Travel Cloud

Les Gets, French Alps

If you are considering a family ski holiday in France this season look no further than Les Gets in the French Alps.  Situated near the French/Swiss border, Les Gets is one of the 12 resorts that make up the Portes du Soleil ski area. The great thing about this area is that it offers one of the shortest transfers from Geneva at around an hour so you can catch a morning flight from the UK or within Europe and be on the slopes by lunchtime.

From Les Gets it takes about 50 minutes to ski to the French purpose-built resort of Avoriaz then it’s a short distance to the Swiss border. It’s possible to ski the extensive circular tour, which you can do in either direction, travelling through both French and Swiss resorts.

On the other side of Les Gets is Mont Chery. This ski area, reached by gondola, has a variety of skiing, and spectacular views. At top is the La Grand Ourse, a highly rated restaurant run by an English family with 180-degree views of the Mont Blanc Massif. Les Gets itself is a small traditional, village, with cosy chalet-style restaurants and accommodation. There’s not much nightlife but it’s very popular with families.

Ski lessons are available for children from 3 years of age and a nursery day care centre takes in babies from 6 months to 4 yrs.  A snow park, sled dog rides, sled horse rides and a sledging track are some of the family activities on offer.

A recent holiday itinerary created for a client who in three weeks flew to Ottawa, New York, Ireland and France, incorporated a week at Les Gets.  My client, a young mum from Melbourne with two small children aged 5 and 2  flew from Ireland to Geneva and the transfer vehicle delivered her to Chalet La Rocade Chalet-LesGets.com This unique accommodation offers three levels of apartment accommodation at ranging from two bedrooms to five. What worked very well for my client is that breakfast and dinner were catered for in the communal dining room. She was able to relax and enjoy all the village had to offer.  Rowena writes :-

“Les Gets in France was AMAZING and I simply cannot speak highly enough of the place.  Geneva airport is crazy and filled with a million sets of stairs which is maddening when travelling with children, but we managed.  The accommodation was FANTASTIC and our whole experience was overwhelmingly positive.  We were met at the airport, provided with all the assistance one could wish for when travelling with small children and a bucket load of luggage, and bundled into their car which was happily parked very close.  The driver, Dave was lovely and happy to play tour guide.  A beautiful drive and an easy one up to Les Gets.  The chalet was absolutely beautiful.  I’m not sure what I was expecting but it was really lovely. Simply but elegantly furnished with everything we could possibly need, including plenty of storage.  It wasn't huge but it didn't feel small.  The food was astonishingly good and the well stocked bar fridge was an absolute favourite.

The bus stop into the village was right outside the front door and there was a mini supermarket about 100 metres up the road.  It was about 10 minutes into the village by bus but this never felt like a hardship because the buses run regularly and they’re free.  The village really is aimed towards families so there was none of the drunken loutish behaviour one generally associates with the skiing crowd (or more particularly the après-ski crowd).  It was simply wonderful and I am incredibly cross that we live so far away because I would visit every weekend. 

I cannot thank you enough for your assistance.  The logistics of it all overwhelm me and if I think too hard of what we accomplished – ten flights in that short space of time – my head hurts.  I am incredibly proud of my boys, and the whole experience has proved to me, beyond a doubt, how well we function as a family.  Which was a very important lesson for me to learn.”

Linda Wells from Globetrotter Lifestyle travel company based in Nedlands, Perth, Western Australia www.globetrotter.com.au coordinated all the flight, car and accommodation bookings for Rowena.