Avoriaz, France

Avoriaz is a 1 hour 45 minute drive from Geneva airport. The car-free ski village is far enough up the mountain that you tend to get beautiful blue skies and great snow consistently. The pistes offer a wide range of difficulty making it an ideal spot for groups of various expertise, skiers and boarders. We stayed in ski-in/ski-out Chalet Marie with 10 friends and enjoyed gourmet hearty dinners, daily afternoon cakes, and comfortable accommodation.

http://www.avoriaz.com/ski-holidays/

Eat/Drink

Le Bistro

We dined here on our chalet chef's night off. You've never seen cheese fondue like this before!

Lunch on the piste

La Marmotte

Les Brochaux

A welcome break from the cafeteria style restaurants we frequented before finding this hidden gem in Les Brochaux.

La Paika

+33 (0)4 50 92 85 22 just off La Terche run in Les Gets, France.

Exquisite bbq cruisine on the side of the mountain. I would happily ski down many steep red runs just to get to eat here again.

Holiday-tion Style Tip:

• Japanese brand Uniqlo's Heattech base layers kept us warm on the slopes (only available in ski season). http://www.uniqlo.co.uk

Holiday-tion Lit Pick:

• A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. I first read this in high school but recently revisited it during this Holiday-tion and fell in love with Francie Nolan's insightful, heart-breaking, and inspiring character and story all over again.

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