Montgenevre ski resort is located at 1.850 m just on the French side of the Italian-French boarder and is linked in to the Italian Milky way circuit. The ski resort dates back to 1907 and in February 2007 Montgenèvre celebrated its centenary as France’s oldest winter sport resort by organising its first international ski competition.
Montgenevre ski resort - ViaLattea ski area
Montgenèvre is also the sole French resort of six that are connected together in the giant Milky Way or ViaLattea circuit of 400km of piste that connects the village to the 2006 Winter Olympic resorts of Sestriere, Sansicario and Sauze D’Oulx in Italy as well as Cesana and Claviere, the latter just a few kilometres from Montgenèvre ski resort. The Milky Way circuit is reached via a link just above Claviere which can be reached from Montgenevre either via a blue run via the Le Chalvet side of the mountain or via a series of reds and blues from the main mountain.
The lift pass exchange with Serre-Chevalier and Puy St Vincent is well worth the visit and can be easily reached by car.
Skiing
The ski area occupies both sides of Montgenèvre: Le Gondrans is the north-facing side of the valley which is also the gateway to the Milky Way and Le Chalvet on the French side and frequented more often by locals. The majority of the runs at Montgenèvre are located above the tree line. The terrain has long cruisy blues and reds perfect for beginners and confident intermediates.
Beginners have fantastic nursery slopes with a dedicated 'beginners zone' in Montgenèvre resort. There is a gentle green run down to the village from Les Grondrans which is perfect for building confidence as it is specifically designed to allow beginners to apply some of the turns they have been taught by instructors. Le Pharo, a blue run, is the longest piste in the area at 5.5km.
Intermediate and advanced-level skiers will love the long red pistes that descend from the top of the chairlift. You can also use this access to connect to the upper reaches of the Italian side of the resort, descending into the village of Claviere. In addition, the prospect of skiing over the birder is sure to excite a few intermediates looking to push themselves.
Advanced skiers can find a good amount of challenging runs in both Montgenèvre and the Milky Way starting with the Rocher de L’Aigle run which is largely regarded as the most difficult runs in the area: starting from the Rocher de L’Aigle and down to the Claviere village.
Off piste
Although heliskiing is banned by law in France, Montgenèvre’s location next to the Italian border, means the resort’s more well-heeled guests can make use of one of the two helicopters based in nearby Sauze d’Oulx to try freeride skiing with a guide on summits over 3,000 metres high in Italy including Dormillouse, Terra Nera and Clausi. First descents cost about 1000 Euros for up to four people, second and subsequent descents about half that.
Montgenèvre village
Montgenevre is a road side narrow village just 2km from the Italian boarder, low priced shops, bars and restaurants line the road that leads down to the village’s nursery slopes. Thankfully the traffic that blighted this area now is diverted through a tunnel, so the village no longer suffers from through traffic on its way to Italy.
There is an selection different of shops in Montgenèvre to satisfy your need for some retail therapy or sightseeing around the resort. There are small and local corner shops to large retail stores for grocery shopping; lovely local bakeries and cafe shops for a bit of indulging and a few souvenirs shops.
It's no surprise that the majority of bars and restaurants across resort have Italian and French influence. There are more than a dozen restaurants in Montgenèvre, catering for all budgets. Le Capitaine is a great choice if you're fancying some Italian cuisine without travelling far and has a great pizza selection. La Ca del Sol serves up traditional French mountain meals such as fondue. La Table Blanche is the go to if you're fancying a gourmet dinner. However, if you are looking for a party after a long day of cruising the mountains, the resort does have a nightclub called Blue Night Disco which gets lively at the weekends. Le Jammy and Refuge are some firm favourites and attract the crowd straight from the slopes.
