The Skiers' Guide to Avoriaz

Avoriaz is generally known for being one of the snowiest places in France (hello, powder days) and for being a great choice of resort for beginners through to experts. Sitting at 1800m up in the heart of the Portes du Soleil ski area, Avoriaz is a commune and resort based only a short distance up the mountain from nearby Morzine. A popular resort mostly developed during the sixties, Avoriaz is 100% pedestrianised (cars are parked in underground and open-air car parks nearby) and all accommodation is classed as ski-in ski-out, making it a great choice for a relaxed, effortless break.

Known as a ‘fun’ resort, Avoriaz boasts several snowparks and slope features and hosts the annual music festival Snowboxx, which usually takes place during March. It was also the location for that viral Red Bull FMX stunt where Tom Pagès went full-send off a cliff and completed a double front flip on his bike before freefalling at 150km/h and landing with a parachute.

Thanks to its mid-century, purpose-built construction, the architecture here is not the quaint, historic type with wood and stone but it is enchanting in its way, with angular wood-clad buildings rising in succession from the mountainside. In fact, the buildings of Avoriaz were actually awarded a ‘20th Century Heritage’ label from France Montagnes thanks to their car-free, rockface-inspired status. Early winter sunsets here are stunning thanks to the south-facing plateau on which the resort sits, looking down the valley towards Morzine. Ultimately, Avoriaz is a fantastic all-rounder with plenty to do for all levels of skiers and snowboarders with a convenient transfer time of under two hours from Geneva.

The Portes du Soleil links 12 French and Swiss ski resorts resulting in 600km of slopes suitable for all levels. The local mountain alone offers 35 ski lifts, 51 slopes, 4 snowparks and 4 ungroomed, freeride slopes, making it a diverse playground for all riders. The top elevation you can reach is a modest (but relatively snow-sure) 2260m.

For tentative beginners, the Proclou green slope in the Falaise sector is a wide, cruisey run with a fun area installed down one side, making it perfect for families with little ones too. Other mellow areas include the two drag-lift pistes in the centre of the resort and the blue pistes of Proclou, Seraussaix, Qu’mont and Gernues.

Advanced riders will love to take on the famed Swiss Wall, or Pas de Chavanette run. This white-knuckle ride takes you to the Swiss border and begins with a top section with a gradient of around 38º, hiding the rest of the slope and seriously testing your nerve. You’re not off the hook once you’ve tackled the initial drop either, as you’ll have to continue riding out churned-up, mogul terrain for the following kilometre. A technical, skilled skier's dream.

In terms of off-piste, there are a few snowcross zones and plenty of other areas to enjoy. The most popular backcountry lines can be found above the Canyon du Pschott Snowzone. This is a large un-pisted area characterised by multiple canyons, natural half pipes, cliff drops and kickers. It is one of the best areas to head for after a big dump of snow as the variety of terrain is immense and, despite it sitting right in front of everyone on the lift, does take some time during the day to become tracked out.

Avoriaz offers a range of restaurants on the mountain that will usually offer a reasonably priced plat du jour as well as some more casual self-service or takeaway options. In the resort centre itself, there’s a whole host of cafes, bakeries, restaurants, pizzerias and even takeaways with delivery options that will bring the goods to your door. These are based all over the resort however you’ll find a lot of them on the ‘main street’ where the tourist office. Snomad community favourites include La Cachette, which is located in the Galerie Marchande and serves all kinds of local specialties, and Les Fontaines Blanches, based opposite the tourist office with a large sunny terrace and a menu that includes everything from steak tartare to pizza.

While it’s not a thumping party town, Avoriaz definitely holds its own when it comes to après ski. It’s home to one of the fabled Folie Douce venues, which often kicks off the party. Conveniently, the Folie here is also based near the centre of resort which is unusual, as most venues across France are at least one lift ride away from base. You can continue the sundown celebrations at Le Yeti, Igloo Bar and Les Trappeurs, which all offer large terrace spaces for dancing and drinking. For après after the après, Le Shooters continues the party until about 2 am, while Le Yak goes even later than that.

Avoriaz is a great place to learn to ski, with an ESF school as well as an abundance of amazing private instructors - be sure to book private ski lessons in Avoriaz on Maison Sport here. Avoriaz also offers plenty of features on the piste for mini shredders - the resort is incredibly family-friendly and has an enchanted forest for little ones to discover, with magical wooden treehouses to explore and a self-service barbeque picnic area complete with a beastly snowboarding mascot called Shreddie who often rips around to say hi.

Other activities which are great for both families and non-skiers include the tropical swimming pool oasis called Aquariaz (obviously) which features lush leafy plants set around 30-degree swimming pools and jacuzzis - there’s even an underwater escape game.

Alternatively, you can try your hand at dog sledding, snowmobiling, ski-joëring, E-biking, ice climbing, ice diving in Montrioned lake, snow-karting and even ziplining down in Châtel (1 hour away.)

Sitting pretty atop a mountain plateau, the majority of accommodation in Avoriaz is the usual French standard of small ski apartment that was clearly designed with minimal time indoors in mind. You can’t go wrong location-wise thanks to the ski-in ski-out nature of everything, and there’s something to suit all budgets. Most of the getting around can be done on foot, or via the horse-drawn sleighs - daytime taxis are provided by the 20 sleigh drivers and their fleet of 100 horses, who are, we’re assured, well-looked after and taken out of rotation for a rest every two hours.

If it’s a more luxurious experience you’re after, the hotels MiL8 and Hotel des Dromonts come well recommended or there’s a selection of the usual operators offering catered chalet experiences.

Along with the obvious car-free status and small size of the resort itself contributing to the environmental efforts, Avoriaz has also implemented strict architectural development rules, protected environmental areas, waste sorting guidelines, electric snowmobiles and reduced consumption for their Aquariaz attraction during its quiet season.

Pros

• Diverse ski area with access to 12 resorts on the French/Swiss border
• Pedestrianised resort
• Plenty to do for families & non-skiers
• Transfer time of under 2 hours from Geneva

Cons

• Queues & bottlenecks during peak weeks