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Skiing/Wintersports
Ski Holiday in France: France is home of the most extensive skiing found anywhere in the world and is known for its variety of ski and wintersports. Highlights range from the Mont Blanc- the highest mountain in the Alps to the wide open spaces and dramatic skiing that is famous in the Trois Vallées region, the Portes du Soleil region (shared with Switzerland) and the Espace Killy region of Val d’Isère and Tignes. If you feel adventurous there are some more unusual wintersports that can be tried such as snakegliss sledging in Val d'Isere, driving a Porsche on an ice piste in Alpe d’Hue or ski joer – the art of being pulled along the flat on skis by a horse at around 60km/h in Courchevel. If you look for a ski holiday, france is the place! |
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Skiing Auvergne
The best known resort in the Sancy range is Super Besse, which has some 45km of south facing slopes, comprising 27 runs: 7 green, 6 blue, 11 red and 3 black.There is a link to the north facing resort of Le Mont Dore and lift passes may be purchased for individual resorts or the whole area. |
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Winter Sports in Franche-Comté
The Solid mass of the Jura offers great winter sports with more than 3500 km of marked out ski slopes. The Great Crossings of the Jura in the winter season is an exceptional ski slope that is continuous for more than 200km.
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Skiing in Lorraine
When Lorraine turns white, its name becomes synonymous with the Vosges Mountains. This is a convivial mountain range, on a scale that could scarcely be more human-friendly with every type of “sliding and gliding” sport available. |
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Winter Sports in Provence/Cote D'Azur
The Southern Alps has all the conditions required to satisfy the full range of snow lovers, irrespective of whether they wish to ski on or off slopes, whether they are fans of snowboarding or skating, whether they hike or snowshoe, and whether they are starting out or experienced campaigners. |
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Natural Skating Rinks in Franche-Comté
The regions large lakes become remarkable skating rinks in winter. The principal sites are the lake Saint-Point in Doubs, the lake of Russet-red or that of Combe.
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Cross Country Skiing in Rhône-Alpes
The region’s range of winter sports is further complemented by other resorts in the south of the Jura, the Vercors, the Chartreuse, the Monts du Forez, the Drôme, the Isère and the Ain, which are more adapted to activities such as cross-country skiing and snow-shoes. |
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Rhône-Alpes – The Largest Ski Area in the World
The Rhone Alpes, with its 180 ski resorts and 18 linked ski areas, boasts the largest ski area in the world. Every winter millions of holidaymakers are drawn to its slopes, and in the summer its mountains become a magnet for enthusiasts of sports such as mountain climbing, rock climbing, glacier hiking and paragliding. |
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Bobsleigh Run in Rhône-Alpes
One of the most trilling and unique experiences in France awaits you in Rhone-Alpes. Known as the most technical piste in the world, the run is really frightening as you reach speeds of 90km/h to over 100km/h. This isn’t just for adults as families can go in four-man bobsleighs.
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Winter Sports in Corsica
Why not come and enjoy a snow weekend in Corsica? Discover the exhilaration of being out in the heart of nature. Families will enjoy cross country skiing on the Cuscione Plateau and alpine skiing and surf skiing at Ghisoni, Bastelica and Vergio, with superb snow-shoe walks on the peaks and the veritable sporting adventure of the Haute Route à Ski (a long ski route). |
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Winter Sports in Alsace
The Vosges range offers winter sports lovers a huge choice of sporting possibilities including downhill skiing, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, sledding, dog sleigh rides and biathlon.
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Winter Sports in Midi-Pyrénées
Traditionally a paradise for all sorts of skiers, the Midi-Pyrénées has a whole range of snow sports for the enthusiast: downhill skiing, cross country skiing, sledging, and snowboarding. Dozens of skiing resorts and the hundreds of tracks are scattered over four departments of the Hautes-Pyrénées, the Ariège, the Haute-Garonne and the Aveyron.
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Chamonix - A voyage through the Mont-Blanc range
Chamonix has been welcoming travellers and adventurers for over two and a half centuries and can be truly described as an outdoor enthusiast's paradise. The mountain scenery surpasses one's wildest expectations and the Mont-Blanc, jewel in the crown, thrones silently over the Chamonix valley.
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Winter Sports in Savoie Mont Blanc
With more than 100 ski resorts spread out in 11 massifs, 15 connected ski areas (Espace Killy, Portes du Soleil, Grand Massif, Les 3 Vallées…), up to 650km of slopes for one single ski domain, Savoie Mont Blanc is the largest ski area in the world. You can even hop across borders and see another country! (Italy and Switzerland). |
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Not to be missed in Languedoc-Roussillon
The Mediterranean on one side, the eastern Pyrenees to the south and Lozère to the north, Languedoc-Roussillon takes pleasure in the contrats if its stepped relief. |
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Not to be missed in Paris
Some cities call to mind lovers, others architecture, yet others an intellectual, cultural or appealing popular atmosphere. Paris has all these faces, plus lots more to discover depending on your particular interest. |
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Not to be missed in Franche-Comté
This is a region with distinct faces. In the north, the valleys of the Haute-Saône which, from the Grays region to the Saône Vosges, passing through Vesoul, back onto the region of Belfort. Châteaux and churches give added attraction to its towns and villages, and a great many museums house specimens showing the traditional craftmanship related to wood, but also to clock making. |
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Not to be missed in Poitou-Charentes
The dispute between Ancient and Modern is not on the agenda in this region where the vestiges of the past are keyed neatly into an openness to the future. |
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Not to be missed in Auvergne
If it were possible, the best way to travel in this region would be on the back of a donkey, just as the writer Stevenson did. It is indeed probably the pleasantest way to see this land of volcanoes, fashioned by their eruptions. Inactive for centuries, they gave birth to a strange and majestic landscape. |
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Not to be missed in Brittany
A land of seafaring people, and the aspect that makes Brittany the daughter of Neptune. Its thousands of kilometres of coastline, from Cancale to Saint-Nazaire, give it a prodigiously varied relief, with the strange rocks of the Pink Granite coast and the idyllic beaches of the Morbihan following on from one another. |
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Lille in Nord-Pas-de-Calais
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Not to be missed in the French Riviera
It is the blue of the south that defines this land. Its climate is so mild, its nature so filled with flowers that thousands of years after the Romans, English aristocrats, fed up with the greyness, fell in love with it. Since then, the Côte d'Azur has been entirely given over to summer pleasures. |
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Not to be missed in Nord-Pas-de-Calais
Traditionally an industrial region, it has now turned to tourism, a natural choice in a landscape where forests predominate, and where the Opal Coast has a host of beaches dedicated to surfing, wind-surfing, water-skiing, and more. |
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Not to be missed in Lorraine
Bordered by the three countries, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany, Lorraine is a strategic region which today exudes a peaceful charm. There is no shortage of reasons to explore it. For lovers of architecture and the arts, Mirecourt, Bar-le-Duc and Epinal possess many wonders. Enthusiasts for footpaths, will find routes dotted with lakes, forests and green valleys in the Lorraine Regional Park. Another excellent reason to come is for its springs and to stay in one of the well-known spa establishments in Contrexéville or Vittel, where the gastronomy is not to be outdone. |
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Not to be missed in Midi-Pyrénées
Few regions offer such a variety of landscapes, climates and architecture. This is because the region is huge, it runs from Aveyron to Gers and from Ariège to the edges of the Dordogne. |
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Not to be missed in Burgundy
From the vineyards of Chablis to those of the Mâconnais passing through the Côte de Beaune and Côtes de Nuits, from the luminous Loire Valley to the opulent Bresse region passing through the mysterious forests of the Morvan, Burgundy is beautiful in its natural state and in every season. |
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Not to be missed in the Loire (centre)
It is western Europe's last wild river, over 1,000 km long, that shapes the region : The Loire. On its banks the aristocracy built châteaux that are among the jewels of French architecture. Amboise, Chambord, Blois, Azay-le-Rideau are all extraordinary. |
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Not to be missed in Limousin
Nature lovers who like to punctuate their walks with seeing the old craft traditions develop an immediate attachment to this region. Green woods and forests, it is also criss-crossed by water, the Creuse, Vienne and Dordogne rivers... |
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Not to be missed in Normandy
Combining in the same land the pleasures of an extraordinary coastline and those of a green and blossoming countryside, Normandy is a very fortunate region. |
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Not to be missed in Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur
Everything in this region sings, even the wind, when it is called the Mistral or the Tramontana. The great poets were able to convey its music, and painters from Cézanne to Picasso, captured its light. Provence is magical, it smells wonderfully of olive oil, lavender and thyme. |
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Not to be missed in Ile-de-France
Around Paris, Ile-de-France offers the joys of discovering both nature and culture. With 9 royal towns, 400 listed gardens and châteaux including 24 masterpieces of landscape art, medieval villages or Cistercian abbeys, the Ile-de-France region boasts a unique and fascinating heritage. |
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Not to be missed in Alsace
Very long and narrow and backing onto the Rhine, Alsace has seen its borders moved on many occasions. The ups and downs of history have caused it to hang on to a very strong regional tradition. This can be seen in its language, its folk traditions and its cuisine. Its countryside beckons the walker, with its hillsides streaked with vineyards in the Munster valley and the flower-decked valleys of the Florival.
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Not to be missed in Aquitaine
If you had to define this land by one word, il would be 'generous'. A generosity that can be seen in its variety of landscapes with hills, valleys, sandy moors and a coast that is almost wild. The Bordeaux vineyards, the Basque Country, the plateaux of Périgord... |
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Not to be missed in Rhône-Alpes
A great river and a chain of mountains give the region its name and create the pattern of life here. The Alps crowned by Mont Blanc provide a skiing area that is unique in the world. Hiking enthusiasts are becoming increasingly numerous in the summertime, walking the waymarked trails through the region's nature parks (La Vanoise, Les Ecrins, Les Bauges), and around the lakes (Lake Geneva, Annecy, Le Bourget). Nearer the Rhône, the Ardèche gorges are a paradise for canoeing. |
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Not to be missed in the Loire (western)
A land of water traversed by the Loire, the region is bathed in the north by the spray of the Atlantic Ocean. While Saint-Nazaire is an important merchant navy port, Nantes is the regional capital, and Saumur, Le Mans and Angers offer visitors a cultural heritage dominated by Gothic art and the Renaissance. |
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Not to be missed in Corsica
Mountains in the sea, pierced with torrents, Corsica, an island of rare beauty, has the full spectrum of landscapes. Dry in the south, it makes up for it with long beaches of white sand, where lazing around can be enhanced by sightseeing tours. |
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Not to be missed in Picardy
With its exceptionally rich architectural heritage, this province is a preserve of Gothic art. Famous for its cathedrals, it offers the discerning an opportunity to explore its towns and their medieval wonders. |
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Not to be missed in Champagne-Ardenne
The fruit of its vineyards is so famous that the first thing you think of in this region is a glass of champagne. You can of course begin the journey underground and visit the wine cellars. Reims, its magnificient cathedral or its museum of fine arts, should not make you forget the 'vine-growers' villages spread around the region. There is also the Ardennes with its wild forests, populated by roe deer and hares. |
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Hot Air Ballooning
Floating through the air in a hot air balloon is the perfect way to take in the scenery of the region. If you have a head for heights there is no more relaxing way to see the Burgundian countryside. |
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| News |
What's happening in France? |
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| 26/08/2008 Go Grand For a Massif French Ski Holiday |
Overlooked in the past in favour of more popular holiday spots such as Provence and Brittany, the rugged interior of France’s Grand Massif holds much appeal for tourists, whatever time of year you visit.
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| 22/12/2008 Portrayal of France in the travel sections of this weekend's national newspapers |
Ski, ski and more ski. Huge snowfalls in the Alps and Pyrenees mean ski conditions in France are the best for many, many years
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| 05/01/2009 Summary of the 'travel' sections in this weekends newspapers |
Summer holiday previews, detoxing, healthy eating, financial know how and lots of skiing
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| 05/03/2009 Affordable France - composite press releases Feb09 |
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| 13/10/2009 Summary of the weekend travel sections, 10th&11th October |
How to ski through the downturn, all the latest ski develoments, cider, film locations, Lyon, Ile de Re and a planned theme park holiday that wasn't quite as expected.
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| Andros Trophy Final |
| From December to January |
Serre Chevalier
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| A great chance to see a truly unique style of motor racing in the closing challenge in the Ice-racing Winter Motor Circuit. |
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| Festival des Vieilles Charrues |
| July (annual) |
Kerampuilh Fields, Carhaix
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| For ten years, the Festival de Vieilles Charrues has been welcoming rock, blues, reggae and global sounds to the fields of Kerampuilh near the town of Carhaix in Brittany. With both local and… |
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| Skiing at Isola 2000 |
| January - April (annual) |
Isola
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| Set within the Parc National du Mercantour, the Isola 2000 ski resort is less than two hours' drive from Nice and the coast, and offers snowboarding and cross-country skiing on beautifully maintained slopes for all ages and abilities. |
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| La Fête des Amoureux |
| 14 February |
St-Valentin, Indre
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This Valentine's Day, take your loved one to the only French Village named after the saint himself. Each year the village of St-Valentin, in central France, celebrates romance with a festival of feasting and flowers. |
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| Poisson d'Avril |
| 1 April |
Nationwide
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| If you are in France on April Fool's Day make sure to watch your back - it 's tradition to stick paper fish (note- not the real thing!) on the backs of unsuspecting people, whether friends, family or even passers-by. |
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Newsletter
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Sign up to our newsletter for latest news, offers and deals
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| Offers |
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Up to 15% Off Half Term Skiing with Peak Retreats
Offer covers selected resorts and accommodation. Book with award-winning French Alps specialist.
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Ski appartments - 5% ALL DATES - introductory offer
Ski apartments in variety of resorts. Save 5% ALL dates (incl Feb half term and Xmas), all resorts.
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More Offers
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| Holiday Options |
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Accommodation
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Luxury self catering chalets in France
Ski chalets in France, luxury quality, walk to the slopes and lifts. Top resorts, Alp d'Huez, Les Deux Alps, Chamonix, Les Houches, La Plagne, Tignes, Val d'Isere and Meribel.
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Ski Holidays with French Connections
Skiing in the French Alps. Find Holiday Accommodation Now!
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Family Ski Company
The Ski Company designed with the Family in mind.
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Stanford Skiing-The Megeve Specialists - Chalets, Hotels, Self-catering.
Stanford specialises in Megeve-an enchanting town and one of the largest ski areas in France.
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Luxury Montagnettes Apartments La Plagne from Ski Lagrange
Luxury apts Belle Plagne max. 100m from slopes, large apts and chalets, spa, sauna and whirpool.
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Ski the Edge
Ski the Edge: Official booking agent for the ski & snowboard packages of the French Youth Hostels.
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