The Auvergne mountains (the Massif Central) have 3 main ski resorts
and several smaller ones offering plenty of pistes for downhill
skiing and snowboarding as well as marked trails for cross coutry
skiing and snow-shoeing.
Massif du Sancy
The resorts of Besse, Superbesse
and Mont-Dore
straddle the Sancy peak, the highest mountain in the range at a
healthy 1886m.
The resort of Chastereix also in the Massif du
Sancy reaches 1850m and it is possible to ski over to SuperBesse
from here..
Mont Dore has skiing heritage, being one of the
first resorts in France to build a cable car link. The story of
the skiing Monk, Jean Baptiste Blot can be found on the Pistehors
site along with detailed reviews of the Auvergne resorts.The charming
town of Mont Dore in itself is worth a visit, with it’s faded
Belle Epoque architecture and Byzantine spa building, it has an
authenticity rarely found modern ski resorts. While there, pay a
visit to the Café du Paris, modelled on the Jazz cafes of
Paris, or the funky Hotel Russie
for a decent meal.
In the same region, the Puy-de-Dome mountain can be climbed on
touring skis.
We will be visting all the local resorts this winter so will post
reviews based first hand experience in March 2009.
Gite La Jonchere is about 1 hour drive from the Sancy resorts. |
