La Rosiere Ski Holidays

A quiet French resort, this little village oozes calm and is just the ticket for those looking for a ski break with space to spread out on the slopes. Perched on the France-Italian border, La Rosière can is just under two hours drive from Chambéry. If travelling by snow train, regular bus transfers take train travellers from Bourg Saint-Maurice to the resort. Place your bags and luggage down upon arrival and take a second to appreciate the spectacular views over the sweeping Tarentaise Valley below.

Once you’ve stored your things safely in your accommodation, take a twilight walk through the lit up, traffic-free streets of La Rosière 1850. Seek out your local supermarché and dairy stores for all your weekly supplies, including cheese - and lots of it! Sample the finest French mountain cuisine of cheesy tartiflette and fondues at restaurants like Le Genépi and L’Ancolie, followed by the lightest of pizzas over in Italy at the Ristorante Pepita Café and Pizzeria le Dahu in La Thuile.

A forest of wood and stone alpine chalets, ski hotels and apartments open their doors to all ages at La Rosière, inviting couples, families and groups alike to their cosy interiors.

On the slopes, however, it’s quite a different story. Intermediate and advanced skiers and boarders go wild with the ski area’s jungle gym of snow zones. La Rosiere is especially suited to family ski holidays (with the accredited Famille Plus label to recognise it). This is a fantastic place to take little ones to learn to ski. The wide, short beginners’ runs will build debutant skiers and boarder’s confidence: they’ll soon be taking the Roches Noires Express chairlift to try out longer blue runs. The Manessier draglift and the Tapis de Lutins magic carpet are free - perfect for kids and novice skiers to test their ski legs.

With over 30 green and blue pistes, La Rosiere is ideal for first-time skiers to become familiar with the slopes. From La Rosière 1850m centre, watch time fly as you go up and down the green runs of Clarines, Ecureuil the Forêt and the like. Then it’s all aboard the Roches Noires Express to push yourself to the next level of blue runs. Beginner snowboarders will be grateful for the Roches Noires and Landelieres chairlifts, offering long, sloping blue runs with all the practice space needed for traversing heelside moves.

Intermediates should make use of the San Bernardo lift pass and see La Thuile for some Italian forest runs to put you through your paces - stop by the red San Bernardo leading down to La Thuile for the longest run. Climb up 2188m to the Col du Petit Bernard where the Fourclaz Express and Piccolo San Bernardo Express provide a series of wave-like red runs, riding up and down the zig-zag formation of the pistes of the Secteur Col du Petit Saint Bernard. Crash over the peaks towards Gran Testa for further intermediate runs.

La Rosière knows the kind of challenge advanced snow lovers like and they’ve created a freeride area on Mont-Valaisan which covers around 242 hectares. Originally accessible just to ski-tourers, this area can be accessed by 2 new chairlifts.

Add one snow park, one boardercross, one snowcross and one snow kite area, and you have La Rosière’s magical potion of ski fun! The snow park, La Poletta, is a rainbow of blues, greens and reds including boxes, rails and big air. The boardercross offers raised curves and slalom gates to keep you on the ball. Above La Rosière 1850m, snow kite departures require a fast track gear change that’ll have you flying down the slopes.

The hustle and bustle of après ski will be mostly coming from this family-friendly resort's restaurants and bars. Le Relais du Petit Saint-Bernard's hotel holds a classic family restaurant, where talented chefs serve up Savoyard family favourites with heart. Its impressive bay windows offer views over the sunny eastern and southern slopes, and there's plenty of space for more tables to accommodate groups, great if you've got a large gang! On a romantic ski getaway and fancy a cosier location? Le Genepi restaurant offers a cosy wooden Alpine interior, with crafted chairs for two. A little higher up on the price scale, this is worth the money for the fine French cuisine on offer.

If you like to party, a livelier atmosphere can be found at La Taverne du McKinley at the foot of the slopes, Bar H40 in the Hyatt Centric hotel, Le Comptoir in La Rosiere Centre and Moo Barr, above the Burger Bar.

Away from the ski slopes, La Rosière is a big fan of snowshoe walking. Walk through enchanting forest trails as you revel in the sheltered quiet. But baby, it's cold outside, so when you feel like you need a little rise in temperature, the Ô des Cimes and Chalet Matsuzaka spas are ready and waiting for you to slip into a warm pool and relax those aching joints. Other exciting activities in La Rosiere include snowkiting, paragliding, Yooner sledging, bowling, watch the latest films at the cinema and ice skating