The Best French Resorts For Skiers And Snowboarders

While nowadays modern society is more susceptible than ever to fads and fashions, certain things never seem to go out of style, and remain perennial favourites throughout the decades. Even rapidly changing fields, such as those of leisure and holidays, have their mainstays, which most people come to associate with the concept of 'holiday' itself, and the disappearance of which would, for most, be unthinkable.

Winter sports breaks are just such a type of holiday. Skiers and snowboarders have been taking to the slopes of France, Switzerland, Germany or the United States for decades now, and yet the interest in this type of leisure experience does not seem to have decreased. Much to the contrary, the advent of the second technological boom has taken these sports to never-before-seen heights, and caused more people than ever to take them up.

However, the quintessential differences between the two most popular winter sports often make it hard for skiers and snowboarders to reach a consensus about which resort or resorts to visit for their holiday. This is a particularly tricky decision to make when the travelling party includes practitioners of both sports, and one of the sides usually ends up having to concede and settle for slightly less high-quality snow or pistes.

This is, however, not necessarily always the case. A few resorts do remain where both skiers and snowboarders can find their bliss, as they gather the necessary conditions aficionados of either sport are looking for. Unsurprisingly, most of these are located in France, perhaps the world's greatest hub for skiing and winter sports. Below are just a few French resorts where proponents of both winter sports will find optimal conditions.

Les Arcs

Les Arcs is perhaps the best all-rounder resort for both types of winter sport, and offers excellent conditions for freeriding and free styling, as well as crisp and challenging pistes equally adapted to both.

Tignes

Tignes's emphasis is on the freeriding aspect, for which it offers excellent conditions whether on skis or on a board. However, while slightly inferior, their freestyle runs and pistes leave very little to be desired, and will certainly please enthusiasts of both sports well enough.

Courchevel

Courchevel's strong suits are undoubtedly its pistes, which vastly overshadow any other aspects of a well-rounded resort. This resort can be an excellent choice for more advanced practitioners, but they should be prepared to spend slightly more than they would in most others in the area.

Val D'Isére

Val D'Isére is another very well-rounded location, with its free-riding and pistes only slightly supplanting its freestyle aspect. It offers something for everyone, but again, it is slightly more expensive than some of its close neighbours.

There are, of course, many other places, both in France and elsewhere in the world, where skiers and snowboarders can enjoy their respective sports separately. When it comes to offering optimal conditions for both, however, few places can beat the ones detailed above.

Danielle Hodges is the Marketing Manager for Ski Amis, a specialist ski travel agency and booking service offering bonded ski holidays. When it comes to holidays for skiers and snowboarders Ski Amis can take you to the best destinations, with excellent catered or self catered chalets. For a luxury or good-value break and the best catered chalets call Ski Amis.