Winter activities
Whether you are a skier or a snowboarder, Châtel and the French Alps has it all
The skiing area is vast and is known as “The Portes du Soleil”.
It encompasses over 400 miles of pistes, suitable for all levels of skier, from the beginner, to the experts amongst you, who will find the “Swiss Wall” a challenge. There are several ski schools and nurseries to cater for your needs and we have negotiated a 10% discount on ski hire at “Charles Sport” in the village.
There are 3 main ski areas all linked by a free bus, the “Navette”.
It is possible to ski large circuits, as all the areas link up, and the skiing is truly international as you can cross the border into Switzerland. In all, 13 resorts and 14 valleys are linked, and can all be skied using one ski pass.
It would be difficult to ski all the runs in a fortnights holiday, and even after 25 years of family ski holidays in the area we still come across runs which are new to us!
If however you were to find this all to be a little limiting, you could travel by car in less than 90 minutes, to ski in Verbier, or Argentiere and its famous black runs and off piste slopes, or even Villars and Gstaad.
Châtel has a good selection of bars and restaurants and a good après ski atmosphere. Also, there is a bowling alley, plus two cinemas, an indoor pool, fitness room/gym, parapenting, shops, ice skating, snow shoeing. Also Nordic /cross country skiing is available, in the next village,'La Chapelle d'Abondance. There is a weekly market on Wednesdays, selling fresh produce and local products including the famous 'Abondance' cheese.
On warm days, the really brave can try the Fantasticable and fly 1200 metres at almost 100km/h harnessed to a cable.
Summer activities
Châtel is very popular in summer and offers many activities to suit most tastes. These include hiking, horse riding, mountain biking, swimming and tennis.
For the more adventurous, white water rafting is available, as is paragliding.
Nature lovers will not be disappointed, there are many Alpine pastures, with wonderful flowers, and you might be lucky enough to see a marmotte colony, chamois, or even wild boar. There are several lakes where you are allowed to fish.
In July and August the tourist office arranges a programme of walks and excursions, including trips to local farms to taste the produce, at a modest cost. In addition some of the ski lifts are open, to take those less seriously fit amongst you, up the mountains, enabling you to take in the splendid alpine scenery and air.