All lovers and professionals of mountain skiing know the largest ski area in the world - the Three Valleys, located in the Tarentaise Valley of France. It includes: Saint-Bon, Des Alu and Belleville, each zone of which consists of several ski resorts. The network of cable cars and ski lifts allows you to easily get to any place, and about 600 km of paved routes of varying difficulty with a difference in altitude from 1300 to 3200 m will please any who came here.
Three Valleys - how to get there?
You can get to the Three Valleys by plane, either to Geneva Airport in Switzerland (130 km), or to Lyon in France (190 km) or Turin in Italy (260 km). Then by bus or car on the highway through Albertville to Moutier, and then along the serpentine up to the desired ski resort of the Three Valleys.
Three Valleys - weather
Season skiing lasts from late November to May. In the coldest months, that is, in January and February, the average air temperature during the day is -3 ° C, at night -10 ° C, but sometimes drops to -26 ° C. In winter, snow falls often, and the fog sets. The warmest month is August with an average temperature of + 20 ° C in the daytime and + 4 ° C at night. In summer, hot daytime hours are replaced by a cold evening and at night.
It should be borne in mind that in winter, snowy weather obliges travelers to put chains on vehicles' wheels.
Among the ski resorts in France, the Three Valleys area can be noted:
The Saint-Bon Valley
- Courchevel - here rests a lot of people from Russia and the CIS. The resort includes 5 villages. Its feature is convenient routes with a clear division by complexity categories: for beginners - 27 green and 44 blue tracks, for experienced ones - 38 red and 10 black tracks. Every year in the village of Courchevel-1850 international competitions are held in the indoor sports complex. For tourists here is given the largest choice of hotels in the Three Valleys, 10 restaurants, and also facilities for leisure and recreation.
- La Tania - areas for skiing are located at an altitude of 1.4 km, 77 km of low and medium difficulty trails. Tranquility and silence, clean air and picturesque landscapes are its main features. Here it is good to have a rest for families with children. Near the resort is the first natural reserve of France - the Vanoise National Park and the historical city of Moutier, rich in historical sights.
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Valley of Des Alu
- Meribel - suitable for families with children. Beginners will be interested in Rhône-Poin and Altiport, for more experienced, they are suitable for Platier and Pas du Lac, snowboarders for Meribel-Mottaret, and for professionals, the descents of La Fas, Georges-Modul and Combe du Valon. The village of Meribel-Mottaret is the center of the evening and night life of this resort.
- Brides-les-Bains - located at an altitude of 600 m, has low and medium difficulty routes, as well as two fan parks for snowboarders. The main attractions of the resort are the sports complex Grand SPA Alpine and balneological complex of Terme de Salin-les-Bains.
Valley Belleville
- The resorts of St. Martin and Les Menuires are united in a single skiing area. 160 km of trails of varying complexity, half of which are for beginners. Near the top of the Mont-de-la-Chambre are very difficult routes. The main feature is the low cost of living in hotels.
- Val Thorens is one of the most mountainous ski resorts in the world. Here the routes of complexity are divided approximately in half. In the village of Sim-de-Caron, mostly professionals skate. For snowboarders, a fan park is organized. The developed entertainment infrastructure allows organizing interesting leisure time for children and adults. Val Thorens is the most expensive and elite resort of the Three Valleys.
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Scheme of all tracks for riding in each of the three valleys looks like this:
Ski pass in this ski area is better to take immediately to 3 valleys (200 lifts), and not one, as sometimes it happens that one does not have good snow for skiing, and in another - there is. The cost of skipass in 2014:
- for 1 adult for 6 days - 267 euros;
- family (2 adults and 2 children 13-18 years) for 6 days - 221.6 euros / person.
On certain days and for more people there are special discounts.
The popularity of the Three Valleys in the Alps is enhanced by an extensive map of the area where the trails are located, different levels of housing prices and the availability of a developed infrastructure, as well as active recreation in stunningly beautiful and diverse mountains.