Champagny, France

Champagny is a pretty and traditional mountain village resort in the French Alps, voted ‘best unspoiled alpine village in France’ by one of the leading ski magazines. It feels properly French and is devoid of tour operators, mostly consisting of private ski chalets. There is a good range of bars, cafes, restaurants and shops, however, so there’s everything you need and more peace and quiet than in the better-known resorts nearby.

The resort is the gateway to the vast Paradiski area of La Plagne, Les Arcs and Peisey-Vallandry. This is reached via a modern cable car in the centre of the village. From the top of the cable car, at 2,000m, you take two more lifts to reach La Plagne.

Paradiski boasts 425 kms of slopes and 232 pistes suitable for all levels, with La Plagne especially well-suited to beginners and intermediates and Les Arcs the more testing resort for more advanced skiers. There are two glaciers at more than 3,000 m and 70% of the ski area is above 2000m. The Paradiski area has some of the largest and most modern cable cars in the world with two two-storey lifts, including the Vanoise Express cable car which links La Plagne with Les Arcs.

Champagny is at the edge of the spectacular Vanoise national park, which has superb and well-marked hiking trails. At Le Haut, 5 minutes drive from Champagny, lies a cross-country skiing park, 24-metre high ice-climbing tower and sledging area. A dog sledding experience can also be booked here and guides can be booked for snow shoeing expeditions. Tandem paragliding is also available for the more adventurous. At nearby Courchevel 1650, 30 mins drive away, the new Aquamotion water park opened in December 2015. This has water slides, wild rivers and a wave surf zone plus climbing wall, as well as wellness area with sauna, steam room and restaurant.