Late Skiing Holiday? 3 Great Ski Resorts Near Nice Airport

Located on the south east coast of France right on the Mediterranean sea, Nice is an ideal location for a holiday any time of year, but it’s often forgotten that once you arrive at the Aeroport Nice Côte d’Azur you are within easy driving distance of ski resorts in France, Andorra, and Italy.

Here we’ll take a quick look at three of the nearest and best ski resorts and what they offer the vacationing skier.

Isola 2000

This purpose-built ski resort is located in the Southern French Alps, only an hour’s drive from Nice.With excellent snow conditions and a huge variety of slopes to suit beginner, intermediate, and expert, it’s easy to see how Isola 2000 is one of the most popular ski resorts in the area.The resort also boasts some of the best night skiing in Europe, with 45 illuminated slopes enabling you to enjoy skiing even when the sun has long set.

Some of the other activities on offer at Isola 2000 include:

* Paragliding
* Snow shoe hiking
* Snow mobile outings
* Ice skating

Perhaps the most popular attraction in the resort is the snow park, catering for snowboarders and freestylers with half-pipes and kickers. It’s also the home of the “Back to Back Club” – the first snowboard club in France, making it a Mecca of sorts for French snowboarders.

Auron

The ski resort of Auron  is a 90-minute drive from Nice and, with all the skiing above 2,000 meters, snow reliability is quite good.  This scenic resort has 40  individual pistes, served by 24 lifts, and, as with  Isola, there are slopes to suit skiers of any level. Auron is well known as a good place to learn how to ski, with some excellent beginner areas solely for lessons and practice. With black runs dotted all over the resort, however, it’s also a popular destination for experts.

Auron’s many non-ski activities include:

* Ice skating in the village rink
* Horse and sleigh riding
* Mountain hiking
* Paragliding

Auron is also popular with snowboarders and has a very good snow park with a decent halfpipe and plenty of jumps. There is also a network of runs that are perfect for fast and even slow carving, making this a ski resort that is ideal for perfecting your boarding skills.

Valberg Ski Resort

The sun-kissed resort of Valberg (official site) has a decidedly Mediterranean feel, so it’s hard to imagine that Nice is actually an 80-minute drive away. With a reputation for being a perfect family ski resort, this is certainly one resort worth considering if you have kids. The skiing in Valberg is mainly suited to beginners and intermediate level skiers, and this is perhaps why families so often frequent the resort’s pistes. Experts won’t be bored, but if you’re up for a challenge, then Isola or Auron would be more suitable

The resort of Valberg offers:

* Ski school specialising in family lessons
* Childcare and crèche
* Covered heated swimming pool
* Cinema with 2 daily screenings

The family- friendly amenities make Valberg an excellent choice for a family heading off on their first ski holiday. And with fantastic Mediterranean restaurants in the village itself, your only problem will be choosing where to eat each evening.

With such magnificent skiing and scenery located so close to the French Riviera, you could easily find yourself skiing in the Alps one day and sipping coffee in a cafe on the Mediterranean the next.

You can find package ski holidays to all of the resorts above via the ski holiday experts at Interactive Resorts.

Money-Saving Ideas

Smart skiers and snowboarders looking to make big significant savings on their skiing holidays can avail of a wealth of late ski deal offers from many ski-operators and travel agents. These offers exist mainly due to ski-tour operators block-booking seats on planes as well as entire ski chalets. When they don’t sell, prices can fall to as little as half their peak-season levels.

Further savings can be made on transfers from airport to resort by renting a car for the duration of your stay.  This also gives you the ability to relax and travel at your own pace, as well as allowing you to pull over for lunch / refreshments, or just to marvel at the beautiful French countryside.