Auvergne - Massif Central Ski Resorts
Auvergne - Massif Central Ski Area
The Auvergne remains one of France's best kept secret winter-holiday destinations, offering a wide variety of winter sports.
The volcanic region in the centre of France is a national park of 80 craters and glacial lakes. Its beautiful in summer and its dramatic landscape becomes a skiers paradise during the winter when covered in snow. It’s ideal for downhill skiing or cross-country skis.
In marked contrast to the Alps, the queues to take the ‘téléphérique’ up to the Auvergne’s pistes are minimal, while a day’s ski pass will be considerably cheaper. Charming accommodation available at reasonable prices for hotels, bed and breakfasts, chalets or gites.
The Auvergne region has excellent TGV fast trains from Paris to Clermont-Ferrand.
The volcanic Auvergne region, in the centre of France, is a couple of hundred miles from the glamorous resorts of the Alps, but it actually feels a million miles away. It is without the luxury chalets or hotels, nor a single fashionable après-ski bar or club. But the Auvergne is one of France’s secret winter holiday destinations, offering a variety of quirky winter sports.
In marked contrast to the Alps, the queues to take the ‘téléphérique’ up to the Auvergne’s pistes are minimal, while a day’s ski pass costs between €20 and €25. Charming bed and breakfasts are springing up – a double room costing not much more than €60.
The Auvergne is a national park of 80 craters and glacial lakes. Beautiful in summer, the dramatic landscape becomes nature’s gift to skiers when it is covered in snow. It’s ideal for exploring on cross-country skis or snowshoes. There are more than enough slopes to keep downhill skiers happy. And two of the Auvergne’s main resorts are on a railway line that links to Clermont-Ferrand for fast TGV connections to Paris, so the area is handy for carbon-conscious travellers arriving by Eurostar.
Originally built on the site of ancient Roman baths, the spa town of Le Mont-Dore is one of the oldest ski resorts in France, sitting at the foot of the 1,886m Puy de Sancy.
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