Looking for summer hols this year and possibly looking at somewhere in the alps but there seems to be loads of resorts, some with sparse summer activities, some more so.
We have done Morzine in Summer and enjoyed but fancied a change.
Bit of a wish list,
Something with a bit of a hullabaloo going on
Swimming pool in town
Nice town with good bars and restaurants
Some activities, rafting hiking etc
Handy for other touristy bits
Found loads of chalets in clusaz and le grand bornand but they look like they might be a little quiet in summer.
I rode in Tignes for one day a couple of years back and it seemed quite lively…as did Val d’Isere. Both might be worth a look but I doubt either can offer the range of activities etc that Morzine does.
Briancon is worth looking at, nice old town. Good road biking. Decent mtb park that hope have been involved with
We keep looking into this and as far as I have found there is nowhere quite like morzine. Some places are have some of the things but nothing has everything all in same area. Depends what features you like and what you can live without.
Chamonix or Aosta. Or stay in one and visit the other.
Samoens would pretty much tick all those boxes I'd say.
Am also interested in Alps ideas, especially those with more off-piste, XC-ish riding rather than bike parks.
Bourg-Saint-Maurice. Stacks of good riding. Swimming lakes in the valley. Bike park stuff in Les Arcs and La Plagne. Even a spot of summer skiing up at Tignes.
Samonens has a pool and steep steep crazy trails, the tandem paraglider pilots drink beer for lunch - what's not to like?
You can have a nice day out in Samoens from Morzine if just fancy a mini change. You need a volunteer driver to.make it work well. Start early, ride from the top of Les Gets, over the pass and down to Samoens. That's a great ride on its own, then grab a lift pass and hit the Samoens trails. Ideally someone else drives. They can then ride with you or see the town. Ride til the lifts shut, quick bar, drive back up to Morzine
Does it have to be in the French Alps? Saalbach-Hinterglemm has a big mtb scene in the summer which is all connnected to Leogang and Fieberbrunn. If memory serves me right, a lot of hotels have inclusive lift passes in the price.
Despite posting this on a mountain biking forum, riding is low on the list of desires. If there is, it’s a bonus, but it isn’t the priority.
Whistler.
Great place, wrong continent 😉
Andalo, Dolomites.
Bike park. Hiking. Lakes. Rafting. Lago di Garda to the south.
Mayrhofen
Despite posting this on a mountain biking forum, riding is low on the list of desires. If there is, it’s a bonus, but it isn’t the priority.
In which case go for Chamonix. Has everything you want and more. Great vibe and absolutely tons to do. And one of the best views ever over Mont Blanc. Easy to get to as well by car or from Geneva airport.
MTB is a little awkward in Jul and Aug as there is a ban on biking on the footpaths in the valley during the busy months. However, there are bike trails at either end of the valley at Le Tour and Les Houches. There are also some quieter paths that I’ve got away with riding or a run late in the day seems to work.
Yuk. Chamonix, like Morecambe but with a big hill
Look at the Ötztal Valley in Austria. They do a pass which gives you access to all sorts of activities which suit young and old. Some great biking still but more variety of options to go at.
Roterstern has already suggested Saalbach, I’ll second that. Everything you want with Zell down the road,
Here’s our place the other side of Zell from Saalbach, loads to do in Summer
Les deux alpes is another one to check out.
We had a great time in Interlaken in 2020. Loads to see and do. Would like to go back sometime.
Alpe d'Huez was fairly lively on the week running up to the Mega.
Following on from the above there's usually quite a few events on that really liven up some places. Obviously the TdF, but there are plenty of others. Eg Tour de l'avenir, rallye mont blanc, crankworx, world cup downhill. GMBN are doing a alpine festival too.
Mayrhofen is properly shit for riding. In fact, much of the Austrian Tirol is crap for riding.
Bourg-Saint-Maurice.
This, or Bourg d'Oisans (Below Alpe d'Huez) might be a decent option.
But do clarify on...
Something with a bit of a hullabaloo going on
Aosta is a marvellous little city as well, with access to some great riding.
Had such a good family holiday in Chamonix. The town just buzzes in the summer. Loads to do. Lake swimming was a bit of a drive.
Days included. Watching an amateur but high level short track skate meet. Cable car up the Midi then walked the grand balcon Nord the met de glace. then explored the tunnel in the glacier then train home. Great local animal wildlife park, no cages or just you in with the animals. Summer luge with uplift. Grand balcon sud walk with cable cars at either end. We had 2 weeks and never felt we were running out of things to do. The town is rammed with bars, restaurants and people. You wheats feel like your looking at icy peaks
If it’s not an MTB centric holiday you’re after but still like that region, we generally go to Aix-Les-Bains just in the foothills. The lake is fantastic and there’s loads to do on there. The town is nice and it doesn’t get anywhere near as busy and then if you want to drive up into the mountains you can. There’s still plenty of places to ride as well.
Bourg-Saint-Maurice
This^^^^^^
Bourg St Maurice is great with lots of on and off the bike options. We also enjoyed Aosta which is a great small town with access to Pila for walking and riding days. Alp Duez works to. We stayed in Allemont which is right down in the valley next to a huge reservoir with lots of water based options. They have just opened a new cable car in the village that means you don’t need to catch the bus to access the trail network. Nightlife is very limited though to a couple of bars
They have just opened a new cable car in the village that means you don’t need to catch the bus to access the trail network
Ooh, so you can get a lift from Allemont up to Oiz and Alpe d'huez now?
Zell am See, lovely in summer.
@ampthill. Are you sure it wasn’t Morecambe you went to??!
Yuk. Chamonix, like Morecambe but with a big hill
I don’t think I’ve ever caught the speed skating in Morecambe
Just bringing this thread back up, as im in the same boat getting the family holiday sorted as it needs (i want) to be active, 30% me and the daughhter on bike, but mum and son to enjoy other less active mountain things. We did Morzine last year, a big first for the fam as they are normally beach goers, but it worked really well. We'll still do 3-4 days somewhere round Venice, and then do 7-9 days in the mountains - only caveat being it's got to be Italian..
Alpin's sugestion up there for Andalo looks awesome, im just trying to find a little more out about it, but if there's other suggestions, im all ears! Does Aosta have the same level of off-bike type activities for kids/mum - ive ridden Pila, but that was a bit of a fly through visit..
I've just had the sign-off to look at Finale Liguria for a week on the way to another week further South in Italy. Same boat as you, Sui - one child mad keen on biking, the other not so much.
I'll shove my usual recommendation in: Graubunden in CH. DAvos/Lenzerheide/St. Moritz etc. Amazing.
We have just tagged on Aosta and Samoens to our Lake Garda trip in June.
Still looking for something to tag on to Finale at the end of Sept. Preferably with a bit of biking
Les gets
We’ll still do 3-4 days somewhere round Venice
Caorle is a nice little beach town just above Venice, worth a look for a few days.
We have just booked Lenzerheide on a recommendation from a mate who lives in Switzerland. We all mtb, but we want other stuff to do, so the lake seems to have a lot going on. So we have booked two weeks.
We had to go a few km out to get a nice self contained accommodation with a view.
https://www.bikekingdom.ch/en/Bikeparks/Bike-Kingdom-Park#filter=r-fullyTranslatedLangus-
Backing up a few suggestions from above.
Andalo in the Dolomites skied there years ago and seemed like a nice place.
Zell am See without doubt is one of the prettiest towns I've ever visited, added bonus of being able to ski on the glacier in summer.
Alps suggestion would be Annecy, has everything you list and more.
Last visit we did the tour of the lake on a tandem, what a laugh.
Only caveat is it does tend to be busy in the summer months
We did Tignes maybe 4 years ago.
It was really good for the whole family as if you were staying in chalet/hotel accommodation you got a free lift pass and all the lake watersports, archery, tennis etc etc were then free.
I think they have changed their offering slightly last summer but it still looks like a good deal!
Thread resurrection again..
My June Alps plans have had multiple spanners thrown in the works – I’ve gained 4 extra people, but had dissent on where to go..
It may still end up with Chatel, but looking at options – does anyone know if you can link up La Thuile, Aosta Valley, Cervinia and Monterosa? I know they are on the same lift pass, but I cant get my head around the geography if it’s feasible or not??
Thanks
Sui
