Serre Chevalier - Recently Updated Pages

Contact Us

serrechevalier — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 06:43:53 CDT

In Hong Kong Europe In France In UK Tailored group tours We are happy to accomadate your group, whether you want to paint together or cycle five cols in a week. Tell us how many you are and what you want. That's it. Just turn up and we will collect you from the aipport or railhead of your choice. We can set menus and activities for the Serbiton Ladies Life Drawing Association, the Rotterdam Yoga Team or the Mountain Biking Crew from Crewe. Prices and activitieswill be decided depending on what you want to do and what you want to eat.

Travel Links

serrechevalier — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 06:42:26 CDT

Links

Getting here

Monetieriseasy to get to, either a flight and a two hour drive, a TGV train and a 40 minute drive or an overnight train and a 20 minuteroad journey.

Which ever way you decide, we willarrange airport pick-upsfrom a one-man band to a full orchestra, usingpartners we trust.

We can also put you on the best track if you wish to arrange your own travel, which generally works out good value and gives you the freedom to explore the area at your leisure.

Flying The nearest airports to Monetierare Turin in Italy and Grenoble in France. These are served by easyJet and Ryanair, however frequency of flights is seasonally affected, especially in May and November. For summer there is little difference in the road quality, however in winter the route fromTurin is generally less affected once the snow comes in late November. Fortimings, Grenoble is slightly more civilised, but you get more of the day by arriving earlier going to Turin).From Turin airport there are connecting trains to Oulx (in Italy) and from just outside the train station a bus runs to Briancon. There are also buses from Grenoble and Lyon airports to Briancon. Car hire is straight forward with the hire desks located within two minutes walk of the arrivals hall. Lyon, Marseille and Geneva airports are also reasonably close

Airport transfer times

Airport	Distance to Serre Chevalier	Approx. transfer time by road
Grenoble	92km	2 hours
Turin	108km	2.10 hours
Lyon St Exupery	208	3 hours

Train
For speed take the TGV fast train from Paris Gare d'Austerlitzto Oulx (on the Paris - Milan line) in Italy, the trip takes four hours and then it's40 minutes by road. It is also possible to take a TGV to Lyon - these are more frequent, cheaper- and the road trip is closer to two hours. Given the choice of a French train or Italian one, go Italian as it serves better food and coffee. Briancon railway station is only six km from the villageand linked by bus or taxi, there are night trains from Paris Gare d'Austerlitz, not a bad way to spend a night.
Transfers

We will have a man in a van wherever, whenever you want, either airports or railhead, this will be better value than any private taxi and just as comfortable.

There is also the option of bus transfers, which are the most economical way to travel to resort from the airport or train station. If possible, try to book your tickets well in advance.

For door-to-door, taxis are a good option, although not the cheapest. Self-drive

Hiring a car from an airportis the most flexible option of travelling, the roads from the airports are ingood condition, especially since the Turin Winter Olympics.

You can also self-drive, which will take you about 12 hours fromCalais or Boulogne. The motorways are the quickest route but you will have to pay around €50-60 in toll charges each way. The best route is via Chambery on the A43 motorway, then through the Fréjus tunnel to Saulce d'Oulx (Italy), and finally the Col du Montgenevre pass arriving in Briancon.

Course Details

serrechevalier — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 06:40:21 CDT

Course dates for summer/ autumn 2010 All course are designed to be modular and allow families to be together, but not necessarily play together. Outdoor physical week Run, climb, canoe, bicycle, tennis, yomp and chill out with a beer whilst sitting in the river where the hot thermal waters join the stream. You can set your pace, and do as little or as much as you think you can handle. Outdoor play week Not quite as intense, play tennis, paintball, go for a ride, play beach volleyball and throw a petank or two. There is is still enough beer to help though. Painting course Seven daycourse covering the aspects of water colouring and pencil shading.

Four morning sessions of 3 hours
Four afternoon sessions of 3 hours
Four hours private tutoring
Two free days to explore the valley with your easel

This is full board course, with breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks Yoga and well beingcourse Full week iyaveda yoga course, with massage and oil treatments. Run a pace more suitable Salute the sun

Accommodation

serrechevalier — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 06:38:32 CDT

Comfortableaccommodation is the most important thing for a relaxed time, crisp linen sheets, clean towels and a piping hot shower are offered to all. Each room is unique in aconverted 17th century monastry, what iscommon to all is that they are allwell appointedwith an ensuite bathroom and spotlessly clean. The dining room is on the ground level, with loungue and the always sunny studio room is perfect for lounging or spending a lazy afternoon reading, or even snoozing. We offer a great flexibility for meals, from just breakfast, half board, or full board you can choose what is best for you. Load up at breakfast, eat a picnic lunch in a meadow overlooking the valley and choose to join us for supper or dine out around the village. For a gastro treat we have partnered with Hotel L'Europe, on the other side of the village square,which has some of the best food in the valley.This gives greater flexibility in the menu,

1-2 night camping is part of each course

Locations

serrechevalier — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 06:31:30 CDT

Learning Unlimited

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Locations

Getting here

Monetieriseasy to get to, either a flight and a two hour drive, a TGV train and a 40 minute drive or an overnight train and a 20 minuteroad journey.

Which ever way you decide, we willarrange airport pick-upsfrom a one-man band to a full orchestra, usingpartners we trust.

We can also put you on the best track if you wish to arrange your own travel, which generally works out good value and gives you the freedom to explore the area at your leisure.

Airport transfer times

Airport	Distance to Serre Chevalier	Approx. transfer time by road
Grenoble	92km	2 hours
Turin	108km	2.10 hours
Lyon St Exupery	208	3 hours

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Activities

serrechevalier — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 06:28:11 CDT

Activities

LIST everything on this page Outdooractivities offered for all levels of ability and bravery:

tennis
mountain bike
etc

Language lab

French language
English language
Italian
Manderin

Studio

water colouring including field trips
pencil shading

Kids club

arts and craft
drama and dance

Culinary

wine and cheese tasting
French cookery lessons

History and culture

Explore the region's living history that dates back to Roman times

mountain biking
fishing
cooking
historic townvisit
rock climbing
beach volleyball

Monetier Stay

serrechevalier — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 06:23:08 CDT

Welcome to your retreat in the French Alps Here you can tailor your holiday to fit you like a glove

Sitiing at 1,500metres in a pristine Alpine setting welcome to Monetier.
Stay in a converted 17th Century monestry right in the heart of thissouth facingvillage, that promies 300 days of sunshine a year.
Setting on the border of Ercins National Park and under the impossing peaks of the southern Alps
Activities coveringphysical tocultural and andeven the spiritual.
Educational courses from the kitchen to the classroom.
Health and well being is catered to with Yoga, massage and natural spring waters that flow into the village's international standard hot spring baths.

We offer activitiesbetween late May toOctober, from the eruption of colour in spring meadows to clear summer skies and fantastic sun to and then on to autumn's turning colours the valley truly has everything forall seasons. We try to match the season's of nature with what we offer, from the outdoor entusiasts imersion in a spring-melt filled raging river tooffering thewater colourist a rich pallate of spring blooms and fall shades.

Introduction We provide the venue and options, simply pick what suits you best. You can hurtle down amountain on a bike whilst your kids learn French and canoe in the Guisaneriver as your partner improves their water colouring skills under the tutelidge of an internationally recognised artist, or bones up on the difference between a chardonnay and a grenache. Individual and group skills such as leadership, listening, debating, discussion and putting plans into action can be honed on one of our team building courses Adventure sports canoe, tennis, mountain biking Health and well being nutrition yoga Personal devlopemnt Education: Language, sports kick boxing, wine appreciation Cooking and culture Art and culture Massage Corporate training

Chalet Celes

serrechevalier — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 07:40:02 CST

Chalet Celes

The chalet is surrounded by its own enclosed garden (850m sq), perfect in the summer. The chalet is situated in the heart of the resort in the village of Chantemerle (Serre Chevalier 1350) the ski lifts are only a short walk away (open during the summer). As are the local restaurants, bars, shopping centre, tourist information, ski schools and shops .

Ground floor (click for larger image)

Chalet Celes (180m sq) can sleep 11 people comfortably. It has 2 bathrooms and 3 wcs. It is luxuriously decorated, newly furnished and the kitchen is fully equipped. The garage/boot changing and ski store (50m sq) can house two vehicles comfortably and is electronically operated. Exceptionally large south facing terrace.

4 bedrooms and large mezzanine floor
2 bathrooms
3 WCs
Large comfortable lounge and dining area with a fireplace (logs available)
Large well equipped kitchen
LCD TV
High chairs
Extremely large south facing terrace
Garage/Ski room, parking for 2 cars
Non smoking chalet
No pets
Wheelchair access
Cot

The Chillblanes

serrechevalier — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 07:04:08 CST

There is no abstract available for this page revision.

Cross Country Skiing

serrechevalier — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 05:25:27 CST

Get away from the crowds - cross-country skiing in Serre Chevalier for absolute beginners!

Well it’s February, and the French National holidays and English half-term breaks are in full swing. The popular pistes are pretty crowded and the lift queues are long, fancy trying something different?
Any Serre Che ski pass covering 6 days or more entitles you to one free day of cross-country skiing, but you have to present the printed coupon labelled ski de fond, sold with the pass at one of the lift stations. Otherwise you are expected to buy a ticket, price in 2008, 6 euros for a day.
The ski de fond (cross-country skiing) tracks are in a great condition this year, as a result of the deep snowfalls earlier in the season. My friend Lin and I decided to finally take the plunge and, I must admit without much research, hire some equipment and try a very easy, flat piste in a field near the picturesque village of Le Casset, near Monetier Les Bains, Serre Chevalier. Being both quite experienced downhill skiers we imagined cross-country skiing would perhaps be easier; anyone who was watching us start off last Tuesday is probably still laughing at our foolishness!
We hired our equipment from Regis Sport in the centre of Villeneuve. The special boots are like very well made lace-up sports shoes with a metal clip binding on the toe, comfy to wear. There’s no binding on the heel, so you can lift a lot of your foot off the ski. The skis are longer, lighter and narrower than downhill skis; we are both about 1.65m tall, the skis were about 2m long. The ski poles are also longer, measured to reach up to your chin, at least. The ski techician, Christian, explained the basics to us pretty well…had I followed what he said I would have fallen over less at the start. He suggested walking along on the flat without poles first of all just to get one’s balance and to explore the different centre of gravity needed compared with downhill skiing, wise advice. Then the next stage was to try and achieve a striding/skating/sliding action, putting one foot forward then the other and using the poles.
What Lin and I hadnt realised at this point, was that there are two distinct approaches to cross-country skiing: the Classic, following two parallel tracks, you are literally in the tracks, carved in the snowfield or the more Free-Skating style, typified by the Herring-bone movement with the front tips of the skis turned right out.

Cross country skiing in Serre Chevalier
Originally uploaded by Susan Lomas

We assumed we would probably chat to experienced skiers as we went along and learn more by watching them, which is fairly much what happened. My first mistake was to look at a little slope at the beginning of the trail and think "I’ll just slide down there and point my skis in to the tracks". Hilarious, really slippery, you can’t turn or snow plough like you can with downhill skis, I wobbled backwards, forwards, left, then finally right as I hit the deck in an undignified heap…hmm more to that than meets the eye then. Anyway, got up again, and started trying to walk in the tracks using opposite pole, opposite leg, felt completely stiff and uncoordinated as if I had a poker up my backside, no sense of rhythm whatsoever. Very strange being a complete beginner at something. We were overtaken by a few, amused, hardy French people either using the Classic tracks method or Herring-boning!
The first 20-30 minutes was pretty hardwork, but the azure blue sky and beautiful snowy mountains and hot sun kept me going. We completed the first flattish loop in the open field and headed off towards a more woodland route, when we quickly realised that the land was going to go "up and down" a bit more. Our first attempts to get up a slope were pathetic and like a cartoon. You need to get your momentum up and really plant your poles well dug in if you are going for the Classic stay in the tracks approach. Apparently the Classic skis have ridges cut on their bases to stop you sliding back downhill. Lin managed the slope Herring bone style, I gave up and took my skis off. Not impressive, and at this point I thought " This is more difficult than I expected".
Continuing along the track and seeing the village of Le Casset through the trees, I had a revelation, and for myself realised the point of the whole exercise. I’d brought my camera to record the ups and downs of the day and now I was seeing views of the valley I’d only ever admired before on postcards and in books. It was simply beautiful. I photographed the village nestled in the grandeur of the mountains, relaxed a bit and started enjoying the whole experience.
After about two hours we had both made good progress, had got a rhythm going and were trekking away. What goes up, must come down, however, and we were still rather daunted by sliding downhill in the tracks, even on the easy pistes. There is no way of stopping, you just have to crouch low with your poles tucked under your arms and wait for the gradient to diminish! Approaching Le Casset from the south side, positioned in the tracks and heading towards the church, I realised I was sliding forwards fast enough to make any attempt at stopping impossible, so I decided to crouch low and see what happened, I managed to keep my balance and ride out the slope without mishap. Hurrah!
To conclude for now: Cross-country skiing is great exercise and you get to see some beautiful countryside. As with all sports, proper qualified teaching helps you get more out of the activity safely and on reflection we would probably have learnt more quickly and fully with an instructor. Also, there are people out there with a lot more knowledge than me on this subject, please get blogging about your experiences too.

Serre Chevalier Hotels

serrechevalier — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 16:09:50 CST

Exclusive to Neilson with an excellent piste-side location enjoying beautiful panoramic views, providing great food & service. Villeneuve’s resort centre is nearby & it’s 25m to the Aravet bubble lift linking into the heart of the ski area. The hotel bar is a focal point for après-ski while the large terrace is perfect for sunny days. The Cimotel is run & managed by Neilson. For more details see: Serre Chevalier Hotels

My mood: extremely enlightened
My health: extremely well

Serre Chevalier Wiki

californiarv — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 08:22:18 CST

Hi and welcome to this Serre Chevalier Wetpaint Wiki, so you may ask...

Questions

Where is Serre Chevalier?
What is a Wiki?
How can this Serre Chevalier Wiki help me?

Answers

Serre Chevalier is a mountain resort in The Southern French Alps, you can find out more about it by reading this page: Where is Serre Chevalier?
Wikis are great and Wetpaint Wikis are great and simple to use, read about it here: What is a Wiki? Very simply we can say that,

"A wiki is a type of website with pages that anyone can edit and contribute to, including text, photos, videos, polls, and more. Because many people can contribute to a wiki website, the content tends to grow quickly as a result of frequent collaboration: Users can easily and quickly build on the work of others by adding new information--and even new pages--to the wiki website"
OK lets break this down...
1. For people looking to visit Serre Chevalier: you will find the latest information about Serre Chevalier, because this wiki is very much alive and will be more up-to-date than any 'normal' static web site. So if you are looking for a hotel, apartment, property to buy or anything like that, you will have access to the latest offers by the Serre Chevalier organizations that are contributing to this site.
2. For people who just love Serre Chevalier: you can be a collaborator, you can write about your holidays, show us your photos or even your videos.
3. For business owners, this is a really great opportunity: you can create pages about your business, you can link back to your own web site (thus getting more traffic), you can even link to your video advertisements and podcasts if that is part of your strategy.

So if you have an interest in Serre Chevalier, get involved with this Serre Chevalier Wetpaint Wiki!

Where is Serre Chevalier

serrechevalier — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 05:03:01 CST

Serre Chevalier is located in the southern part of the Franch Alps, close to the Parc National des Ecrins, in the highest department of the french Alps, 'Hautes Alpes' which is designated the 05. Serre Chevalier has a large skiing area (250 km of slopes) and very sunny weather, boasting 300 days of sunshine a year. Serre Chevalier lies close to the town of Briançon, with the villages of St Chaffrey, Chantemerle, La Salle Les Alpes, and Monêtier Les Bains nearby. The ski champion Luc Alphand was born in the valley of the resort. He still lives here and we spot him from time to time, usually at Le Cafe Soleil, Serre Ratier.

One of the best things about Serre Chevalier is the larch forest nature of the slopes. There's a lot of variety, and the slopes are wooded till about 2/3 of the way up the mountains. It also has a good snow record for what some people regard as a 'low altitude' resort. Holidaymakers tend to worry about altitude too much, Serre Chevalier has it's own microclimate which can give superb skiing between 2800m and 1300m. There are still high, exposed areas for those who want them. It's also pretty good for snowboarders, as there are few flat spots. Since 2005, the resort is managed by the Compagnie des Alpes. There are new lifts built every year, giving faster access to the slopes and replacing older lifts with more modern, faster and comfortable lifts.

In the summer Serre Chevalier becomes an area dedicated to kayaking, walking, cycling, mountain biking, climbing, rock climbing, sledding, paragliding and generally enjoying one of the most gorgeous mountain areas in Europe. Serre Chevalier organizes the MTB french championships in 2008

The nearest airports to Serre Chevalier are Turin in Italy and Grenoble in France. These are served by some of the UK's budget airlines such as EasyJet and Ryanair, providing easy access from many European cities.
In 2007 Serre Chevalier was ranked the 1st French resort in the category for well-being and relaxation and 7th in the category for "breathtaking skiing".