The Ski Holiday Blog

Tag Archives: France

The history of Val Thorens in the Three Valleys

By Holly Waddell | Published: August 6, 2010

From St Martin de Belleville through De Bettaix and Les Menuires all the way up to the breathtaking heights of Val Thorens nestled at 2300m above sea level, the Val Thorens Valley and its neighbouring resorts of Meribel and Courchevel make up Europe’s largest and most popular ski area. So how did it all come about…?

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The surprisingly interesting history of La Plagne

By Matt Simpson | Published: August 2, 2010
  La Plagne is one of several “mega-resorts” in the northern Tarentaise area of France. La Plagne is made up of 10 different villages with each offering a completely different ambiance. This means La Plagne generally has something for everyone, from unmatched ski access and amenities of Plagne Centre, to the quiet and secluded traditional alpine village environment of Les Coches. Having spent 2 seasons in La Plagne and 5 years defending its honour here at the Interactive Resorts sales office, I thought it the right time to open your eyes to the interesting history behind its development. 

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Eurostar to the Alps on sale this morning

By David Froom | Published: July 13, 2010
Although a majority of our clients tend to book a package with flights and transfers included, a growing number now make their own travel arrangements to the Alps and the direct Eurostar services to the Tarentaise are always very popular indeed. This year there will be the usual two direct services, one leaving London St Pancras on Friday evenings, arriving in the Alps early on Saturday morning, and one leaving on Saturday mornings which arrives on Saturday afternoon. Sadly the Snow Train via Paris, with its famous disco carriage, will not be running this year.

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Morzine – A Brief History

By Chris Callaghan | Published: July 12, 2010
The polar opposite of 1970s tower-block resorts like Tignes and La Plagne, the beautiful, charming ski resort of Morzine began life as far back as 1090. The area was one of only two crossing-points over the river Dranse and as such was of great geographical importance.
 

Around the start of the 12th century, Cistercian monks began arriving in the area of St Jean d’Aulps on pilgrimage from other areas in France, most notably Dijon. The term Cistercian comes from the Latin ‘Cistercium,’ which was the name given to the Dijon village of Cîteaux from whence the monks mostly came. By 1181 they had fully established themselves in St Jean d’Aulps and in the surrounding territories, and Morzine became a “monastic grange” from the abbey of the same name. Read More »

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A Brief history of Courchevel, France

By David Froom | Published: June 29, 2010

Courchevel in France is one of Europe’s premier ski resorts, sitting at 1850 metres above sea level and forming part of the Three Valleys, the world’s largest fully linked ski area. Courchevel is split into 4 villages, each named after their altitudes. They are Courchevel 1850, Courchevel 1650, Courchevel 1550 and Courchevel 1300 (also known as Courchevel Le Praz). The history behind the creation and development of this alpine gem is a fascinating story and having spent 2 whole seasons in Courchevel myself I found my eyes opened by learning the stories behind the modern day resort. This is the first of what will become a regular feature on the history behind all of our major resorts.

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Holly’s view of skiing in Val Thorens

By Holly Waddell | Published: May 13, 2010
  • Wednesday 14th April: Volcano erupts in Iceland.
  • Flight departure time to Val Thorens: 05:50 Saturday 17th April.
  • Actual Coach departure: 12:45 Saturday 17th April.
  • Arrival time in Resort 10:00 Sunday 18th April.

Carrying on from Mr. David Froom’s superb depiction of the week that was…..  Read More »

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The Interactive Resorts Ski Trip to Val Thorens

By David Froom | Published: May 5, 2010

The build-up was big, top billing in the office for weeks before we were due to leave. Pre-departure was littered with nerve jangling worries over how we’d get there, and whether we’d even be able to. In the end, it all went relatively smoothly and we’ve been back in the office for a few days recovering from one of the best ski trips in recent memory. Val Thorens 2010 was a rip roaring success and this is the tale of how it all went down!

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Family Skiing Holiday Part II – Useful Tips

By Rupert Bonington | Published: April 15, 2010

Continuing on from Rupert’s family ski holiday in Alpe d’Huez, we’ve put together a series of useful tips to help you make the most of yours.

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Our Family Ski Holiday

By Rupert Bonington | Published: April 15, 2010

This year, our family ski holiday consisted of a group of 9 adults and 7 children aged from 2 to 7 years old. The party contained three non-skiing adults (Grandma and Aunties!) who, between them, acted as ‘nannies’ - looking after the kids when they weren’t skiing and giving the chance for the skiing adults to occasionally enjoy some ‘kid-free’ runs. Our skiing abilities were mixed; the adults’ ability ranged from beginners through to advanced, the younger members had either never skied or had up to 4 weeks’ skiing under their belts.

With this in mind we were looking for somewhere offering good facilities and activities, both in the chalet and in the resort, that the non-skiers could enjoy too.  Read More »

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Val Thorens 2010 – 4 days and counting

By David Froom | Published: April 13, 2010

Here we are, another season has come and almost gone and this Saturday the Interactive Resorts crew are heading back to the mountains for one last week of skiing, sunshine, fun and games before summer. The last three years of the official company trip have all been to Val d’Isere but this year promises to be a complete change as we’re heading to Europe’s highest resort of Val Thorens!

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