Avoriaz 1800, winter wonderland in the middle of the French Alps
Avoriaz is a small village Located in the French Alps, at the centre of the Portes du Soleil skiing area. An huge resort stretching between France and Switzerland.
Meeting Avoriaz, the Skiing Town
While the surrounding are more like proper towns, Avoriaz is all about skiing.
Avoriaz is basically made of hotels, pubs, shops, restaurants, a couple of supermarkets, some chalets and a ton of very tiny (but expensive) rental apartments. Right on the slopes! As they are also basically the only streets around the village.
No cars are allowed. And the only vehicles you will see are the snowcats driving people and their heavy stuff to the accomodation. And some snowmobiles as well.
If you are coming by car you can leave it at the Welcome Centre, where the snowcats ususally meet people. Be aware it will definitely not be cheap. But luckily there are some cheaper and easy alternatives.
Getting to Avoriaz
If you are skiing, Avoriaz is accessible more or less easily from pretty much everywhere around the Portes du Soleil. However, the closer and bigger town is Morzine. Also the better connected, especially if you are carrying stuff you can’t really ski with.
The easier way to reach Morzine, if you are not driving, is probably through the city of Ginevra. Whether you are travelling by Train, Plane or Bus.
I will start with my favourite way, if you have skies. Definitely suitable for any level of ability.
Getting to Avoriaz via the SUPER MORZINE CABLECAR
Take the scenic Cablecar from its starting point, pretty much the centre of the Town. Once at the top, turn right and ski down to the ZORE chairlift. From there, just follow the easy green slope all the way to the PROCLOU chairlift, leading right above the town.
Only this last skiing part can be a bit tricky for beginners, as the short slope to the village is quite small and usually pretty busy.
The whole all way up will take you about half an hour.
To head to Morzine instead, ski down the green or blu slope around the Lil Stash Park (or inside the park itself!). Jump on the Séraussaix chairlift, right in front of the Proclou. And from there simply follow the easy slopes all the way down to the SuperMorzine cablecar to end your skiing day. Unfortunately there are no ways to ski all the way down.
Remember to carefully plan your itinerary, as all the lift close before 5pm. The Avoriaz lifts timetable on the website advises 4.15 pm as last time to start your way up. While you will be able to make your way down through the Super Morzine until 5.15 pm. Half and hour later during the busies season, after the 5th of February.
Getting to Avoriaz via the PRODAINS EXPRESS
Slightly more boring for skiers, the Prodains Cablecar is surely the best way to reach Avoriaz for Pederstians. To get to the big cablecar from Morzine, you firtsly need to take a free shuttle bus to its starting point. Once at the top, you can either walk up to town. Or ski down to the TOUR Chairlift, leading to the top of the village. From where you can easily reach your place.
Going down to Morzine, you can ski following the blue slope from town the to the bus stop. Or jump on the same cablecar if you don’t have skies.
Be careful when skiing down, as at some point a black slope crosses the blue one. I took the wrong turn on one icy early morning, and it wasn’t fun! Just keep left to be sure.
The good thing about this way is that, while the Supermorzine stops working in the afternoon, the Prodains keeps working until 9pm. Midnight on friday and saturday night. And is open for pedestrians from 7am.
Note that while the shuttle bus is free, the gondola has a fee. So if you don’t have a skipass expect to pay 7,50€. 12 € for the roundtrip journey.
Be also aware that before 8.45 am and after 5 pm it won’t be possible to ski down, as the slopes will be closed (and dark!) by that time. And the chairlift to the top of the town will be off, meaning you’ll need to walk all the way up with your skies!
Getting to Avoriaz via the ARDANT CABLECAR
Last but slightly longer way to get to Avoriaz, is the Ardant Gondola.
Again, from Morzine you will firstly need to take a bus to Ardant. From there take the first Cablecar to the LINDARETS, one the main lifts bowl. From there you can take one of the two chairlifts you will find on the right side: the Lindaters and the Prolays, both leading above Avoriaz town. But you can also choose to heading to the left side towards Chatel and the Swiss resorts.
The Ardant way is especially convenient if you are driving, as there is a big free carpark right in front of the Gondola. And also if you want to enjoy the crazy Seasonal Workers wednesday happy hour before heading back!
..unless you have to be the driver, of course!
Driving to Avoriaz
Finally, if you have a car (or are willing to pay for a transfer), it is also possible to drive to Avoriaz. As said above, the town is totally road vehicles-free. So if driving up there you will have to leave the car at the expensive welcome centre. And then walk to your place or jump on one of the Snowcat Taxis.
A cheaper possible solution is to leave the car along the way where the slope coming from Morzine crosses the road, and then head down to the PROCLOU lift from there.
Just remember to get your skipass ahead, if you are not going through one of the big cablecars or directly to town first. As it is not possible to buy it from any lift.
What to do in AVORIAZ
By now you should know how to get to Avoriaz. But why should you go there?
First and most obvious answer: Skiing!
That is pretty much all the town is about. Together with the usual complementary activities. Other than accommodations and hopefully lots of fresh snow, you will find plenty of food choices, from fine dining restaurants to (relatively) cheap eateries. Coffee shops for a warming after skiing cup of something. And several après ski and night party places. The most famous is probably the big La Folie Douche, hosting après parties with live music and dances every day until 6 pm, right on the slopes.If looking for a little snow break, you can head to the Aquariaz. A tropical-style swimmingpool with spa and acquapark located right in centre of the town. It is open every day except saturday between 1.30 and 7.30 pm and the adult ticket costs 9 €Skiing in Avoriaz
Avoriaz is located right at the Centre of the big Portes du Soleil area. And you can basically spend weeks going up and down the whole 600kms of slopes between the town and the surrounding french and Swiss resorts.
The skipass for the whole area is quite expensive: 59 € for a daily adult
But if you are not willing to buy the full pass, you can also get a local one for only Avoriaz, Morzine and Avoriaz, or Morzine, Avoriaz and Les Gets. Or any other resort. Still finding plenty to explore.
Pretty much everywhere you will find a suitable option for any skiing level. Most slopes are blue, with some reds in the highest peaks and green easy ways towards Morzine. But if you are brave and skilled enough you can also head to the thrilling Swiss Wall or look for some other black slopes.
Just make sure your pass allows you to jump on a lift from Switzerland, unless you fancy walking all the way back up.
Jumping around a Snowpark
There are a few snowparks, if you fell like trying out some jumps and Tricks.
The most important is probably the STASH, a long freestyle slope sunning through the woods. And perfectly integrated into the surrounding nature.
The easier alternative is the Little Stash, on the way down to the Proclou chairlift.
Or watch the sunset trying some big jumps right in Town, At the snowpark La Chapelle, from the top of the Proclou.
Exploring the backcountry on your skis
Other than alpine skiing, the area also hosts several cross-country skiing trails. Follow the “Domaine Nordique” signs and tracksaround the beautiful nature.
For everyone not doing it, please don’t go on the nordic skiing tracks! I learned the hard way in Lapland. Up there the locals take very personally is someone damages them.
Skitour your way up to the top
And lastly, for the brave and strong ones willing to conquer the summit before making their way down the mountain. There is plenty of opportunities to do some serious Skitouring. Either following marked tracks, usually leading to the top of a regular slope. Or properly exploring the middle of nowhere.
Just make sure to check the Avalanche risk before. And, if possible, get a guide or join someone with a good knowledge of the area.
Skiing around AVORIAZ and the PORTES DU SOLEIL area
So I think that is pretty much you need to know to getting started with your little big skiing adventure! If you have the time (and money), I would suggest you to get a full skipass for at least a day. Switzerland has many really nice slopes! And also Les Gets and Chatel have very lovely skiing areas!
Since it is quite remote and exclusive staying in Avoriaz can be pretty expensive. And Morzine is just a couple if lifts away, so it could be a good cheaper alternative. As well as Leg gets.
Maps are pretty much everywhere around the resorts, and every lift has a sign with its main destinations listed at his entrance. But remember to be careful when planning your day, as you could end up really far from your place when the lifts closes!
I would suggest you to begin your skiing day early-ish. And to start heading back at least a couple of hours before the last lift, if you are Very far.
Generally the smaller ones usually stop pretty early, while the connecting lifts work for a little bit longer. But you still better being careful.
A very useful Tool, either for planning your days and easily going around is the Portes du Soleil winter App. which you can also use to check the weather, snow situation, and tracking and sharing your skiing itinerary!
if you prefer having a printed skimap (as I do!). You can get easily one of them from the liftpass office. Or at the entrance of the main lifts, like the Super Morzine. They usually have the lifts and pistes of the Whole area on one side, and the local map on the other. I’ll also leave you the PDFs of Avoriaz resort and the Portes du Soleil here.
soo.. Time to hitting the slopes now!
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