Aussois

Set on the southern side of the Vanoise National Park at 1,500 m, 15 minutes from the Maurienne motorway, Aussois offers a ski area with 55 km of pistes of varying difficulty, reaching up to 2,750 m. 65 snow cannons cover more than 20 ha of pistes between 1,500 and 2,750 m. Non-skiers can choose from plenty of activities: cross-country skiing (35 km), dog sledding, paragliding, snowshoe walks, a via ferrata, snow tubing and other attractions of this traditional, family-friendly village. Aussois has kept its old crafts, and a baroque church and a museum give it its character. New for winter 2005/2006: the opening of Armoise, a new detachable six-seater chairlift running from 2,100 to 2,600 m over a length of 1,600 m. Worth seeing: * 15 to 19 February 2006: La Grande Odysée: for the 2nd year running, Haute Maurienne hosts the second round of this international sled dog race, one of the toughest in the world. * 30 January to 2 February 2006: La Virée Québécoise, 3rd edition, a festival of Quebec song. * 29 January 2006: the 9th AUSSOIS-VANOISE-TSL Rally, a snowshoe mountaineering race with courses for amateurs and advanced competitors. * 6 to 9 March 2006: les Musicales d’Aussois, 4th edition of the festival whose founder, the "Prima Vista" quartet, returns to give 4 concerts in the baroque church in Aussois.