Ski holidays in Haute-Savoie

• Haute-Savoie is a département in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region; Annecy is its préfecture.
• Portes du Soleil brings together twelve French and Swiss mountain resorts, including Morzine and Avoriaz.
• The Grand Massif includes Flaine, Les Carroz, Morillon, Samoëns and Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval.
• Évasion Mont-Blanc includes Megève, Saint-Gervais, Les Contamines, Combloux and La Giettaz, among other resorts.
• Le Grand-Bornand, La Clusaz and Manigod are part of the Massif des Aravis.

The French names Portes du Soleil and Évasion Mont-Blanc refer to linked ski areas that extend beyond the département boundaries. Morzine is in the Chablais. The selection also includes Avoriaz, Les Gets, Châtel and other resorts across the border.

The Évasion Mont-Blanc ski area also includes Saint-Nicolas-de-Véroce and Le Jaillet. It extends beyond the boundaries of Haute-Savoie. Évasion Mont-Blancoffers ski destinations in several départements.

Saint-Jean-de-Sixt is another resort in the Massif des Aravis. This part of Haute-Savoie is home to Le Grand-Bornand and La Clusaz and Manigod.

In the Grand Massif, the red Cascades piste runs from Grandes Platières near Flaine to Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval: 14 kilometres and 1,720 metres of vertical drop. Its length and difficulty make it a tour for experienced, fit skiers, not a beginner run. The return to Flaine is by shuttle from the valley; the lift does not take you directly back from the end of the run.

Haute-Savoie was created on 15 June 1860 from the former provinces of Genevois, Chablais and Faucigny. The area stretches from the French shore of Lake Geneva to the Mont Blanc massif; the Chamonix Valley lies in the southeast. It includes Portes du Soleil, Chamonix-Mont-Blanc and the resort of Morzine.

For further planning, see the guides to planning a ski holiday, getting there, snow conditions, beginner ski lessons, ski holidays with children, accommodation and food and when to travel.