The Location: Les Gets is a lovely village, with its friendly atmosphere, lack of mainstream tour operators, traditional alpine ambience, and best of all slopes that start and finish right in the centre of the village. A good selection of cafes and restaurants by the side of the slopes in the village and up the mountain make this an ideal resort for all.Skiing for all abilities. Prices are reasonable and broadly equivalent to home. It would be difficult to beat the location of our chalets for skiers and non skiers alike. Close to the main Chavannes pistes, the lifts into the whole Portes du Soleil and ski school meeting place. For non skiers it is an easy walk to the village centre, then take the telecabine up to the top of the Chavannes where skiers and non-skiers can meet up at the mountain restaurants. A British run crèche is close by in the village as well as a British ski instructor/ guide and the British Alpine Ski school.
Transfer time from Geneva airport is approx 1 hour.
Les Gets and Non Skiing Activities: Les Gets is a traditional, friendly village favoured by French families and those British and Dutch who are 'in the know'. There are about 100 shops, a fitness and beauty centre and a weekly traditional market. The ski slopes start and finish in the centre of the village, so that non skiers are not excluded from the fun as they are in many resorts. It's nice to see grandparents pulling toddlers around the bottom of the slopes on sledges or sipping coffee at the piste side cafes. Skiers and non skiers can meet up for lunch at the restaurants at the top of the Chavannes, where you can take advantage of the above average sun record. Cross-country ski along the prepared tracks or go on snowshoe walks. You can even try your hand at driving teams of huskies. The smallish outdoor skating rink is a particular favourite with children and the bowling alley is popular with all ages.
Travel: Fly to Geneva (1hr transfer), from Liverpool, Luton, East Midlands and Gatwick with Easyjet and from Southampton with Fly Be. Flights also now from Birmingham with BMI Baby, Cardiff and Southampton. Flights are operating this year from Teeside. Alternatively, if you are coming from Scotland consider changing at Amsterdam. Transfer time from Geneva is 1 hr,from Lyon is about 2 hours, and 2.5 hrs from St Etienne. (Ryanair) Buzz also has flights to Chambery. British Airways and Swiss fly to Geneva and Lyon, and there are charter flights in season from Exeter, Cardiff and Bristol. Transfers can be arranged. Motoring from the Channel ports, predominantly on the auto-route, takes about 8/10 hours. The drive from Caen takes about the same time. The TGV train and direct snow trains from UK stop at Cluses.
Ski:
Les Gets is part of the huge Portes du Soleil ski area, with 650kms of inter-linked piste. The area is good for beginners and experts and the wide cruising red runs are a delight for intermediates. The series of marked routes around the ski circus is a nice touch. Major improvements to the lift system took place last year and more are due 2003/4. There are a number of good ski/board schools, including those specialising in teaching children. We can arrange qualified ski guiding. Les Gets is on the snowline and so has a better record than its height might suggest. In addition, the grassy slopes hold the snow well, so that it only needs about 4' to make it skiable.
Other Activities:
walking, children's activities
