Pretty Ski Resorts in France

Pootle along Avenue Olympique when the sun’s setting and snow’s falling, and you’ll struggle not to get caught up in Val’s charm. Lining the thoroughfare are fir trees blanketed in white, olde-worlde stone buildings, and legions of tiny lights on nearly every branch, ledge and roof top. The Old Town is certainly easy on the eye, with a high-arched entrance and looming spire of the Baroque Saint Bernard de Menthon – and the resort’s tiddly chalet hamlets are as cosy as can be. The peaks of the Vanoise National Park rise up on either side, making it all feel delightfully detached from the outside world.

Timber and stone farmhouses are the makings of St Martin – an old-school Savoyard village from top to bottom. Apart from the odd spot of TLC, not much has altered the appearance over the years. One particular landmark has never been tinkered with – the Baroque Notre Dame de la Vie Sanctuary church, with its mottled stone walls and dramatically thin spire. Set yourself at the far end of Rue Saint-Francois (the most eastern point, towards Moutiers) for an eyeful of the entire village that crams in every steeple and snowy roof.

With the Chaine des Aravis to the west and the magnificent Mont Blanc to the east, it doesn’t get more alpine than Megeve. A blanket of fir forest wraps around the village, with Place de l’Eglise snug in the very centre. Here, the medieval St Jean Baptiste church and its illuminated clock tower peer over the square, where hand-painted horse-drawn sleighs clip clop around the cobbled streets and an enormous Christmas tree shines bright in December. We could easily spend all week flitting from boutique to café here, but the rest of the village is worth a wander - it’s all about sloping rooves, stone walls and bridges lit with neoclassical street lights.

Once upon a time Morzine was a mining town, then came the Grand Hotel in the roaring twenties, and the place has been a hub for winter and summer holidays ever since. Hints of bygone days abound - new chalets have been carefully built to match the old ones. The village square, Vieux Bourg, is home to the old Post Office and Market Hall as well as a WWI monument. This is also where you’ll find the Saint Mary Magdalene church, crafted from local stone and dating back to 1771 (stand at the furthest end of Rue de Bourg for a view with the Creve Coeur in the distance). On many of the timbered and white-wash buildings, fairy-lights line the rooves, giving the village a warm glow come evening. There’s only one sight more magical, and that’s the frozen Lac de Montriond by moonlight.

Samoens was once a village of stonemasons, and it shows every way you turn: medieval turrets, fountains and houses are dotted around the old market square (still used for its original purpose, when the weekly market comes to town). Slap bang in the middle, a grand lime tree is the local’s pride and joy: Planted in 1438 it’s watched the village evolve from a hive of masonry activity to a much-loved ski resort, and its bare branches are decked in bright lights every winter. Seven mountains circle the village, giving the locals their nickname “septimontains” - and what a view to wake up to each morning.

Savoyard through and through, Les Gets is a village of low-rise wooden chalets, stone farmhouses and cobblestone streets, backed with a gorgeous forest of pines. Some 800 years ago, long before ski lifts, this was a dairy farming community (don’t miss the Fruitière des Perrières, where you can try traditional delicacies in hundred year old cheese cellars). Wander around the church and you’ll pass ancient buildings with wooden shutters and ornate balconies, or head to Place de la Mairie, for the oldest merry-go-round in France (1871). The scenery is incredible, too - head up to the lift station for an unbridled view that stretches as far as Lac Leman.

Christened from the Latin word for ‘beautiful’, Meribel was destined for great things from the off. There are some gorgeous hamlets in this part of the valley. At the entrance to the main resort, Mussillon is one of the originals - an eclectic mix of chic, timber chalets and old stone buildings. Morel’s another ancient settlement, where Chalet Grange de Marie occupies one of the oldest barns in the region. Things become distinctly Savoie as you enter lovely Les Allues: White wash walls, wooden balconies with elaborate carved suns and narrow, hidden alleys. Further into town, wooden chalets of deep browns and orange stand tall, with miniature lights that drip from their balconies and roofs.

This sunny valley’s a charmer, lined with a number of villages, each one divided into diddy hamlets. The highest, smallest and quietest of them all is Monêtier Les Bains - a deliciously rural spa village of winding streets and stone architecture that rubs shoulders with the glorious Ecrins National Park. At the other end of Serre Chevalier, fortified Briancon lives up to its role as ‘the town of art and history’. Playing artist’s muse is the Church of Notre-Dame and Saint-Nicolas, while steep, narrow streets lead towards the Pont d’Asfeld in the east - a 40m old stone bridge that’s one of many local UNESCO-listed features.

With Mont Blanc on the horizon, Cham’s landscape alone is a sight for sore eyes, but there are some stunning spots around the town too. Like St. Michael’s in Place de l’Eglise, with its silver spire, cream walls and stained-glass windows that glimmer in the sunshine. Sharing the same pathway is the grand Town Hall - sporting stone patterns and elaborate iron balconies. Place Jacques Balmat is another corker - home to a bronze sculpture of Mont Blanc pioneers and elegant pink buildings. Over in Argentiere, things are just as wonderfully traditional – the 19th century Sainte Pierre chapel sits on the main Route des Montets surrounded by old stone buildings, well worth a little detour.

Take a chunk of the Tarentaise, sprinkle over a handful of wood, stone and slate buildings and dust with snow. Valmorel’s quintessentially French, and this fully pedestrianised resort has honoured its heritage - no high-rise structures interrupt the skyline. Instead, broad wood-clad chalets sit back to back, gathering around courtyards and a diddy village square. Arches are commonly seen this side of the Cheval Noir Mountain, and every last building’s in on the act: Windows, doorways and walkways you name it...