Val d'Isère - Slope

The main season runs from early December until early May. Summer skiing is available on the Fornet glacier for about five weeks from mid-June until mid-July.

A combination of mostly modern cable cars, gondolas, funiculars and chairlifts whisks skiers up from Val's centre, as well as from the nearby villages of La Daille, Le Laisinant and Le Fornet.

There are nursery slopes at the Solaise and La Daille bases. Bellevarde is a good area for progressing beginners (although less so for snowboarders owing to some long flat sections), with its wide-open, easy green runs. There are also some cruisy reds and blues from here down to La Daille, including the Coupe du Monde OK run, which suits intermediates looking for a challenge. Santons is a nice blue-graded gully in the other direction, taking you back into town. Advanced skiers and riders, meanwhile, can speed down the black Face.

The Solaise area across the valley offers up more greens, blues and reds, with an ‘up-and-over' chairlift to the furthest away terrain by the Col de l'Iséran, from which you can ski right down to Le Fornet.

Freestylers can play in the terrain park in the Bellevarde area with its jumps, rails, boardercross course and dedicated lifts.

In terms of ski schools, École du Ski Français, Snow Fun, Evolution 2 and Oxygène are among the numerous operators vying for your attention.

A pass for the entire Espace Killy region (encompassing Tignes) gives skiers 300km (186 miles) of slopes to race around, while two chairlifts connect the twin resorts.