A purpose built resort with character, Avoriaz’s wood-clad buildings have a striking appearance that set it apart from other destinations. Even more striking is the 360° panorama of the Alps – Avoriaz is located right in the centre of the stunning Portes du Soleil.
Completely ski in/out, a holiday in Avoriaz means you don’t have to lug your equipment around and can maximise time on the slopes. It’s also completely car-free and has a new car park and arrivals area where you can unload luggage and travel by horse drawn sledge to your accommodation - a charming start to your ski holiday.
November 2012 saw the World Snow Awards vote Avoriaz the ‘Best Family Resort’. It’s a top destination for kids learning to ski and snowboard thanks to the central children’s village and offers some fantastic family activities indoors and out.
A huge attraction for families and non-skiers is the incredible Aquariaz water centre, where you can relax in a tropical climate while looking out over the snow-covered Alps (bizarre but very enjoyable). Off slope activities certainly don’t stop here and contribute to a lively and varied après scene that suits all ages and tastes.
A pioneering European snowboard destination, France’s first terrain park was built here in ‘93 and nowadays you’ll find 5 fantastic parks including a superpipe. Known as ‘Avoriaz 1800’ for its high altitude, this is the best place to book accommodation in the Portes du Soleil if you’re looking for great snow.
The local pass gives access to 130km of varied high altitude pistes while for those seeking more, the Portes du Soleil pass covers a massive 650km of terrain over 12 resorts in France and Switzerland.
Location: France, Alps.
Established: 1934
Open: December - April
Downhill: 130km
View our detailed Avoriaz snow forecast or snow report and see all live webcams, piste maps, road and travel maps and lift pass prices. For a picture of historic snow conditions see the snow depths month by month with our Avoriaz snow history.
Nearest Airport & Transfer Time: | |
Geneva (GVA) | 80km, 1h40 |
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Top Altitude: | 2,466m |
Bottom Altitude: | 1,000m |
Resort Altitude: | 1,800m |
Longest run: | 11km |
Slope Orientation: | N, S, E, W |
Vertical Drop: | 1,466m |
Skiable Vertical: | 300m (Swiss Wall) |
Night Skiing: | No |
Glacier: | No |
Downhill Runs: | 130km |
Beginner slopes: | 60% |
Intermediate: | 28% |
Advanced slopes: | 12% |
Lift Pass Price: | Avoriaz: €123 Portes du Soleil: €225 |
Nearby resorts: Portes du Soleil, Morzine, Les Gets |
This is one of our favourite resorts to bring the brood: thanks to a huge and central children’s village, complete with a specialised snowboarding area, children can learn to ski and ride in a fun and safe environment. Avoriaz is one of the only resorts that has a Beginner Pass – letting you find your feet on easy terrain via 14 lifts without the expense of a full lift pass. Beginners-only piste Première Glisse gives you the chance to improve at your own pace, while Proclu and Q’mont are easy blues for cruisey snowploughing.
Intermediates have a good number of runs and can upgrade to the bigger area pass for more variety – we like the long blue down Mossettes while Blanchot and Alpages are two good reds.
Advanced skiers and riders: take the Mossettes and switch to the snow cross half way down. Coupe de Monde is a black run with lots of nearby off-piste and Crozats has another snow cross. For off-piste, hire a guide and explore the Vallee de la Manche. Intrepid skiers must attempt notorious La Chavanette (aka the Swiss Wall) – the steep and mogulled descent is said to be one of the scariest in Christendom…
With great freeriding terrain, a massive 120m superpipe and 5 snowparks, Avoriaz welcomes snowboarders with open arms. La Chapelle is the most popular park, with red, blue and green kickers for freestylers of all abilities. Developed by Jake Burton as a fusion of freeriding & freestyling, eco-snowpark The Stash has 3 runs through the Lindarets woods including 100 natural and wooden features. Burton Kids Parkway and Lil’Stash are two gentler areas for beginner freestylers and the Arare boardercross is great for the whole family. Nearby, experts might prefer the Arare Snowpark which has an airbag jump.
While Avoriaz isn’t renowned for its nightlife, it nevertheless has an array of restaurants, bars and off-slope activities that contribute to a lively après ski scene. Le Tavallion is an English themed pub for a home-from-home atmosphere, Shooters is good for party-lovers while Le Choucas and Le Yak tend to be the venues of choice for late night clubbing.
With sister restaurants in glamorous St Tropez and Marrakesh, La Table du Marché is a place to fine-dine in style. Alongside a few of the pubs, Chez Flo serves up hearty dinners and for a pizza restaurant in Avoriaz, try Piz'Burg.
2400m2 of tropical paradise can be enjoyed by all ages in new water centre Aquiraz. Children will love the tree house, paddling area and water playground, there’s a huge slide and ‘Tarzan rope’ for the adventurous while those seeking a more relaxing environment will appreciate the jacuzzi and waterfall in ‘lazy river’. Other indoor activities include a bowling alley and cinema. Outdoors, there’s plenty of activity for all ages: You can go ice skating, husky sledding, snow-shoeing, snowmobiling, paragliding, ice diving and night sledding.
Avoriaz was France’s snowiest resort in the 2011/2012 season and it offers the best access to high altitude skiing in the Portes du Soleil. With 70 snow cannons as well, snow conditions are reliable from December to April. The Portes du Soleil area has an average snowfall of 8m a year, slopes facing N, S, E & W and 900 snow cannons so you’ll find skiable terrain throughout the season.
If you’re an après ski and music lover, Avoriaz is the host village for the Rock the Pistes festival on 20th -24th March and there’s also a great Jazz festival on 6th -13th April. The resort is humming with activity during Christmas and New Year and thanks to it being a top family resort, during school holidays too.
Christmas in Avoriaz is magical - especially if you’re skiing with young children. You’ll enjoy a lovely white Christmas with the whole town lit up by a fairytale light display, illuminations, fireworks and torch-lit descents. Browse Avoriaz Christmas ski holidays ‣
At New Years Eve in Avoriaz, 200 ESF instructors perform a magnificent torch-lit descent and there’s a huge firework display – it’s a great place to see in (and ski in) the New Year. Browse Avoriaz New Year ski holidays ‣
Having a family ski holiday during February half term in Avoriaz, voted ‘Best Family Resort’ is a great choice. All ages will find something to entertain - even non-skiers - and children will love the winter activities and specialised children’s areas. Browse Avoriaz Half Term ski holidays ‣
If you’re thinking of spending Easter in Avoriaz, you’ll be pleased to hear that it is has the best access to high altitude skiing in the Portes du Soleil, making it a good choice for late season skiing. Browse Avoriaz Easter ski holidays ‣
Avoriaz was voted the ‘Best Family Resort’ in the 2012 World Snow Awards and it’s not hard to see why – the resort caters excellently for families both on and off the slopes and has some excellent family-friendly accommodation. If you’re looking to save money, check out self catering properties like the Antares Apartments. These have a hard-to-beat ski in / ski out position right in the resort centre, less than a minute from the nursery slopes and ski kindergarten and only 5 minutes walk to the crèche and ski school meeting point. Self catering can work fantastically for some, but if you prefer the cooking done for you, stay in one of our family friendly hotels. Club Med is hugely popular for families and has a brilliant ski in / ski out location. Hotels with childcare facilities are ideal if your children are too young for ski school and properties with an on-site bar can work well too if you want to enjoy some adult drinks while your children are nearby.
This is a brilliant place to introduce your children to the mountains - it has a fantastic, centrally located children’s area offering a fun and safe place to learn to ski or snowboard. With 5 snowparks, more experienced children can learn and practice some tricks. If you’ve all skied tons of times before, consider getting a guide for a family trip around Portes du Soleil’s best powder.
Avoriaz is a short, 1 hour 40 minute transfer from Geneva airport, so if you book one of our accommodation, flights and transfers packages, you won’t have to worry about wasting precious time on the road. Select your nearest airport in the search below to make things even easier. This is also one of the closest ski resorts to Calais if you’re planning to drive – select ‘self drive’ instead of an airport for our accommodation and channel crossings packages.
Surrounded by the vast and varied Portes du Soleil offering a ski area and resort with something for everyone, Avoriaz is an excellent place for a group ski holiday. If you like the idea of private rooms and communal space and facilities, book everyone in to one of our fantastic hotels - Club Med is a popular option and is one of our largest hotels, so any stragglers wishing to join up later may well find a vacancy. On a smaller more intimate scale, our ski chalets are ideal for a group getaway. Chalet Les Lauzes sleeps 10 and if you have a group size to match, you can enjoy sole occupancy. All of our hotels and chalet holidays come with meals included, check specific properties for more details.
Groups planning to party will enjoy a lively après ski scene – easily accessible from many of our properties. Check out English themed Le Tavallion for a home-from-home or head over to Shooters and Le Yak for some proper partying. If there’s anyone in your group taking lessons, book a property near the ski school meeting place to make things easier. If you’re looking for a resort that will keep non-skiers happy – you’ve found a winner in Avoriaz thanks to the new Aquariaz centre where you can swim, relax and be pampered.
Book everyone on a trip to the mountains in a package with flights and transfers or channel crossings if you’re planning to drive. If it’s proving too difficult to find a journey to the slopes that works for everyone, check out our accommodation-only deals.
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