Serre Chevalier – four villages, larch forest and the night train to Briançon

Serre Chevalier is the southernmost of the big French ski areas, in Hautes-Alpes near the border with Italy. There is no big ski station built in the 1960s here – instead four villages lie in a row along the Guisane valley, from the fortified town of Briançon to Le Monêtier-les-Bains, and the lifts go up from each of them.

Above the villages, 250 kilometres of pistes spread out, and two thirds of the area lies in larch forest. That makes Serre Chevalier one of the best choices in the Alps on a day when it is snowing or visibility is poor.

The four villages

• Briançon – a real town at 1,200 metres with Vauban's fortress walls, which are on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Good if you want town life and arrive by train.
• Chantemerle – in the middle of the valley, with a gondola up into the area and plenty of accommodation close to the slopes. A good choice for families.
• Villeneuve – next to Chantemerle, with lifts from the village and easy slopes higher up. Also good for families.
• Le Monêtier-les-Bains – the quietest village, at the top of the valley, with the warm baths and often shorter queues.

The pistes

Difficulty	Kilometres	Share
Blue	138 km	55 %
Red	80 km	32 %
Black	32 km	13 %

More than half is blue, and the 59 lifts take you from the villages at 1,200–1,500 metres all the way up to 2,800 metres. The larch forest is what makes the area special: larch trees lose their needles in winter, so it is light between the trunks, and the trees give contrast and shelter when the clouds hang low. On days with poor visibility you can stay down among the trees and still have good skiing.

Serre Chevalier with kids

• Children's areas with conveyor belts are found in several of the villages and up in the area.
• Ski schools are found in all four villages, so the children can start close to where you stay.
• The lift pass is a little cheaper than at the big resorts in Savoie, and the child pass costs less than the adult pass.

If it is your first ski trip, everything about ski school, equipment and daily rhythm is in the guide to the first ski trip with kids.

The rest day – warm baths and a fortified town

Grands Bains du Monêtier are warm baths with spring water, indoors and outdoors, with views of the mountains. Children can come along, but with rules:

• Children under nine months are not allowed in.
• Children between nine months and three years may only bathe in the morning, for at most two hours.
• On Wednesday mornings there is a family session with water games in the indoor pool.
• Each adult may bring at most three children under 16.

On another rest day you can take the bus down to Briançon and walk through the old town inside the walls. If you have your own kitchen, there is our weekly menu for the ski trip.

Getting to Serre Chevalier

• By train: the night train from Paris goes all the way to Briançon, and buses take you on to the villages. We go through the whole journey from Sweden in train to the Alps.
• By air: the closest is Turin, about two hours away by car, and Grenoble, just over two hours away.
• By car: from Italy you drive over the Montgenèvre pass, from Grenoble over the Col du Lautaret. Winter tyres and snow chains are required.

How to weigh train against plane and car is in getting to the ski resort.

Serre Chevalier or Savoie?

Serre Chevalier is less well known than Alpe d'Huez, La Plagne and Les 3 Vallées, but has more forest, more sun and slightly lower prices. If you want a glacier and beginner lifts at no cost, Les Deux Alpes is not far away on the other side of the Col du Lautaret. We compare all the French options in skiing holidays in France, and tips for keeping costs down are in the budget guide.