Les Gets is a gorgeous alpine resort village, with skiing and snowboarding to suit all levels and is the home of a world-renowned bike park in the summer.
It is well-known as a family-friendly ski resort with plenty of gentle pistes for kids and beginners but there’s also a decent helping of challenging runs for more experienced riders.
There are spectacular vistas from the tops in every direction, including views of the Jura mountains beyond Lake Geneva to the Dents du Midi in Switzerland. Pointe de Percée tops out the Aravis Massif to the West and there are a fistful of prime spots to grab stunning pics of the spectacular Mont Blanc massif.
Les Gets ski area
Les Gets ski area itself is split into the Mont Chéry sector on the north side of town and the larger Chavannes area to the south. Mont Chéry is less beginner friendly than it’s southerly counterpart and is home to three black runs including the steep and rather tasty Bouqetin piste. When it’s busy, or there’s been a fresh powder delivery, Chéry’s where you’ll find a lot of the locals.
The Chavannes area on the south side of town is much more accessible and has a fantastic area for kids and beginners serviced by the Croix and Chavannes Express chairlifts. There are wide, gentle, blue runs, fun side-hits lower down and the Milka and Indians pistes which wind through the trees with even more attractions for the little ones. There’s a snowpark up here, too for some extra air and jib time for the bigger kids among us. 😉
The Chavannes area also includes ‘the bowl’ with numerous runs filtering down to the Ranfolly, Nauchets, Rosta and Grains d’Or chairlifts. The Chavannes area knits seamlessly into Morzine’s ski area including the Pleney, Nyon and Chamoissiere sectors. If the locals aren’t on Chéry on a powder day, they’re probably lapping Chamoissiere and the natural slopes of the ‘freeride zone’.
Les Portes du Soleil
If this wasn’t enough terrain to shake a ski pole at, Les Gets is also one of 12 resorts that make up the vast Portes du Soleil area which spans the Franco-Swiss border. You can strap on your board, skis, or jump on your mountain bike in the summer and set off from Les Gets for a thrill-filled, lift-assisted day out touring the whole area. Spend it hopping the border, exploring loads more of the area and enjoying heaps of breathtaking scenery to ignite the soul.
As well as Les Gets, the Portes du Soleil includes the resort towns of Morzine, Avoriaz, Châtel, St Jean D’Aulps, Chappelle d’Abondance and Abondance in France with Morgins, Les Crosets, Champoussin, Champéry and Torgon across the border in Switzerland.
Les Gets Location
Geographically, Les Gets sits high on a col between Morzine in the Dranse valley and Taninges in the Giffre valley on the other side. It is situated in the Chablais range of mountains which are cradled neatly in the crescent of Lake Geneva when viewed from above… Or on Google Maps anyway. The Chablais are in the Haute Savoie region of France and form part of the North West corner of the Alps mountain range.
This position makes Les Gets an easily (normally) accessible destination for Brits travelling by car or rail. If you do want to drive, you can cross the channel and be in Les Gets around 9 hours after touching down on French soil. Not bad… If you prefer to save time and fly, Geneva airport is only an hour or so away by road and there are plenty of transfer companies who will do the business, if you’d prefer not to bother with the hassle of hiring a car.
Accommodation, food and drink
There are a plethora of accommodation options in Les Gets from self catered to B&Bs, hotels and fully catered chalets. The range of food and drink options is just as wide and diverse as you would expect, with everything from rowdy bars and pizza joints to top notch grub and fine-dining. There is a lot of development going on at the moment and there are some interesting new venues in the pipeline that we’re excited to check out.
Always something going on
Les Gets has witnessed some iconic moments in mountain sports history and has hosted numerous high-level national and international events in both winter and summer. They’ve welcomed the French Championships, FIS events, Crankworx, Mountain Bike World Cups, the Tour de France, Dauphine de Criterium and the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships are scheduled for summer 2022.
In addition to the big time events, there’s always a steady conveyor belt of activities and events taking place to keep visitors entertained. There’s snowshoeing, hiking, cross-country skiing, parapenting, wellness centres, an art gallery, a museum, the pottery, concerts, art festivals, Altilumina, Harley Days, Passportes du Soleil, Cognee, ESF shows, competitions and displays.
You can find out what’s on and more information on Les Gets’ official website.
There’s always something going on though whether it’s winter or summer and in summer there’s even the lake to swim in with it’s own water slide and the ever popular WIBIT!
All in all, Les Gets is a pretty sweet spot and we love it!