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About Chamrousse

Sitting on the beautiful Belladonna Massif, only 30m minutes drive from Grenoble, Chamrousse is a cosy alpine resort in the Isere department of the Northern Alps region. This is a fantastic family destination, with its quick transfer time and wonderfully serene atmosphere. Chamrousse hosts two main villages, each with their different charms.

Roche Béranger has mainly gentle slopes perfect for beginners and intermediates, a subdued nightlife and lots of activities for families. Le Recoin has some much more challenging skiing, with seven black runs perfect for expert skiers. The après-ski scene is much more lively as well, although both have some good bars, and there is a shuttle bus that runs between so if you'd rather stay in quieter Roche and just head to Le Recoin for an evening - you can.

The overall skiing here tends towards beginner and intermediate runs, but a good chunk of the 77 km of pistes will appeal to confident skiers, such as the black Couloir de Casserousse piste and the men's black Olympic piste down to Casserousse. Snowboarders are well served with a great Sunset Park with boardercross and slope style, and the Kid's Park where the pint-sized ones can experiment away from the traffic.

For beginners

For intermediates

For the advanced

Ski school

Après Ski

Off the Mountain

For beginners

As a family-friendly resort, there is plenty for beginners here, with great blue and green snaking around the mountain, and many leading back to the resort.

For intermediates

Average skiers have a lot of ground to cover here, with many fun blue runs and easier reds. You could try the very scenic blue 'Crêtes' piste and the blue Ours piste towards Chamrousse 1570. The blue Liaison Roche-Recoin piste will take you to the top of the Gaboureaux chair lift route then you can head straight down the blue Traversée du rat piste.

For the advanced

It's not all easy blues and green her though! At the top of the Croix de Chamrousse there are challenging blacks galore, Olympic downhill runs will get your heart pumping. Try the red descent from the Croix de Chamrousse ski lift to Lacs Robert, then the black Couloir de Casserousse.

Ski school

The ESF in Chamrousse offers a variety of lessons from alpine skiing to snowboarding. For the kids aged 3-5 years there's the Piou-Piouclub where they will be entertained and have skiing lessons.

Après Ski

Chamrousse has a young, vibrant feel, but the nightlife can be quiet-ish compared to some of the larger French resorts. That said, there are still some pumping bars in Le Recoin and a nightclub to take you into the night. The bars and restaurants are typically French, with some particularly lively spots at Gringo's and L'Embuscade. Le Chalet des Neiges is a great restaurant in Le Recoin, serving homemade bread, salads and patata as well as other hearty mountain fare. L'Ecureuil is a local favourite - so you know it's good. If you want to enjoy a couple of après ski drinks on the sunny terraces or in the cosy cafés, try Iceberg café or Le Sixty's.

Off the Mountain

You'll find quite a few ways to amuse yourself when not skiing in Chamrousse, with ice-skating, hiking, a sports hall, an artificial climbing wall, a cinema, a library, theme workshops and evenings, a driving circuit on ice, paragliding, snow-mobiling, snow-shoeing, an ice-rink, ice-diving beneath a lake, in-door tennis, squash or even golf, swimming, sauna, fitness centre all available. There's a covered shopping area in the Roche Beranger (Roche Be) area with ski and clothing shops, but if you're in the market for some heavy-duty shopping, you can get a bus to Grenoble for some excellent fashion shopping.

Resort rating and reviews

04 November 2010

Traveller rating: 5 star