Vars/Risoul ski resort

Overview

The linked ski resorts of Vars and Risoul in France's southern Haute Alpes offer a quieter, less frenetic - and better value - alternative to the better-known purpose-built resorts of Les Arcs and Flaine, with a sizeable ski area, a pretty setting with spectacular views from the high point at Pic de Chabrieres and lots of beautiful tree-lined runs.

Ski area

Vars and Risoul sit in their own valleys either side of a peak, and each have further slopes rising up on both sides of the valley floor. In Vars - Vars-les-Claux, to give it its full name - the wooded Peynier sector is the smaller area of runs - a mix of mostly blues and red with one easy black. The main gondola rises up the east-facing slopes from the resort to provide the primary link with Risoul and here also are the main slopes - again a good mix of quite long reds and easy, cruising blues. 

The signature Vars run is the Olympique red that drops 920m from La Mayt down to the smaller outlying village of Vars-Ste-Marie. You can also reach this hamlet via a pleasant blue.

Beginners will find good nursery slopes around the resort base, with plenty of opportunity to progress up the colour ladder and make it across to Risoul. Experts will find little to challenge them on-piste, but there is plenty of off-piste, that stays fairly uncrowded outside peak times.

Risoul is in some ways a mirror image of Vars - though its main top stations provide access to some steeper, north-facing slopes. But it too is mostly a mix of easy blues and decent reds, rising about the nursery slopes around the village base, allowing for a similar progression for those staying in Risoul. Conveniently, nearly all Risoul's runs wind up back in the village.

The only drawback in both Vars and Risoul is the relatively small number of fast chairs against an annoyingly high quota of antiquated draglifts and slow chairs - the drags will especially frustrate snowboarders, though the ample freeride terrain does make up for that.

Off the slopes/Apres ski

Architecturally, neither Vars nor Risooul will win any prizes in a beauty contest. Both have a lot of heavy Seventies-style apartment blocks, though more recent developments, particularly in Risoul are much improved. The main centre of Vars-les-Claux is spread along a steep, winding road, but has a decent selection of shops, bars and restaurants. Risoul's main problem is its traffic, but again it has pretty much all you'd expect from a purpose-built resort, with a compact centre and plenty of sunny restaurant/bar terraces.

The apres is quite lively, despite both centres being more family-orientated - though this quietens down after the post-slope rush. Nightlife in Risoul is centred on several bars and the Relex nightclub. For eating out, the Point Show at Vars-les-Claux is worth checking out, along with the Chaudron in Vars-Ste-Marie. Restaurants generally are better value than elsewhere in the Alps.

For non-ski activity lovers, there's tobogganing, dog sledding, snowmobiling, snowshoeing, hiking and ice skating, including night-time snowmobiling from Risoul.

Families

The ski school in Vars runs is own nursery and both schools here and in Risoul operate ski kindergartens. Most of the accommodation is in self-catering apartments, making Vars/Risoul a good choice for families on a budget.