Alpe d'Huez Ski Holidays

Description

Located in the Southern Alps, Alpe d’Huez is a fresh feeling resort even for returning skiers. Nicknamed ‘The Island in the Sun’, the sunny south facing resort has an average of 300 days of sunshine a year! The village sits at 1,860m and with a peak height of 3330m and a total of 135 runs, the resort offers high altitude skiing suitable for all standards.

Alpe d'Huez has a short transfer, only 90 minutes from Grenoble so it makes a popular choice for families wanting to keep their travel time to a minimum; and not only does Alpe d’Huez have an excellent family friendly atmosphere, the resort is also a popular choice for groups and has an excellent après ski and nightlife scene with the infamous Folie Douce throwing an excellent party on the mountain.

Alpe d’Huez sits in the same valley as Les Deux Alpes; at the moment the resorts are only linked by road but plans are in progress to build a cable car linking the two and limiting the journey time to only 18 minutes. This project is estimated to be completed in 2021 and will create an enormous ski area with three glaciers offering some of the most reliable snow in the Alps.

Alpe d’Huez offers a large range of good value accommodation, both apartments, chalets and hotels; and with snow-sure varied pistes, short transfer time, lively après ski and nightlife, Alpe d’Huez really does have it all.

Getting There

If you haven’t booked a package when travel is organised for you then you will need to think about the best way for you to get to and from resort.

Fly

The most common way to get to resort is to fly, there are four local airports to Alpe d’Huez.

Geneva – 210km – 3h
Grenoble – 106km – 1h30
Chambery – 131km – 2h
Lyon – 153km – 2h

Grenoble is the closest airport so is the most popular choice but flight options are limited and can be more expensive. Geneva has a greater choice of airlines offering better value flights but is a longer commute to resort.

Transfer to the resort

There are several companies who offer both shared and private transfers to and from the airport resort. It is worth checking flight arrangements before booking your flights especially if you want a shred transfer as these are less regular and you don’t want to be waiting around for hours at the airport.

Alps2Alps provide private transfers from Geneva, Chambery, Grenoble and Lyon.

Alpventure provides airport taxi and shuttle service from Grenoble, Lyon and Geneva.

Bens Bus provides low cost shared transfers from Grenoble.

Mountain Express provides private transfers from Chambery, Grenoble, Geneva and Lyon.

Ski Lifts have been awarded the world’s best ski transfer operator in the World Ski Awards. They provide private and shared transfers from Geneva, Grenoble, Lyon and Chambery.

Train

The nearest train station to Alpe d’huez is Grenoble Gare. If you are travelling from the UK, you can take the Eurostar from St Pancras International in London or Ashford in Kent to Paris where you can pick up the connecting TGV train to Grenoble. The train takes around 3 hours from Paris to Grenoble and then Alpe d’Huez is another 1 hour 15 minute transfer from the station.

Drive

If you are planning on driving out to resort from the UK then you can either travel via the channel tunnel or take the ferry. The euro tunnel departs every 15 minutes from Folkestone and takes 35 minutes. Prices start from £90 each way. You can book your crossing online at - https://www.eurotunnel.com/uk/home/.

The ferry runs from both Hull to Zeebrugge or Dover to Calais with P&O ferries - http://www.poferries.com/en/portal. The Hull ferry operates overnight arriving in Zeebrugge at 0845am. The Dover to Calais service operates up to 23 times each day and takes 90 minutes.

On arrival in France, remember to drive on the right hand side of the road! There are several tolls on route from the airports to resort and the amount that you pay will depend on what type of vehicle you are driving and which section of the road you are on but the total cost will be approximately €75 in total.

European travel/vehicle requirements are very strict and on-spot fiens are can issued if you don’t have: headlight converters, GB sticker, warning triangle, spare bulbs, breathalysers and high viz vests for each passenger in the vehicle.

In certain weather conditions, the roads may become snow and icy and although the snow clearers are very good at keeping the roads clear, it can be dangerous so it is important to take extra care when driving especially on the 21 hairpin bends on the final stretch into resort.

When to Go

When to visit Alpe d’Huez will be down to personal preference. The resort is relatively high altitude so will be snow sure throughout the season.

The slopes will be relatively busy at the start of the season for Christmas and New Year. The price of travel and accommodation during these weeks is high due to increased demand.

January is generally the coldest month and the slopes are much quieter compared to the previous festive weeks. Prices drop as well and you will normally be able to get a good January deal.

The French school holidays start in February so the slopes start to get busy again, with the UK half term being the busiest week of the season, and also the most expensive!. If you are not restricted to school holidays then we would recommend avoiding travelling during half term!

The weather starts to warm up in March which means longer and lighter days so more time on the slopes. March is a popular month for groups who aren’t restricted to school holidays so can still be busy but prices are much more reasonable and but you can also benefit from a good late season deal.

By April, the slopes are quieting down but Easter week does bring another rush of people. Alpe d’Huez is a south facing resort so expect lots of sunny days towards the end of the season.

Where to Stay

Alpe d’Huez is made up of 4 main areas where accommodation is located – Altiport, Rond Point des Pistes, Old Town and Les Bergers. Each of the four areas have their own pros and cons. The village is set up in a triangle shape, with a slight downhill slope.

Rond Point des Pistes

The Rond Point des Pistes is located at the top of the resort. The main DMC gondola is found here and will take you up to the Pic Blanc. There are plenty of nice chalets located here as they offer excellent access to the lifts and ski school meeting point. This area can be quite pricey and it is a bit of a walk to the bars and clubs.

Old Town

The old town is located at the bottom of the resort. The Avenue de Jeux runs up the middle of resort and is where you’ll find the pool, bars and shops. This area is a good place to stay to be in all the action but it can be very loud.

Altiport

The Altiport is the perfect place for families to stay as it is nice and quiet with many well located chalets offering ski in/ski out access. The altiport has no nightlife or bars and no activities for non skiers.

Les Bergers

Les Bergers is where the main lifts are and plenty of accommodation can be found here as well as a small selection of bars/shops/restaurants. It is a short walk to the town centre.

Surrounding resorts:

Oz-en-Oisans

Oz-en-Oisans is a small and pretty resort located in the heart of the Massif des Grandes Rousses. The centre of town is traffic free with shops, services and restaurants all close by making it a lovely choice for families.

Vaujany

Vaujany is a picturesque town that offers fantastic access to the ski area thanks to the 160 person gondola that connects to the region.

Huez

Huez Village is set apart from the main Alpe d’Huez but the main resort is easily accessible via The Televillage gondola.

Getting around

The town of Alpe d’Huez is split into a number of ‘quartiers’ - Quartier des Vieil Alpe, Quartier des Bergers and Quartier des Jeuz.

Bus

Alpe d’Huez is walkable but there are regular local shuttle services that connect the different areas.

On Foot

Everything is pretty easy to access on foot with the majority of the amenities are based around the main town centre. The roads can be extremely icy so it is advised to wear appropriate footwear such as snow boots or attaching ice grippers to your boots.

There is also a pedestrian bucket life across the resort for those staying further away.

Car

Cars can be driven in Alpe d’Huez however parking is limited during the high season. Some accomodation will have their own parking and there are underground car parks for use. Be careful for wardens as they will be on the lookout for illegally parked cars around the resort.

Apres

Alpe d’Huez has a good selection of bars on and off the mountain offering plenty of options to choose from.

The Folie Douce is located at the top of the Marmottes chair lift accessed from Les Bergers lift area. The open terrace is known for its wild entertainment with DJs, singers, dancers and musicians putting on a fantastic show.

Sphere Bar is one of the most popular spots for an après ski and evening drink. The bar has great drink deals which you can enjoy form their large sunny terrace. The bar shows sports and often has live music nights.

Freeride is a fun place to head. The drinks are priced using a stock market system changing every 100 seconds, and there is also a slide down to the toilets.

Underground is a lively bar. It is a popular spot for après and often has live music.

O’Sharkey’s is an Irish sports bar known for its cocktails and flavoured shots. The bar shows all the Sky and BT sports on 3 large screens.

Smithy’s Tavern is one of the most popular bars in resort with many themes nights, live bands, guest Djs and artist.

L’Etalon (also known as Rum bar) certainly lives up to its name and is the only one of its kind in town serving lots of different flavours of run.

L’Igloo nightclub hosts some of the best Dj’s in the Alps and has some fantastic themed nights including foam parties, R&B fever, carnival and old school v’s new school.

Eating out

La Fruitiere at La Folie Douce is located at the top of the Marmotte 1 lift station and served gourmet Savoyard specialities in a stunning setting.

Le Signal is located at the Sommet du Signal. Guests can enjoy a quick bite in the self-service restaurant or a long lunch or dinner in the first-floor restaurant.

Restaurant L’Altiport is a gastronomic restaurant and bar with a beautiful terrace offering fantastic views.

Lounge 21 offers an elaborate menu combining mountain specialities with tasty tapas. This is accompanied with a sophisticated wine list and a large selection of inventive cocktails.

Smithy’s Tavern is a favourite with seasonnaires and visitors alike. They serve a selection of dishes in their Tex Mex and Grill restaurant including sizzling fajitas, homemade burgers, filet steaks and BBQ ribs.

Chalet du Lac Besson restaurant is off the beaten track serving a number of traditional Savoyard specialities.

L’Alpette is located at the start of the run down to Oz next to the l’Alpette life. The restaurant’s terrace offers fantastic views of the valley.

Le Genepi serves classic French brasserie cuisine and local specialities.

La Cremalliere is a traditional charming restaurant. The cosy restaurant has seating for about 40 people and the dining area offers a cosy retreat and is perfect for a big group or couples.

Good for Couples

Au Chamois d'Or

169 Rue de Fontbelle

Alpe d'Huez

+33 4 76 80 31 32

Good for Couples

Au P'Tit Creux

Chemin des Bergers

Alpe d'Huez

+33 4 76 80 62 80

Good for Couples

L'Altiport

Altiport, Henri Giraud

Alpe d'Huez

+33 4 76 80 41 15

Good for Family

Au Montagnard

Avenue des Jeux

Alpe d'Huez

+33 4 76809735

Good for Family

Lounge 21

Rue du Coulet

Alpe d'Huez

+33 4 76 11 02

Good for Friends

La Pomme de Pin

Avenue des Jeux L'Ours Blanc

Alpe d'Huez

+33 4 76 80 42 34

Good for Friends

Le XV

Chemin Des Bergers 26

Alpe d'Huez

+33 4 76 80 62 80

Good for Friends

Smithy's Tavern

Immeuble Igloo

Route du Coulet

Alpe d'Huez

+33 4 76 11 32 29

Activities

Alpe d’Huez offers a range of activities for non-skiers including:

Ice Skating
Leisure centre
Walking Trails
Snowshoeing
Ice Driving
Ice Grotto
Ski-doo
Spa
Shopping
Restaurants/Bars

Dog Sledding

Rond Point des Pistes

Alpe d'Huez

+33 6 03 65 15 61

Paragliding

Route des Lacs

Alpe d'Huez

+33 6 22 66 27 71

Sports Centre

Avenue de Brandes

Alpe d'Huez

+33 4 76 11 21 41

Ski School

There are 3 ski schools in Alpe d’Huez to choose from. All offer
group and private lessons to cater for all abilities. Group lessons are
more sociable and normally work out cheaper however they are not as
intense as one-to-one tuition. Most of the ski schools will be happy to
talk through the different options available for you and to assess your
skiing ability to determine which class will be most suitable.

ESF
have been running for over 70 years and have fully qualified English
speaking instructors to help you improve your skills. ESF offer group
and private lessons as well as mountain guiding for all abilities.

EasySki provide children and adults ski and snowboard group (max 10 persons per group) and private courses.

Masterclass is a British ski school offers private, group (max 6 people) and family lessons (max 10 persons)

Getting around

The town of Alpe d’Huez is split into a number of ‘quartiers’ - Quartier des Vieil Alpe, Quartier des Bergers and Quartier des Jeuz.

Bus

Alpe d’Huez is walkable but there are regular local shuttle services that connect the different areas.

On Foot

There is also a pedestrian bucket life across the resort for those staying further away.

Car

Family ski

Alpe d’Huez has a reputation for being a family friendly resort and has been awarded Famille Plus status by the French ministry of Tourism in recognition of its excellent services and facilities for families with children. The resort offers plenty of family friendly accommodation, a lot of which is located at the top of the town near to the lifts and nursery slopes.

Alpe d’Huez offers a family lift pass which carries a 10% discount. There are also free lifts for children under 5yrs as well as beginner passes and pedestrian passes. In terms of ski school there are several available in resort offering both group and private lessons for all ages and abilities. The pistes of Alpe d’Huez are vast and varied with good nursery and beginner slopes as well as well as a network of greens and reds for the more advanced skiers.

If you are a family with non-skiers in the group, Alpe d’Huez has a good selection of activities available including the fantastic Palais des Sports complex which has an indoor swimming pool, squash & tennis courts, a gym, a climbing wall, mini-golf and ball-pit!

Group Ski

Alpe d’Huez is a popular resort for a group ski holiday. It is the perfect resort if you have a group with mixed abilities as it has a very varied ski area with good beginner slopes as well as a network of greens and blues and some challenged off-piste, so there really is something suitable for everyone!

Alpe d’Huez is nicknamed ‘Island of the sun’ as it receives an average of 300 days’ sunshine per year so it’s is perfect for those bluebird days and long sunny lunches. Alpe d’Huez is a top choice for groups who are after a little lively apres ski, thanks to the vibrant Folie Douce bar as well as a good mix of bars and clubs throughout the resort.

Childcare

For families travelling to resort and looking for childcare, there
are three options available. Families may choose to use a local crèche,
in-house childcare provided by the tour operator or a private nanny
service. It is recommended to book your childcare in advance especially
if you are travelling during school holidays in order to secure the care
you want and avoid any disappointment.

Crèche Facilities

Magic Marmotte Park is
centred around introducing young children to skiing for the first time
in a fun and sage environment. The club is open for 2-6 year olds and is
open for 2hrs between 10:00-12:00 for 5 days a week.

ESF offer childcare from the age of 2.

In-house childcare

In-house
childcare can often be the easiest and most convenient form of care.
Families prefer to book with a tour operator who offer a crèche with
English speaking staff and provide similar style care that they would
receive in the UK. The tour operators offer a range of childcare for all
ages and you can book as much or as little throughout the day as you
feel comfortable with. The operators run a structured day of activities
including ski school suitable for each age group.

Recommended operators who offer childcare in Alpe d’Huez:

Ski Espirit offer a range of childcare from 17 months and ski lessons from 3 years in their Chalet Hotel Mariandre

Club Med provides childcare and ski school for children from 4 years at L'Alpe d'Huez La Sarenne hotel.

Private nanny companies

My Travelling Nanny is a family run specialist holiday nanny agency who match families with the perfect Travelling Nanny for their holiday.

The Piste

Alpe d’Huez has almost 250km of piste to discover with 84 lifts connecting the 130 runs in resort.

Beginners

For beginner skiers, there are two main areas in the resort which are both easily accessible from the centre – Les Bergers and the lower slopes of the DMC area.

Les Bergers has two drag lifts and three chairlifts serving around 12 green and 7 blue pistes. The green pistes offer direct access to higher slopes via three stages of the Marmotte Bubble or by taking the Rif Nel Express or Romaine 6-main chair lift offering plenty of room for progression.

The second beginner area in the main resort is serviced by the DMC 1, the Jeux chairlift, 5 drag lifts and a magic carpet. These lifts provide access to 12 green pistes, a beginner snowpark and a sledging track. The top of the DMC 1 connects directly to the Bergers beginner area increasing the number of green and blue pistes available to you.

Both Oz en Oisans and Vaujany also have smaller beginner areas for those staying in this part of resort.

Intermediates

There is plenty of choice for intermediate skiers with long reds and blues across the resort. The resort is great for those skiers who like the feeling of going somewhere different each day, as they can ski to the likes of Oz and Vaujany on one side and Auris on the other.

Experts

Alpe d’Huez is home to the 16km Sarenne run which is the longest black run in the Alps so it a popular run for experts heading out to resort! For the even more adventurous, the Le Tunnel run is possible the hardest run in resort. The piste gets its name as it is accessed through a corridor in the rock and leads straight out onto an (often) icy mogul field. There are also several black pistes off the top of the Pic Blanc cable car.

Ski School

EasySki provide children and adults ski and snowboard group (max 10 persons per group) and private courses.

Masterclass is a British ski school offers private, group (max 6 people) and family lessons (max 10 persons)

Equipment Hire

There is a good selection of ski hire shops in Alpe d’Huez located near the lifts creating a seamless flow from collecting your equipment to getting to the slopes.

It is advisable to pre-book hire online in advance to cut down on hassle and save some money as the majority of places will offer online discounts. If there is a specific ski or boot that you are looking to try out, then you can call the shop in advance and see if they can reserve the item for you.

Recommended ski shops in Alpe d’Huez are:

Ski Set have been providing top of the range equipment in conveniently located stores for almost 20 years. They have a selection of conveniently located stores with an array of state of the art equipment to hire

Intersport have two stores in Les Bergers and one in L’Eclose. The provide ski and snowboard equipment to suit all abilities.

Skimium is located at the bottom of the runs by the DMC cable car to Pic Blanc. They provide a range of equipment and for greater comfort you may use the locked ski boxes or get your skis delivered to your chalet.

Sport 2000 have 8 stores across Alpe d’Huez providing the best ski equipment from all major brands.

Lift Passes

The Alpe d’Huez Grande Domaine pass covers the whole ski area. There are also separate passes available from Vaujany and Oz en Oisans which are small resorts on the periphery of Alpe d’Huez.

              Adult (13-64yrs)     Child (5-12yrs)    Senior (65-71yrs)
1 Day   €52.50                    €43                    €47
6 Days €267                   €211                   €215

The pass offers access to the whole domain and also includes admission to night skiing and night sledging from €20 per child and €25 per adults. A pass of 6-15 days also includes a free pass to the Sport Centre, outdoor pool, ice rink, gym, table tennis and mini golf. The pass also includes 2 days in Les 2 Alpes and a day in each of the Grande Galaxie resorts of Serre Chevalier, Puy Saint Vincent, Montegenevre, and Italian Milky Way. A 25% discount on a ski pass at La Grave is also included.

Under 5yrs and over 71ys ski for free. Proof of age is required.

Discounted prices are available for groups of 3 or more (Tribu). These passes are only available online and must be purchased at least 7 days in advance. Passes are only value when they are purchased for the same dates and duration in the same transaction. The price for a 6 day pass is €246.

Family passes are available for groups of at least two children aged 5-22 years and a maximum of two adults. Passes must be purchased online at least 7 days in advance and are only valid when purchased for the same dates and duration. A 6 day family pass for 2 adults and 2 children is €844.

Beginners can ski for free on the Rif Nel, Ecoles 2 drag lifts and the Grenouilles magic carpet, however you will need a hands-free pass. The beginner pass gives you additional access to the Grand Rif Nel and Eclose 1 drag lifts costing €22.50 for 6 days. These passes are only available to buy from the Ski Pass Offices and not online.

You can buy your lift pass online in advance or at one of the lift pass offices in resort located at L’Eclose, Les Bergers, Oz-Vaujany, Rond Point des Pistes and Telecentre. Alternatively, you can pre book your lift pass through the tour operator who will deliver it you chalet for when you arrive. This is generally the easiest and most convenient method of doing it as you don’t have to worry about the hassle of going to pick it up or buying it out in resort and can get out on the slopes on your first day.