Airport transfers to the French Alps
Explore the Aravis region
Traditional alpine villages. Exceptional skiing. Beautiful summer escapes.
The Aravis region
Your gateway to the French Alps
The magnificent Aravis Mountain Range, or Les Aravis in French, is located between the beautiful medieval lakeside city of Annecy and the imposing Mont Blanc mountain range. It is home to the four ski resorts of La Clusaz, Le Grand Bornand, Manigod and Saint Jean de Sixt, collectively skiable under the Aravis Lift pass offering up 220km of fabulous terrain which will appeal to all level of skiers.
Cruisy forest runs, great off piste bowls, coupled with a great snow record and all within an easy hour transfer of Geneva airport. These are definitely some of the closest ski resorts to Geneva airport and they are very easy to access with direct transfer links all year round.
The charming villages of the Aravis have retained their traditional character and alpine heritage and remain relatively undiscovered despite being within easy access and quick transfer time of Geneva airport making them a great base from which to enjoy both a winter ski holiday or an alpine summer holiday.
01 | Year round resort
La Clusaz
The growing reputation of this attractive, chic village, as a year round resort for an active holiday is well deserved. The liveliest of the Aravis villages, the picturesque village of La Clusaz plays host to several international events throughout the year.
From a leg of the Nordic ski world cup up in Confins’ cross country ski area, to the European Slopestyle competition in winter, to the Alps Bike Festival and the famous Belier trail running festival during the summer, La Clusaz attracts competitors and visitors from around the world.
The addition in the last five years of a number of four and five star hotels to sit alongside established, traditional family run establishments, along with a great selection of bars and restaurants, makes La Clusaz, an hour’s transfer from Geneva, the perfect location for a year round mountain holiday.
02 | Family friendly village
Le Grand Bornand
La Clusaz’s more laid back sibling, the delightful village of Le Grand Bornand is an ideal base for a family holiday in the French alps, with plenty of activities on offer throughout the year to keep everyone happy.
The village sits at two distinct elevations: Le Grand Bornand village is a typical Savoyard village with its beautiful church overlooking the village square and its array of shops, bars and restaurants whilst Le Grand Bornand Chinaillon, 6km up the hill boasts direct access to the ski fields.
Le Grand Bornand hosts a stage of the Biathlon World Cup every year in December and regularly features as a host village for the Tour de France making the village an ideal base to access some of the world class road cycling available in the region.
03 | Authentic alpine village
Le Chinaillon
This lovely village nestled in a sunny valley at 1300m gives direct access to the extensive skiing on offer at Le Grand Bornand/Chinaillon ski field. The old village retains its authentic Savoyard charm – historically it is where the cows producing the milk to make the world famous Reblochon cheese were brought to graze in the summer, a tradition which continues to this day – but life in the village today is focused on accommodating the growing number of winter sports enthusiasts visiting the area. Equally an increasing amount of visitors are discovering that the village offers some fantastic hiking in the summer months too.
The authentic character of the village has been retained despite the new developments; the impressive and luxurious Village de Lessy complex has been careful to retain the atmosphere of the surrounding area, both architecturally and in the building materials used; alternatively, many visitors to the area opt to stay in one of the many independent chalets on offer in the village and surrounding hamlets.
04 | Sunny valley
Manigod / Croix Fry / Merdassier
Although the ski area at the far end of La Clusaz is often referred to as Manigod, the village itself is nestled in a sunny valley some 8 km down the hill from the ski lifts. Access to the ski field is from the hamlets of Croix Fry or Merdassier, both purpose built to accommodate winter sports enthusiasts. The village core retains its authentic charm, and the sunny valley is home to many beautiful chalets, many of which accommodate year round visitors to the area. The infamous and celebrated French chef Marc Veyrat has his controversial restaurant here, returning to his home after years of collecting Michelin stars at establishment across the alps.
The area is home to the largest night skiing ski area in the French alps, and often features as a host on the FFS Ladies Slalom Tour, as well as hosting the Paret World Cup every year.
05 | Our home base
Saint Jean de Sixt
This gateway village to the Aravis is our home base. Nestled conveniently at the confluence of the roads to La Clusaz and Le Grand Bornand and at only 55 minutes from Geneva or 30 minutes from Annecy, Saint Jean de Sixt is the perfect base from which to enjoy all that the area has to offer both in winter or summer.
It is the location of our chalet hotel – “The Aravis Lodge” – where we offer fully inclusive short break ski packages during the winter ski season as www.skiweekender.com.
During the summer season we turn our focus to fully supported road biking holidays and short breaks under the www.bikeweekender.com brand.
06 | Lake and mountains
Annecy
The lakeside city is the administrative centre for the region and as such benefits from all the amenities associated with a modern city. It’s medieval core with its’ cobbled streets, winding canals and pastel-colored houses is overlooked by the medieval Château d’Annecy, once home to the Counts of Geneva.
It is one of the most popular tourist destinations in France and combines a stunning lake-side setting and a charming old town which is perfect for exploring and wandering. Add in great food, local specialities, traditional markets and you have a perfect location for a stop-over on your way to the surrounding mountains of the Aravis region.
Annecy’s train station has a direct TGV rail link service to Paris, making it the ideal ski train gateway destination for the extensive skiing available at the Aravis resorts. It is well connected to Lyon and the rest of France too, and makes an ideal gateway to the Alps.
Annecy is just 30 minutes from Geneva by the new direct A41 autoroute. Similarly the ski resorts of the Aravis region are just a 30 minute drive from Annecy centre or rail station.
Airport transfers to the Aravis
Your alpine holiday starts here
Start by planning your journey from Geneva or Annecy to the Aravis.
Please get in touch to arrange your transfer.
