Tag: France
Holiday villages are growing in popularity with families who are looking for a laid back holiday where they can completely relax, but yet have the all the facilities of a large resort at their fingertips. In the UK villages are open year round, and are as popular for a winter getaway as for a summer holiday.
One of the largest brands of holiday villages in Europe is Center Parcs. Apart from their centres in the UK they have sites in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and France. In the late 1960s a Dutch entrepreneur bought some woodland in the south of the country and started the first holiday village using tents. He soon changed these for bungalows and the Center Parcs brand as we know it today had started.
Center Parcs now have four holiday villages in the UK in Cumbria, Nottinghamshire, Suffolk and Wiltshire, plus one more under development in Bedfordshire. Each village is located in woodland sites of up to 400 acres, and are particularly marketed to appeal to families with young children. The main ethos of the villages is to provide a relaxing forest holiday for visitors. Cars are not allowed on site and visitors leave their vehicles in large car parks by the exit after unloading their suitcases. Bikes are the encouraged form of transport around the site, and there are hire facilities for people who have not bought their own bikes with them. The villas are grouped in small clusters and are all low-rise so as to blend in perfectly with the forest environment.
The main attraction at a Center Parcs holiday village is the huge swimming area, marketed as a sub tropical paradise. The swimming area is housed in a massive glass roofed area, and there are separate areas for toddlers, children and adults. They have high adrenaline slides and flumes as well as smaller slides and wave machines for younger guests. There is plenty to keep guests occupied for several hours, and numerous places to sit and relax. All visitors to the holiday village get free access to the swimming facilities throughout their stay.
Apart from the swimming, there are dozens of other activities on offer. These can include pony trekking, archery, tennis, abseiling, kayaking, and windsurfing. Guests will be charged extra to participate in these activities, which can soon mount up to a considerable sum for a family wanting to be busy every day. Most sites also have a spa offering the full range of beauty treatments and the opportunity to relax completely and be pampered. As the site itself is so large, there are also free bike and nature trails through the forest or guided tours with one of the ranger staff.
The main area of the holiday village is packed with restaurants, cafes and bars, providing plenty of options for dining. There is also a supermarket on site, and as all villas have full cooking facilities many visitors take their own food and self cater. A selection of gift and craft shops also offers the chance to pick up a souvenir of your stay.
Ski in Chamonix, Meribel, Tignes, La Plagne, Courchevel and more
When it comes to skiing, France is one of Europe’s top destinations. It is on the French-Italian border that the Alps, Europe’s greatest mountain range, reach their peak, in the eternal snows of Mont Blanc, at Chamonix. The French Alps offer the broadest range of skiing opportunities anywhere in Europe.
Why are Ski Holidays in France so Popular?
They offer an unbeaten combination of:
A vast choice of ski slopes and ski lifts
Snow quality and depth
A well established sports tourism industry
Over 400 fully equipped mountain resorts
The worlds biggest lift-linked ski areas
The potential for off-trail skiing on virgin snow
A choice of snow-boarding, ice skating and so many other winter sports
No wonder the French Alps are in many respects the worlds leading ski destination! Plan your ski holiday in France now. Compare holiday rental accomodation, prices and book online for booking your Alpine ski holidays.
Ski in the Alps with All the Comforts of Home
It is the French Alps that offer the broadest range of resorts, where the snow conditions are most reliable:
Les Portes du Soleil, (Avoriaz – Morzine) the northernmost area has a dozen resorts, including Avoriaz, the capital of snowboarding; and Morzine, a long-established resort, at an altitude of 1000m, with plenty of facilities for beginners.
Chamonix, in the Savoy Alps, lying at the foot of Mont Blanc, was the original French skiing resort, and for many years has been very popular with skiers from all over Europe. The area around Chamonix and Megve offers the fifth largest skiing area in France.
Les Arcs / La Plagne in the Haute Savoie offer plenty of high mountain skiing, so can usually guarantee good snow.
Tignes / Val d’Isre is a high mountain area, with some 300 km of pistes, many of them over 2,500 metres altitude.
The area of Les Trois Valles (Les 3 Valles), including the resorts of Courchevel, Val Thorens and Les Menuires, is the world’s largest ski area accessible with a single pass.
One of the largest resorts in the Alps, l’Alpe d’Huez offers a wide range of facilities, including plenty of slopes for beginners, and also opportunities for off-piste sking.
With 120 km of pistes, the southern Alpine resort of Isola 2000 is one of the sunniest ski resorts in France, one of the coldest, and also one of those that gets most snow.
There are plenty of other areas in the French Alps, but mostly smaller and for this reason often calmer, sometimes cheaper, and more family-oriented.
Online holiday planning sites can help you find catered chalets and holiday home rentals in favourite destinations such as Meribel, Morzine, Courchevel, Chamonix and Megeve, and in most other leading French resorts too. These can be budget options or fully kitted rental holiday homes with all the amenities and comforts of home like Internet, fireplace, sauna, washing machine and dishwasher.
Your ski holiday in France can be truly memorable and comfortable in every way. Search, compare and book online from a huge selection of Alpine chalets and holiday homes in nearly all the ski destinations in the Alps