Quiet slopes in peak season
Never heard of Montgenèvre? Until recently, neither had we.
Here’s the lowdown: 100km from Turin on the French-Italian border you’ll find the village of Montgenèvre itself (France), plus the neighbouring smaller settlement of Claviere (Italy). Together they make up the Monts de la Lune ski area, totalling about 120km of linked ski runs. Adventurous types looking to clock up even more miles can also head over to Italy’s nearby Milky Way ski area (400km of piste across Sestriere, Sauze d’Oulx and others). Whilst Montgenèvre is a purpose built ski resort, it was established back in 1907, so think (mostly) cute low-rise traditional buildings rather than brutalist apartment blocks. The lowest parts of the resort sit at around 1800m, so snow cover is generally good.
Exploring the freeride zonePhoto: Alex Rawcliffe
We visited Montgenèvre during February half-term - having spent a few years hitting some of the big French resorts, we wanted to try something a bit less mainstream. We love making rail travel part of our ski trips, and Montgenèvre was no exception... Since you’re reading this on SnowCarbon, hopefully you’ll excuse me talking about trains for a moment...
All UK/Montgenèvre rail journeys require a change of station once your Eurostar arrives in Paris. We used the city’s RER train system to do this, and a top tip is that you can buy RER tickets on Eurostar and TGV trains before you arrive! The RER is fast and cheap, but can be a bit of an adventure with ski luggage, SnowCarbon has a great article on crossing Paris by RER here.
Onward train links to Montgenèvre are very straightforward, with a choice between two options: either a direct daytime TGV from Paris Gare de Lyon through to Oulx; or an overnight sleeper service between Paris and Briançon. Both of these routes involve a short road transfer up to Montgenèvre - there are buses and private taxis - of about 30-40 minutes. We picked the daytime route (full disclosure, we did experience some disruption this season because of a landslip between near the Frejus tunnel, but SNCF assure us everything should be business as usual next season).
Right, time to click into those skis, folks! Montgenèvre sits on a mountain pass with pistes rising up from either side of the town. The area packs a lot in, with everything from beautiful tree-lined valley runs to stunning vistas at the top of Le Chalvet (2360m). Much of the skiing is geared towards beginners and intermediates, so if you’re looking for nail-biting black runs you might find Montgenèvre a bit on the tame side. That said, it’s a great resort for families and mixed- ability groups to progress. Those who are looking for something more advanced will find some great off-piste terrain, and we particularly enjoyed the resort’s freeride zone (a real treat when a dump of fresh powder arrived towards the end of our trip - take the Observatoire chair).
The view from our apartmentPhoto: Alex Rawcliffe
We were really surprised at how quiet the slopes were during peak season: not being top of most Brits’ wish lists, a fair distance from any large French city, and the fact that Italy doesn’t ‘do’ February half term, all work in your favour here. Sure, not every lift is a state-of-the-art high- speed chair, but the lack of queues more than makes up for this.
Keen to get the most from our ski pass, we spent a day over in Italy exploring the “linked” Milky Way ski area. Whilst it’s nice to have this as an option, in reality the link is rather contrived - think skis off, two downhill chairs, crossing a road, followed by further uplift on the Italian-side - we only did it once. But wait! There’s more on offer... Many Montgenèvre lift passes include free ski days in partner resorts, the nearest of these being Serre Chevalier. We gave this a go mid-week: a direct bus from the centre of Montgenèvre to Briançon takes about forty minutes. From there, it’s a short walk to the Prorel gondola station - show your Montgenèvre lift pass paperwork and enjoy a whole new ski area. Happy days!
Just before I bring this story to a close, here’s a few thoughts on the town and accommodation options. We stayed in the MMV Le Hameau Des Airelles apartments, and found this compared well to residences we’ve stayed in elsewhere. Being a ‘proper town’ Montgenèvre has a wide range of accommodation options at various price points and the resort is compact enough that nowhere is more than about ten minutes from slopes, shops and apres venues. On the latter, if you’re coming to party hard, then Montgenèvre definitely isn’t the place for you: the town has a super family-friendly vibe and is sprinkled with pleasant bars and cafes (we found Le Graal Café a great centrally located stop-off at the end of the day). No Folie Douce here, folks! In general, we found that pricing in Montgenèvre - accommodation, food and lift passes are that little bit cheaper...
If you’re on the fence, my advice would be to give the place a go - you’ll find a real hidden gem, with the some great skiing, a super cute town and a really relaxed atmosphere! We’ve already booked ourselves in for next season... See you on the slopes?