Vars

Together with nearby Risoul, the Vars ski resort forms the Domaine de la Forêt Blanche, the largest ski area in the French Southern Alps, with 170 km of downhill pistes. Vars is in fact four villages: Vars les Claux, Sainte Marie, Saint Marcelin and Sainte Cathérine. Sainte Marie, Saint Marcelin and Sainte Cathérine, at 1,650 m, are beautiful old mountain hamlets. The Vars les Claux ski station (1,900 m), on the other hand, was built entirely from scratch in the 1960s. Happily, it avoided the ugly apartment blocks so typical of most modern French ski resorts (the "test-tube" resorts). The Vars ski area is linked to the pistes around Risoul via the Pointe de Razis (2,571 m) and the Col des Saluces. The tree line is very high, sometimes as high as 2,500 m, so most pistes are sheltered by trees, which matters in windy and cold weather. The number of pistes for beginners and advanced skiers will satisfy even the fussiest. Skiers looking for real challenges will have rather less choice. The relatively small number of truly difficult pistes is made up for by the KL ("kilomètre lancé"), a very steep slope below the summit of Chabrières, in fact a rocky gully, where speed record races are held. The area around the resort is good terrain for freeriders. At 2,400 m there is an 8 ha snow park. Cross-country trails across the whole of the Forêt Blanche total 45 km, of which 25 km are around Vars. Most of them have the advantage of running through sparse larch woods, so you can enjoy classic skiing in pleasant, dappled sunshine. The trail from Vars les Claux to the Refuge Napoléon lake has very scenic views. Of the two main villages of the Forêt Blanche ski area, Risoul is considered more attractive, but when it comes to the skiing, Vars wins hands down. Activities away from the slopes include paragliding, snowmobiles, dog sledding, snowshoe hikes, climbing, an ice rink, squash, massage, hammam and sauna. Nightlife is not particularly lively. You can, however, spend a pleasant time in a tea room, pub or regional restaurant. So far Vars has not been one of the resorts topping popularity rankings among tourists. This has its good side: lift queues are practically unknown here.