Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval (Vallée du Giffre) is known as 💦 the land of 30 waterfalls, and 💦 la Cascade du Rouget figures prominently on that list; in 2009 was voted the most beautiful waterfall in France! It is affectionately referred to as 👑 « la reine des Alpes » (the Queen of the Alps). Located at an altitude of 960m, and with its +80m of height set across two levels … Continue reading La Cascade du Rouget (SIXT-FER-à-CHEVAL)
Are you beginning to feel frustrated with the beautiful ❄️ SNOW, as it is restricting your movements with a buggy? Are you tired of heading to 💦 Lac de Passy (lovely as it may be!) to do loop after loop with a buggy, because you are in need of some ground without ❄️ SNOW ? I’m sure you’re not alone! On this note, I was lucky during the buggy years, … Continue reading BUGGY WALKS: 10 winter buggy walks au Pays du Mont-Blanc
🗻 Combloux is another of MBFF’s favourite play areas, for ⛷ skiing, ❄️ snowshoeing, 🛷 sledging, ☕️ eating (!) and simply playing! Both of the MBFF boys have had ⛷ ski lessons here, and my youngest claims that it is his favourite ski station! And my elder son has just started having 🏂 snowboarding lessons here too! ⛷ Combloux ski station links up with ⛷ … Continue reading COMBLOUX activities 2021
🗻 Plaine-Joux is one of MBFF’s favourite play areas, whether that be for ⛷ skiing, ❄️ snowshoeing, 🛷 sledging or just playing! Both of the MBFF boys had their early ⛷ ski lessons here, and it was the perfectly-sized ski resort for this. I felt more confident, as there are no chairlifts, and I always worried about them being on a chairlift when they were … Continue reading PASSY PLAINE-JOUX activities 2021 (Passy)
A 1km confinement radius is a different surface area for each family . . . some will have access to 💦 a waterfall, others 💦 a river walk, hopefully all can find some 🌿 green space or 🌳🌲 woodland . . . I realised last week that I had never written a full article about the 🌳🌲 Bois du Bouchet in Chamonix, which is certainly … Continue reading BOIS du BOUCHET – strolls, bike rides, a parcours d’orientation, snowy options & MORE !
MBFF has had some lovely family walks up at the ❄️ Site Nordique La Livraz in Megève. Not only is this one of 🎿 Megève’s cross-country skiing areas (there are a handful!), it is also a superb spot for ❄️ a family walk in wintertime, especially with young children or older relatives! You can pull little ones along in a 🛷 a luge and the terrain … Continue reading Site Nordique La Livraz – cross-country skiing & winter walks (Megève)
The 🌉 Passerelle Himalayenne in Plateau d’Assy, which straddles the 💦 Nant Bordon ravine and allows you to access the 💦 Lac Vert via the original route du Lac Vert, was inaugurated on the 21st December 2019 . . . and since then, MBFF has been across it (and back) THREE times! On our most recent crossing, some Tibetan prayer flags had been attached to the … Continue reading La Passerelle Himalayenne du Nant Bordon (PLATEAU d’ASSY)
If you live at altitude 🗻 au Pays du Mont-Blanc, it can be a challenge to find a suitable path for buggy walks in nature over the ❄️ winter months: snow, ice, muddy ground underfoot . . . Luckily, if you head down to the Arve Valley, then you’ll descend about 500m in altitude . . . and here you will find our 💦 two … Continue reading WINTER BUGGY STROLLS: Lac de Passy & Lacs des Ilettes
⛷ Saint-Gervais-Mont-Blanc & Saint Nicolas de Véroce are another two of our family’s favourite ski areas in the area – some broad pistes, some pistes running through the 🌲fir trees, 🗻 panoramic views of Mont-Blanc, some great off-piste for experienced (and suitably equipped!) skiers in search of powder (especially around Saint-Nicolas de Véroce and Mont-Joly), some fun runs for children . . . And though ⛷ Saint-Gervais-Mont-Blanc … Continue reading SAINT-GERVAIS MONT-BLANC & SAINT-NICOLAS-de-VEROCE skiing
🗓 December and 🎄 the advent period for me are synonymous with 🍪 BAKING: that wonderful smell coming from the oven (the MBFF family lives in an open plan abode, so sweet smells do drift . . . ) . . . Such a cosy feeling does baking bring me: the aim being to share a sweet treat with loved ones . . . an … Continue reading MBFF CHRISTMAS BAKING (and some beautiful memories)
🌲 Le Paradis des Praz is a natural playground, a hidden jewel cocooned in the woods, well-known to families living in the region, but perhaps not to those visiting. As well as being a popular spot in the ☀️ summertime, over the winter school holidays the buvette is also often open – so you can have a magical walk through the ❄️ snowy forest and then warm up with … Continue reading Le Paradis des Praz (Les Praz-de-Chamonix)
The ❄️ SNOW is currently falling and draping our 🗻 mountain peaks with dazzling white blankets . . . some ❄️ snowflakes are falling to the ground and forming sparkling white forest carpets, some snowflakes clinging to the 🌲 sapins, before fluttering slowly to the ground . . . 🌟 magical, féerique, ❄️ winter wonderland Narnias everywhere you look 🗻 au Pays du Mont-Blanc! This article gives you some ideas … Continue reading FAMILY STROLLS: winter wonderlands au Pays du Mont-Blanc
When I had my first baby 9 years ago, I had just moved to a new town 🏔 au Pays du Mont-Blanc . . . I was quite lonely and keen to find baby activities and playgroups in order to get out and about and to socialise a bit! Progressively, I discovered the 🌈 playgroups that were available locally for parents and babies . . . but … Continue reading BABY & TODDLER activities au Pays du Mont-Blanc (and beyond)
🏔 Praz-sur-Arly is another of our local ski resorts 🏔 au Pays du Mont-Blanc that ticks all of the boxes for family skiing: a mixture of gentle and more difficult pistes (60% of the pistes are GREEN and BLUE!), the Opoualand & Waouland pistes reserved for children (adults are only permitted here if they accompany a child!), an outdoor softplay games area called the 🐉Dragon Tirecorde, 🛷 a sledging … Continue reading PRAZ-sur-ARLY Skiing
The MBFF family members are regular visitors to 💦 Lac Vert in Plaine-Joux (Passy), and a visit last 🍂 autumn reminded me that I should write an article exclusively about this lovely alpine lake! A visit here is a great family day out: a short walk, with fun wooden walkways and some scrambling too, boulders to climb, 🌲 trees and 🏔 snowy mountain peaks reflected in the … Continue reading Le Lac Vert (PLAINE-JOUX)
A couple of years ago for 🎄Christmas, I offered the MBFF family a 🐺 husky dog-sledding outing with 3D Nordic in Praz-sur-Arly. I had noticed that this was to be 3D Nordic‘s last ❄️ winter season in Praz-sur-Arly, before they headed off to new adventures in 🇸🇪 Lapland . . . so I seized the opportunity and booked us a baptême chiens de traîneau! What a treat … Continue reading 3D Nordic – husky sledding in Praz-sur-Arly
⛷ Domaine Skiable des Planards, a two minute walk from the centre of town, and with its own FREE parking, is one of Chamonix’s two Beginner ski areas (the other being at the Savoy slopes, connected to ⛷ Domaine Skiable de Brévent). In addition, it is the site of the year-round 🛷 Chamonix-Luge Alpine Coaster, set within the 🌈 Parc des Attractions de Chamonix (re-opens in April). The ski area … Continue reading Domaine des Planards (Chamonix Centre)
⛷ La Poya is a small family-run ski area in the hamlet of Le Buet (not far from the 🚞 train station), near to Vallorcine. It comprises: two drag lifts, a rope tow for Beginners and a pulley lift for small children, with 2km of pistes, including green, blue, red and even a black piste. You can opt for a 🗺 half-day ski pass, at a very reasonable … Continue reading La Poya Ski Area (Le Buet, Vallorcine)
⛷ La Vormaine, “ the biggest of the small ski slopes “, is the splendid Beginner & Nursery ski area, nestled in the village of 🏔 Le Tour (1432m), next to 🚡 the Charamillon bubble lift. Ski pass options at La Vormaine La Vormaine is a good value ski area, as it allows families to opt for 2h30, 4 hours (often enough with toddlers to entertain!), a day or more, … Continue reading La Vormaine Beginner & Nursery Skiing (Le Tour)
UPDATE February 2021 – over the February holidays 2021, many of the fronts de neige have added new pistes de luge (in lieu of ski alpin, which is curtailed due to the ski lifts being SHUT! The ❄️ FIRST SNOWFALL au Pays du Mont-Blanc . . . when the ❄ first snow arrives, the delight and excitement is catching: walks knee-deep (or shoulder-deep for the little ones!) … Continue reading PISTES de LUGE au Pays du Mont-Blanc (and beyond)
In Vallorcine, you have access to fabulous skiing (via the bubble lifts) at Le Domaine Balme-Vallorcine/Le Tour and at the small family-run ski area of La Poya in the hamlet of Le Buet. Beginner & Nursery Skiing at La Poya La Poya is a family-run ski area in the small hamlet of Le Buet, near to Vallorcine. It comprises: 2 drag lifts; 2 rope lifts; two green, … Continue reading Vallorcine Skiing
Though Chamonix isn’t the most obvious ski destination for families with small children, due to extensive ski options for advanced skiers and the lack of ski-in/ski-out accommodation, there are still two main areas dedicated to beginners and small children near the centre of town, and the variety of ski stations and graded pistes available is huge! Beginner and Nursery Skiing Le Savoy – this slope is very centrally located … Continue reading Chamonix Skiing
Close to Argentière village are two popular and excellent ski stations: Balme-Vallorcine / Le Tour; Grands Montets . . . Balme-Vallorcine / Le Tour Balme-Vallorcine / Le Tour is especially family-friendly, with wide, open pistes and a great number of blue runs, and La Vormaine is the splendid Beginner’s area, nestled in the village of Le Tour. Beginner & Nursery Skiing at La Vormaine La Vormaine is “the biggest … Continue reading Argentière & Le Tour Skiing
