Why a French ski resort can also make a refreshing summer escape

By Staff reporter
Published 2nd Aug 2023, 08:30 GMT
Updated 2nd Aug 2023, 08:55 GMT
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Our winter family holiday traditionally involves a trip to France with snow, mountains and skiing in mind.

But having decided to give it a miss last winter, due to the poor conditions in many of the lower resorts in France, we’re heading to top ski resort Val d’Isère in summer, for a different perspective.

Three hours from Geneva Airport, we arrive at the Val d’Isère Club Med resort in the Tarentaise Valley of the French Alps, a ski haven known for its fabulous slopes – which is snow sure in winter, because of its high altitude at 1850m. But in July, it also has plenty to entertain all generations, in a vast area as far removed from the often crowded beaches of southern Europe as you can get.placeholder image
Three hours from Geneva Airport, we arrive at the Val d’Isère Club Med resort in the Tarentaise Valley of the French Alps, a ski haven known for its fabulous slopes – which is snow sure in winter, because of its high altitude at 1850m. But in July, it also has plenty to entertain all generations, in a vast area as far removed from the often crowded beaches of southern Europe as you can get.

The resort, which had a £50 million revamp for its 50th anniversary last year to become Club Med’s first and only Exclusive Collection Resort in the French Alps, has opened its doors to visitors in summer for the first time this year.

It’s a short summer season here – July to the beginning of September – but there are offers to be had towards the end of the season, and all-inclusive is a good bet in this increasingly expensive region.

Club Med Val d’Isère offers a range of guided hikes and biking tours, along with a guided e-biking session as part of its all-inclusive package, activities which could make a huge dent in any budget if booked independently.placeholder image
Club Med Val d’Isère offers a range of guided hikes and biking tours, along with a guided e-biking session as part of its all-inclusive package, activities which could make a huge dent in any budget if booked independently.

“There’s been a big push for summer in the mountains for years, but it’s never really taken off with the British market, because the Brits prefer to go to a beach, it’s as simple as that,” says James Cove, editor of specialist news and information website PlanetSKI.

Initially, it feels weird to be exploring a region famed for its skiing, as we pass stationary chair lifts and closed ski information kiosks enveloped by green pastures, although some gondolas are still working, taking hikers and adrenaline-seeking mountain bikers to the summit for a better view.

And the Tarentaise Valley offers breathtaking scenery in summer, as visitors pass through pine-strewn woodlands, wildflower trails and jagged granite rock formations, gushing waterfalls and the fast-flowing River Isère in the Vanoise National Park.

Like the piste gradings during the ski season, the hiking and biking in summer is also graded from green (easy), through blue and red to black (toughest).

We take a ‘blue’ hike for the first day with our ESF guide Michel, a manageable trail (guests are given ski poles to use as walking sticks) to the pretty village of Le Fornet and its impressive waterfall.placeholder image
We take a ‘blue’ hike for the first day with our ESF guide Michel, a manageable trail (guests are given ski poles to use as walking sticks) to the pretty village of Le Fornet and its impressive waterfall.

He regales us with tales of the history of avalanches, historic plague and how local villages dealt with it, and of wildlife including marmots in the park, as we encounter horses and a donkey on the trail.

Back at Club Med, food becomes the focus – and it’s upmarket. At its main restaurant La Bellevarde, we tuck into Savoie delicacies including local cheeses and charcuterie, and hungrily admire the live cooking stations featuring everything from mouth-watering griddled steak to fresh tuna and salmon, and a dessert section to die for – choux pastries oozing flavoured creams, flaky mille-feuille and summer fruit tarts with the lightest, crispiest pastry.

There’s an adults only eating area if you want peace and quiet, or you can dine a la carte at its speciality restaurant Les Millésimes. Between mealtimes, pop-up stations appear on the terrace and next to the bar inside, offering canapes, oysters, charcuterie and crepes. You’ll never go hungry here.placeholder image
There’s an adults only eating area if you want peace and quiet, or you can dine a la carte at its speciality restaurant Les Millésimes. Between mealtimes, pop-up stations appear on the terrace and next to the bar inside, offering canapes, oysters, charcuterie and crepes. You’ll never go hungry here.

While there are mini clubs for younger children, mine are adults – Grace, 23 and Will, 24 – who are thrill-seekers, and there’s a myriad activities including paragliding, rock climbing and canyoning available in or around Val d’Isère.

We choose white-water rafting on the River Isère, starting in Landry, 50 minutes away (from €44/£38, evolution2-landry.com).

En route, we pass the famous Lac du Chevril, under which lies the ruins of the old town of Tignes, submerged when a dam was finished in 1952 to facilitate hydro electric power for heating in the modern replacement town of Tignes, and to help run the ski lifts.placeholder image
En route, we pass the famous Lac du Chevril, under which lies the ruins of the old town of Tignes, submerged when a dam was finished in 1952 to facilitate hydro electric power for heating in the modern replacement town of Tignes, and to help run the ski lifts.

Along the mountain road, we see signs to many familiar ski resorts including La Plagne, Les Arcs, La Rosière and the linked Italian resort of La Thuile, and pass through the quaint town of Bourg St Maurice, last stop for the Eurostar ski train from the UK, and a popular spectator point for the Tour de France.

Once at the white-water rafting base, we don wetsuits and helmets and our guide talks us through seating positions, paddle manoeuvres, commands and other safety measures, before we are launched into a torrent of gushing, foaming water and Grace is asked to perform Kate Winslet’s ‘no hands’ Titanic scene at the front of the 10-person vessel, before falling backwards into the raft.

There are quieter moments too, where we see a peregrine falcon overhead, row past an eagle’s nest secreted in the unforgiving rock face and enter a gentle whirlpool before meandering through a steep jagged passageway on both sides.placeholder image
There are quieter moments too, where we see a peregrine falcon overhead, row past an eagle’s nest secreted in the unforgiving rock face and enter a gentle whirlpool before meandering through a steep jagged passageway on both sides.

On another day, the two men in my family opt for some serious guided mountain biking on the Popeye trail, at 13km one of the longest green downhill trails in the world, with over 200 turns. You take the gondola with the bike to get to the summit, and it’s downhill all the way from there..

But if there are different levels of cycling abilities – as there are in my family – it’s wise to opt for a guided e-bike tour without breaking too much of a sweat and covering around 20km during the morning. I don’t get left behind and there’s enough oomph to keep the young adults engaged.placeholder image
But if there are different levels of cycling abilities – as there are in my family – it’s wise to opt for a guided e-bike tour without breaking too much of a sweat and covering around 20km during the morning. I don’t get left behind and there’s enough oomph to keep the young adults engaged.

After a day on the green slopes, there’s plenty of scope for relaxation at the resort, with wellbeing retreats including a spa and outdoor yoga programme, indoor pool, outdoor jacuzzi and relaxing terrace to take in the alpine sunshine.

Val d’Isère will no doubt remain a huge attraction to skiers in winter, with its snow record being one of the best in the Alps.

But if you want to escape the crowded beaches and searing temperatures of other popular holiday hotspots at this time of year, it’s certainly one to put on your summer list.

How to plan your trip

Seven nights all-inclusive at Club Med Val d’Isère, French Alps starts from £2,158 (was £2,423) per person (based on double occupancy) with return flights from London Heathrow, transfers included. Price based on departure date Aug 20, 2023. Book now at clubmed.co.uk or call 03453 67 67 67. Bookings for summer 2024 open later in the year.

For more information on Val d’Isere, visit valdisere.com.

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