- Summer Mountain Holidays
- Vanoise Walking Tour
- Top 10 Summer Activities
- All About Via Ferrata
- Cycling:
Route du Parpaillon - Cycling: Mont Blanc Tour
- Walking: Mont Blanc Tour
- Barcelonnette Mexican Festival
- Portes du Soleil MultiPass
- Summer Home
Route des Grandes Alpes
We take to the road and drive down the Route des Grandes Alpes in the French Alps. From Thonon-les-Bains on Lac Léman the Route provides an amazing alpine experience.
Cycling the Route du Parpaillon
The Route du Parpaillon in the Vallée de l'Ubaye, southern Alps. The Tunnel du Parpaillon is the highest road tunnel in Europe, popular for walkers and cyclists and with stunning mountain scenery.
Summer Home
Summer Activities
With so much to choose from, we had to think long and hard in order to bring you our own selection of great ideas to help you plan your next summer holiday in the mountains. Like you, perhaps, we’re still in awe of the whole range of exciting new possibilities – mountains are like that.
Whatever you choose we think you’ll be surprised at what else you discover along the way - for us it’s a never-ending journey, which is just how we like it.
But we also know that everyone has different tastes and expectations, so we've tried to keep things as broad as possible, from established classics to things to change your perception of the mountains. If you plan on relaxing and unwinding or pushing yourself to the limit, either way you'll be spoilt for choice.
Finally, there's fantastic local food to try, traditional skills to discover and a fascinating history to explore both in picturesque mountain hamlets and larger heritage sites. See the feature...
Walking Tour of the Vanoise National Park
Summer Activities
Sometimes known as the Tour des Glaciers de la Vanoise, one of the great beauties of this tour, apart from the superb scenery, is that you remain at altitude and need only touch tarmac road for 50m from start to finish.
The Tour is well provided with mountain refuges which provide simple accommodation in stunning mountain locations and will provide you with memorable experiences and a chance to meet like-minded people. We asked Mark Tennent from Simply Savoie (Guided Walking and Via Ferrata Holidays) to give us a flavour of this magnificent tour. Read the feature
Why you might finally decide it’s time
to holiday in the mountains this summer
Summer Activities
Something of a revolution has been quietly transforming the face of French mountain tourism, so we decided it was high time we took a look at just what has changed. As a result, we reckon that this year's summer visitors are going to be mightily impressed.
Developers have responded to raised market expectations and created premium self-catering accommodation with high levels of comfort and onsite services, all at prices not normally available to skiers and winter visitors.
Independent hoteliers and restaurateurs have followed suit, and now summer visitors can enjoy a huge range of mountain activities, along with stylish classic (or, if you prefer, contemporary) mountain chic. Read the feature
Great family Savings with the MultiPass
Summer Activities
The Portes du Soleil are justifiably popular with winter skiers, but this beaufitful and highly accessible area also has a lot to offer in summer.
The MultiPass gives holidaymakers access to 55 activities and attractions for just €1 a day. It has proved so successful hotels and apartments in Morzine that offer the Multi Pass were over twice as busy
as those that didn’t and in 2010 Châtel reported 2 and a half times more use of lifts by walkers than before
the Multi Pass.
The MultiPass is opening up the mountains to everyone and making it possible to have a great value family holiday without breaking the bank. Read the feature
Adventure Time: All About Via Ferrata
Summer Activities
Via Ferrata allows you to climb rock faces normally only accessible to rock climbers.
Surprisingly, via ferrata routes don't require all the techniques of rock climbing, so they're accessible to a wide range of people. Qualified mountain activity specialist Mark Tennent reveals how it all works, and just what you need to know to get you started on your own adventure this summer.
Read the feature
The Lost Alpine Route (by mountain-bike)
Summer Activities
In the Southern French Alps an old, long-abandoned mountain pass built by the military scales the wild, rugged Massif du Parpaillon and still appears on larger-scale maps.
Was it, we wondered, still possible to follow it from end to end?
We were determined to find out.
Ultimate off-road cycling on the legendary Route du Parpaillon.
Mexican Music & Dance
Summer Activities
Every August the Vallée de l’Ubaye celebrates its links with Mexico. The Latino-Mexicain festival takes place over about 10 days, the musical tempo and the colourful costumes create a unique ambiance and spirit, full of joy and conviviality. Visit Barcelonnette and its' fascinating museum to discover the amazing story of how the town forged such strong links with Mexico and how it affected this small town in the southern Alps.
Read the feature
Photo: © Claude Gouron
The Mont Blanc Tour
Summer Activities
Simon Stevens from the Alpine trekking holiday company Alpine Exploratory, gives us a taste of what it's like to walk the Mont Blanc Tour.
We join him in late summer when he walked a section between Les Contamines-Montjoie and Les Houches in the Chamonix Valley. Read the feature
Millions of ways to be entertained.
What’s on the iTunes Store? You name it. You’ll find millions of songs from just about any artist, album or genre you can think of. Browse thousands of films to buy or rent. Keep up with your favourite TV programmes in standard and high definition. Download thousands of apps and games. Discover more than 150,000 free audio and video podcasts. Catch up on your reading by listening to best-selling audiobooks. Learn something new from the world’s top colleges and universities on iTunes U. And give someone a little entertainment with .
Whether you shop at the on your computer (Mac or PC), iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, everything you love is easy to find.
Travel to France by train...
Travelling to France this summer can be a much more relaxing affair with .
Enjoy more time on holiday..
Long hours getting to your destination can really spoil the adventure. allows you the freedom to choose how you travel, arriving fresh and relaxed at your destination. Book now on
Self-drive mountain holidays in France
Travel to France by ferry and some of the best summer scenery in the world. Enjoy the freedom of taking unlimited baggage and up to 9 people per car via .
Book your journey with P&O Ferries
Service and Comfort with SWISS
Year round flights from the UK to Geneva offer a huge choice of stunning holiday destinations throughout the Alps.
As more and more people are now discovering, there’s no better way to get back in touch with nature than by visiting a mountain area in summer. It’s peaceful, the air is fresher and there’s plenty of room to go your own way, whether it’s by walking, climbing, mountain-biking or looking down on it all in a glider or hot-air balloon.
And when night falls you'll sleep soundly beneath a blanket of stars - without any need for air conditioning...
Roger Moss, Editor.
