[Closed] Which alpine destination with my wife and 2 year old daughter?

Hard to beat morzine for convenience and facilities. We go with kids and there is plenty for them to do plus the trails are so accessible you can easily nip out for a bit and get back.

Just to add to Mintyjim's question - anyone got recommendations for places with nanny/creche/whatever facilities so that both parents could get out for a while?

Bourg St Maurice will have more family stuff to do, and Tignes has also started to cater more for families and youngsters, so may be options. Slightly further to drive to but not a great deal.

Tignes is a hive of family activity in the summer. And all the lifts are free!

Edit - it might be colder though 😆

legend, the local nursery offers creche/half day etc for summer visitors.

http://www.outa-morzine.com/en/ete

We went to Alpe d'Huez when my daughter was 2. We got a luxury ski apartment for a pittance (outside the school holidays, happy times)which had a nice pool on site, plus there were cable car rides and some nice walks with her in the baby carrier. I spent one day doing La Marmotte and another morning going down and back up AdH, and the rest of the week with the family. We were there for Megavalanche which looked absolutely brilliant. The altitude was welcome as it was 40 degrees in Bourg D'Oisans one day, but never more than high 20s in AdH, plus cool at night. Much easier with a toddler and pregnant wife!

It was 14 hours door to door from Bristol, we drove through the night swapping the driving every two hours.

Might be a bit young for Tignes and the lake is Glacier fed (ie baltic). But they do have pedalos, a decent pool, free lifts, playgrounds etc.

we are off to Annecy this summer, two and five year old in tow. camping on the edge of the lake, lots to see and do, with some easy trails to hike and cycle on close by and not far from la cluzaz (not ridden there yet but looks good from what i have seen) for me to get a few runs in. And my son is very excited to pedal a pedalo around the lake :o)

Stoner - Member

legend, the local nursery offers creche/half day etc for summer visitors.

http://www.outa-morzine.com/en/ete

Thanks Stoner. Morzine's the easiest option going really so might end up using that for our first big trip.

Why anyone would want to go to a purpose built ski resort, like Tignes for their summer holiday really is beyond me.

Thanks for the suggestions guys!

I looked at Tignes (and have ridden there before) plus Alp D'Huez (9 years since I did the Mega!) and think that Morzine for the family kinda trumps both.

Nothing in Germany en-route??

mugsys_m8 - Member

Why anyone would want to go to a purpose built ski resort, like Tignes for their summer holiday really is beyond me

Yeah totes, mountains with facilities are shit. Want to advise on where everyone should be taking their families?

Just on way home from week in la clusaz with 3 year old and 9 month. La clusaz is great for kids and wags - nice town very French some great restaurants. Riding wise good spread from easy xc to full on dh. For me it was enough riding as lost a few days to weather and not really able to ride from first to last lift, but if you did there would not be enough for a week imho especially if morzine is your baseline and or you like jumpey man made style trails.

Why not go a bit leftfield and take your wife up the Khyber Pass? 🙄

Why anyone would want to go to a purpose built ski resort, like Tignes for their summer holiday really is beyond me.

I went to Tignes for my summer holiday a few years back. I went skiing, mountain biking, and hiking, and spent the afternoons sunbathing round the pool. It was complete crap, really.

enfht - Member

Why not go a bit leftfield and take your wife up the Khyber Pass?

tbh, if we'd done that we wouldn't need to be having this discussion!

Calm down, calm down

legend - Member
mugsys_m8 - Member
Why anyone would want to go to a purpose built ski resort, like Tignes for their summer holiday really is beyond me

Yeah totes, mountains with facilities are shit. Want to advise on where everyone should be taking their families?

French ski-station concrete monstrosity vs. traditional french mountain village/ town.....

Annecy is a good shout. I can see why Morzine is popular. As I regularly suggest, I would go further south, to have a southern-alps climate and environment: Briancon, Queyras, Barcelonette, Vallouise....

Have a look at Samoens.

Much nicer scenery and village / town than the above mentioned ( I really don't see the attraction of Morzine) Not sure if it has a swimming pool though.

Can still bike over Les Gets too.

I can see why Morzine is popular.

In the words of a French girl I used to know "what on earth is this place?" It's the least French thing in France.

Anyway, all those other suggestions. How do they compare (genuinely) for a family holiday that needs lots of stuff to do each day (and in my case, childcare)?

I really don't see the attraction of Morzine

It's position in the PDS is spot on with plenty of life about it. Would be much better with a 95% reduction in brits

Beaufort/ Arreches?
Lac de Passy?

Why anyone would want to go to a purpose built ski resort, like Tignes for their summer holiday really is beyond me.

It was awful last year too, loads of (free) stuff to keep the kids entertained, easy access to pretty decent trails in big mountains, nice lake to paddle board on and Les Brevierres is actually nice to look at too...

Would be much [s]better[/s] [b]DEAD[/b] with a 95% reduction in brits

Well yes, but I was hoping some french people might come back

I'm not sure there were ever many french people in Morzine.... Still it' s a bit more pleasant than a concrete jungle in the mountains.

Lots of french holiday in France in the summer, and I have never heard of anyone going to a purpose built ski resort...

I honestly don't know about childcare. It's never been on our list of needs in choosing a family holiday destination. Most places could probably put you in touch with suitable people though.

I guess lots depends on how important the riding is vs. family time.

I completely get the not going to a purpose built ski resort in the summer.

If I was aiming for Alpe d'Huez area then I'd stay down in Bourg d'Oisans or Allemond for example. There's as much to do in the valleys as there is in the mountains and it's easy enough to get up the mountain. If you end up with a week of dodgy weather being stuck up at 1700m or higher is less than ideal.

If you can stretch the 10 hour journey I'd highly recommend looking at Austria. We're going back for a couple of weeks this summer (Schladming then Saalbach). They're normal villages/towns with a tourism slant. There are loads of other places further west for biking/family type stuff in the Tirol. With regards to the journey time we usually make a road trip of it and have some stops on the way - one year we did Luxembourg City and Ostende. Last year we did Saarbrucken and Stutgart (spent most of our time in the Mercedes Museum).

Mugsy, which of those places would you recommend for family activities? That would actually be helpful - unlike the attempt at a dig at the end

Honestly, it wasn't meant as a dig!!!

What I mean is this: is uplift for riding essential? How high does it sit on the list of requirements? Does it have to be rad riding, or are you happy with pootling around, with maybe access to 1 lift? and your riding requirements, can they be at the expense of lack of <I'm not going to say in case I say the wrong thing again>

Maybe look at Aussois or Vallouise (as well as my previous suggestions). But that's me, they seem to have a lot of activities for children etc. But I don't know if it will be enough for you: I can't really judge what you need by 'family activities' do you mean something on all the time? Like organised? If so (AND THIS IS NOT A DIG), then maybe a ski resort in summer is best for you, alternatively maybe a large camp-site or a centre parcs type place? Or just places of interest?

I'm hesitant to really suggest somewhere as THE PLACE, as I feel, that you're looking for somewhere that I'm not really experienced enough to suggest, should it actually exist, as we all know the French can have a different outlook on things, and not feel the need to provide what they do not consider necessary. I can only comment for France, and I can only really advise on some places, with great scenery and good access to the outdoors (it could just be via. a col or a valley: not necessarily lift served).

please please don't think I'm having a dig, winding you up, trolling etc. I'm not: I just find it a shame, that there are all these amazing places and people just go where they have been before, or where everyone else goes. I guess if it works for them, why not!

mugsys I started the OP and you're probably thinking I'm the one having a dig back at you! I'm not. All and every suggestion is gratefully received!

My daughter will be 2 whilst we're on holiday so she's hardly requiring anything beyond playing in the shallows of an alpine lake / swimming pool and then just hanging out and playing with mum and dad.

I'm a good technical rider just not very fit since having a 2 year old daughter who I try and play with as much as I can fit, hence I would like access to a lift for a few hours so I can guarantee my DH without earning it!

This is the reason I'm originally considering Morzine / Les Gets due to immediate access and then gentle, enjoyable stuff for us to do as a family like a day out to Chamonix etc.

We stayed in St. Gervais last year and it was total washout from a family point of view. Friends cousins chalet was 2 miles out of town on a bastard of a hill so we had to drive to go anywhere together which I hated. Lifts were a joke too.

I know Morzine is a lamo English pit of despair (slight exaggeration of course) but it's easy, has convenient lift access and we can relax / pootle as required.

We are not interested in child care.

I'll look at Aussois, Vallouise, Schladming, Saalbach and Briancon. Phew.

Mintyjim - given your position I think Saalbach is ideal. If you stay in certain apartments you get a lift pass for free (for the whole family). You can be off on your bike and then meet the others up for lunch up the mountain. The free lift pass also means that you won't necessarily think you're missing out by having to shell out for a lift pass and only using it a couple of hours a day.

The pass (called The Joker Card) also gives you free access to the pool, mini golf, tennis courts, buses and discounts in loads of other places. You get one uplift from Leogang per day so you can ride bits of the bike park - although the bike route over from Saalbach is a flat rooty mess - I bypass that on the way back and use the gravel tracks for speed.

Saalbach is a ski resort, but it's a busy village too. Only at 1000m so you're not stuck up high - 10-15 mins from Saalfelden (nearest town) and not much more to Zell Am See.

Just to concur with Hammerite above. Coming to the end of a stay up the road in Hinterglemm with kids aged 4 and 6 plus parents-in-law and it's been great. Busy last weekend with Glemmfest but even now the amount of bikes around is crazy. Cable cars all free with the joker card and some cracking routes back down. Recommended.

Glad you had a good time gecko. We're going again in a couple of weeks time (spending a few days in Schladders before too). Glemmfest looked fantastic.

We were there while there was a farmers festival on last summer. Think of a farmers market, craft festival and a beer festival rolled in to one. It was great.