountains: So It is possible to Concentrate on Skiing and Enjoyment Getting Started in Cross Country Skiing Skiing and Snowboarding Gap Years What's the Difference Between Skiing and Snowboarding? World's Best Skiing: The Best Peaks, Resorts & Cities Having Travel Insurance for Skiing Holiday History of the ski and skiing