La Clusaz is a resort you want to return to time and again. It's a perfectly charming, quintessentially French authentic mountain village that has simply refused to be ravaged by the march of time - and yet has a fun, cool vibe without being pretentious or showy.
Never mind the fact that, in this age of huge ski networks, it doesn't possess the largest, this is a resort with which most visitors fall in love – including us, it's one of our favourites. It commands great loyalty among both skiers and boarders, many of whom consider a winter incomplete without a visit here.
In fact, its five interlinked sectors, though compact, provide an impressive range of skiing for everyone, including some excellent off-piste. And the number and quality of its mountain restaurants and the buzz of the compact village is a good reason in itself to ski here.
Highlights
- A traditional village that oozes Gallic charm
- One of the most accessible of all French ski villages
- Good range of skiing, with something for everyone
- Because most of the slopes are pastureland in the summer, not much snow is needed to make them skiable
- Excellent mountain huts, and plenty to choose from
- Wide choice of very good restaurants in town
Lowlights
- Can get crowded at weekends because of day-trippers (the price for being so conveniently close to Geneva)
- Not the most reliable of snow, because of its relatively low altitude. But much has been invested in snowmaking equipment to alleviate this
- Not a huge number of really tough pistes (but a lot of off-piste to make up for that)
