Font Romeu Ski Holidays

Often crowned the queen of the French Pyrenees, the Font Romeu area brings together an old mountain village (Font Romeu), a steadily growing ski base station (Bolquere Pyrénées 2000), 43km of downhill slopes and a 110km cross country area.

Both the Font Romeu and Pyrénées 2000 bases have lift access to the slopes, but Pyrénées 2000 is the only one you can only ski back to (via blue, red and black runs). To make getting around easy, a bus also runs between the two.

Winter is when Font comes alive - in the summer it hibernates, unless you’re among the likes of Mo Farah who come here for the National Altitude Training Centre, or the scientists who test temperature limits at the Heliodyssée Solar Centre.

And what a winter it wakes up for – this is said to be France’s sunniest ski resort, and the nearness to Spain and Andorra (Barcelona = 2-hour drive away) has created a strong Catalan character throughout. The atmosphere is infectiously relaxed – some describe it as beach-like – with tapas bars and big sun terraces to soak up all that sunshine.

ESF, ESI and the Ski Ecole Pyrénées teach beginners and improvers here, and the Espace Ludique is designed to help leaners get to grips with the pistes on seven gentle greens, including a fun nature themed run for children. There’s also a mini slalom and boarder cross course to boost confidence and keep things exciting.

When you’re up for a longer descent, ski the green Retour Airelles from Roc de la Calme – it has nice, wide bits with trees on either side and gorgeous views over the valley and surrounding peaks. From Gallinera, the Ceinture is another easy-going piste for perfecting the snowplough.

Moving on up, favourite blue descents include taking the Sapinettes from Gallinera and connecting onto Primevere for a run down to Pyrenees 2000.

Reds stream down both sides of the Roc de la calme, and to up the ante on the Pradeilles side you can duck out of the Paul Ribell black for an easier ride to base, or continue for a hair raising run down…. There are a handful of black pistes around the Gallinera area – Championnat from Retour Airelles and north facing Record being two of the best.

Unlike its name suggests, La Calme is your area for technical challenges – the mogul field has been a permanent fixture since the European Cup in 2012 and there are two slalom runs to tackle. The snowpark has hosted the Freestyle World Cup with its ten hectares of terrain (a jibbing area, two air bags, two boardercrosses and a cracking mix of modules).

110km of trails for cross country skiers makes this the top destination for Nordic skiing in Europe – glide through forest, along frozen rivers and over some seriously scenic terrain.

Apres ranges from coffee and cakes at L'apres-ski to nights at the casino, with its 37 slot machines, lounge bar and nightclub.

If (like us) you couldn’t possibly spend a week skiing without a decent dose of cheesy goodness, head to La Ferme des Lloses. Here, not only can you feast on the likes of fondue paired with local wine, you can also buy their cheeses to take home with you. For even more in the cheese department, try La Fromagerie where they make a cracking tartiflette. Meanwhile, La Marmotte does incredible crepes, while L’Estrella is popular for some of the best pizzas around. La Table des Saveurs is worth booking if you’re celebrating a special occasion – the dishes are presented gorgeously and if you can bag a table by the window there are amazing views over the mountains.

Other activities include dog sledding, snowshoeing and bowling at L’Elan in Pyrenees 2000.