Serre Chevalier

About the area

Serre-Chevalier in the Southern Alps offers about 157 km of pistes, and 60% of them are green or blue — roughly 94 km of easy terrain. That balance, plus 15 magic carpets and 59 short easy runs right next to a lift base, makes it a straightforward choice for beginners and families; six gondola and cable-car lifts mean small children never have to load a chairlift. Intermediates get around 45 km of red runs. Experts should temper expectations: only 15 km of black and 1 km of marked freeride, about 11% of the network.

The area runs from 1,218 m up to 2,764 m, so the upper slopes hold snow better than the valley bases. Seventy lifts serve it, including 20 chairlifts and 22 platters. The longest descent measures 5 km, with a maximum vertical of 749 m on a single run. About 2 km of piste is floodlit for evening skiing.