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Your ski holidays in Vars
Mountvacation.com has great ski holiday deals at Vars in France . Browse our latest Vars ski holidays and find out more about Vars below. The resort is made up of four different villages, with Les Claux by far the largest and home to the most facilities. The most modern of the villages, it blends into the woods at the base. Hit Les Claux for the best bars and après-ski atmosphere.
The smaller villages include Sainte Catherine, a sunny village with typical Vars architecture; traditional old farms with the ground floor made out of stones, upper floor out of wood, and a balcony to dry the clothes. The village has kept its communal wash tub, its traditional larch wooden balconies, its "gruate" (pulleys to store ricks) and its communal oven. Saint Marcellin is the oldest village, and objects and jewels dating back to bronze age have been unearthed close by during excavations.
The gateway to the ski areas, Sainte Marie, is the administrative centre and site of the first tourist developments, and with the Peyniers and the Olympic snow fronts, where some of the Forêt Blanche's most beautiful pistes remain. With good snow, great sun and cheaper prices than some French resorts, Vars is a guaranteed good ski holiday for a lower cost.
WHAT'S ON
HOW TO GET THERE
By plane
The nearest airports to Vars are Turin, Cunéo-Levaldigi, Marseille-Provence, Grenoble-St. Exupéry and St. Crépin.
By train
The nearest station to Vars is Montdauphin Guillestre (15km). You can also get to Vars from Paris/Briançon which has direct trains/night trains with berths, going by TGV via Paris-Valence or Paris-Grenoble and Marseille/Briaçon which also has daily conections.
By car
From Marseille via the A51 motorway until Gap/Tallard, then follow Embrun-Guillestre-Vars.
From Paris via the A6 motorway until Lyon then take the A43 motorway until Grenoble then follow Briançon through the col du Lautaret or Gap through the col Bayard then Embrun-Guillestre-Vars.
From Turin : Go to the border at Montgenevre, then follow Briançon-Guillestre-Vars
WHY WE RECOMMEND IT
The resort is compact and purpose built, yet still attractive, with numerous traditional chalet-style buildings, in a lovely woodland setting and a genuine French atmosphere. With high altitude skiing, the area boasts a good snow record, as well as lots of sunshine.
Vars ski resort is linked with Risoul, part of La Forêt Blanche, one of the largest ski areas in the Southern French Alps. It has access to 108 individual pistes in addition to the 64 pisted ski runs in Vars. The Vars ski resort itself is above 1500m, so skiing or boarding back to the resort is usually possible. With pistes above 2500 metres, skiing and snowboarding is assured throughout the season.
The resort has a speed skiing course, open every day of the season, allowing users to reach up to 160 kilometres per hour (100 mph). Accessed via the Crévoux chair, the course has been designed by speed skiing professionals. The resort also has a permanent parallel slalom course which is used for 'boarder cross races and offers regular shows and demonstrations from freestylers and 'boarders.
The slopes are generally uncrowded and there are a large variety of gentle slopes, more challenging pistes, as well as an abundance of off-piste possibilities. The ski area offers a lot of good freeriding for snowboarders and also boasts an excellent snowboard park.
Eating out & Nightlife
Vars les Claux is a very French compact resort, comprising two small shopping parades, each with its own selection of shops, bars, restaurants, night club, skating and games hall. Bars are mostly hotel based but can get lively by French standards, especially at weekends when the crowds arrive from Provence.
There are more than 20 bars to choose from. For occasional live music in try the piano bar Le Gruate in the Hotel Les Escondus. Nightclubs open to the early hours include Le Lem, Le Lynx and Le Look.
SKIPASS RATES:
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Nearest Airport: Turin (150km) Bus from airport Shuttle from airport
Number of ski slopes: 108
Ski slopes: 180 km
Details about ski resort
Night skiing False
Opening date: 17.12.2011
Closing date 27.4.2012
Maximum vertical drop (m): 900
Artificial snow (%): False
Longest slope (km): 0
General information
Min. altitude: 1650m
Max. altitude: 2750m
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Vars pictures
Risoul and Vars offer impressive snowboarding facilities. In addition to the 180kms of pistes, there is an excellent snowboard park in Vars under the TS Crevoux chair lift. This 'Surfland' has many attractions including some interesting kickers, rails and several quarter pipes. Pipe lovers will find two natural half pipes and a full size machine made pipe. In the evenings, there are regular night-time snowboard jump competitions.