I’ve visited more than 30 ski resorts, and this is the best for families

“We are one of the sunniest resorts in the French Alps,” said my guide Arthur Cotteverte from the La Rosière Tourist Office as I sat on the chairlift, my face tilted skywards, soaking up the winter sunshine. “If you look behind you, the rest of the valley is in the shade.”

Sure enough, standing at the top of the Fort de la Redoute, the site of a historic ruined fort, looking back across the Tarentaise, the valley was cloaked in a dusky shadow. Its big-name resorts – some of the most famous in the world, including Tignes and Les Arcs – were almost entirely hidden in darkness. Meanwhile, the sun hung low in La Rosière, bathing the snowy pistes in a rich golden hue.

Family-friendly fame

Look at any list of “best ski resorts with children” and France’s La Rosière will be placed near the top. Loyal families wax lyrical about its proximity to Italy, its varied ski terrain, its family-friendly après-ski activities and, yes, its sunny climate.

Nicknamed “the Balcony of the Tarentaise”, La Rosière sits at 1,850m on a south-facing flank of the famous valley, a location that means all-day sunshine even in the coldest winter months. And, as anyone who has ever skied with kids knows, sunny days equals warm and happy children.

Curious but not convinced that it really could be better than the many other family ski resorts that I’ve tried, I enlisted the help of my youngest, nine-year-old Sam, and headed to the Alps to see what all the fuss was about.

We flew into Lyon, a two-and-a-half-hour drive away, and were dropped at the five-star Alpen Lodge in Les Eucherts (Bourg-Saint-Maurice is just 30 minutes’ drive away if you travel by train). The resort’s geography consists of two halves: the original village, La Rosière Centre, and its newer neighbour Les Eucherts, which was developed in the early 2000s.

Both areas favour Savoyard wood-and-stone chalets over concrete towers, largely because the resort was designed locally rather than as part of the government-funded Plan Neige (snow plan) programme in the 1960s, which included Les Menuires and La Plagne. The fortunate result is a resort that’s pretty and traditional rather than brutalist and functional.

Today, the two neighbourhoods function as mini villages, with their own hotels and chalets, restaurants, activities and ski schools. So convenient was Les Eucherts that it was hard to motivate ourselves to visit the centre. We made the journey just once; walking along the pretty snow-covered forest path that links the two villages one way, and catching a lift on the free navette bus for the return journey.

Piste perfection

As with most French resorts, Ecole de Ski France (ESF) is the biggest ski school, and Sam spent his days learning with instructor Grace. A Sheffield native, Grace grew up in nearby Sainte-Foy, a resort well known for not receiving much sunshine.

“I used to look at sunny La Rosière and be really jealous,” said Grace over lunch at the slopeside Paradis restaurant. “Now that I teach here, I’m not sure I could go back to instructing in Sainte-Foy.”

One of the joys of taking ski lessons in La Rosière is that it never gets too busy. Granted, our visit coincided with the start of the season, when most schools were still in session, but even during Christmas and half-term weeks, the ski schools and slopes are not overcrowded.

“We just have fewer skiers here,” said Arthur when I quizzed him on lift lines and peak weeks. “The Paradiski area (La Plagne and Les Arcs), for example, is 450km, but they have 70,000 beds. We have a ski area of 150km and just 15,000 beds, so our ratio of skiers is much lower.”

Empty slopes are a definite draw for families, but they need to offer good skiing too, and fortunately, La Rosière has something for everyone. Beginners and intermediates are particularly well catered for, with an abundance of wide, cruisy blues and steeper but still easygoing reds. Despite having mastered parallel turns and stops, Sam’s favourite piste was the Little Saint-Bernard trail, an adventurous green run through the woods with tunnels, bells and arches, plus handy stopping-off points for building a snowman.

I spent much of one morning in the Mont Valaisan sector skiing – and re-skiing – what quickly became my favourite piste in the resort: a long, swooping, perfectly groomed red run named 2800 after the ski area’s highest peak.

A slice of Italy

But while the pistes in La Rosière are great fun, the area’s trump card is the Espace San Bernardo, the ski domain shared with neighbouring La Thuile in Italy. Until this season, the only way across the border was down the red Bouquetin run, but a new six-seater chairlift, Chardonnet, now allows anyone who isn’t confident on the narrow piste to ride downhill – families, rejoice.

Once across the border, Arthur pointed out the old customs house (and modern duty-free shop) perched along the windswept Col du Petit Saint Bernard. The high road – closed in winter months – links France and Italy and is where Hannibal is said to have brought his elephants across the Alps in 218 BC.

One of the many highlights of cross-border skiing is enjoying the local food of different nations. We stopped for lunch at Pepita Café, where generous plates of homemade pasta, wood-fired pizza and a decadent tiramisu were served in true Italian style. Not only were they delicious, but they were also far cheaper than what we would have paid back across the pistes in France.

When it comes to restaurants and bars, La Rosière is not known for its nightlife (although there are enough late-night bars if you are holidaying with teenagers). Travelling with nine-year-old Sam, however, dancing on tables was not top of our agenda. Instead, we explored the resort’s many other non-ski activities.

Our Monday night arrival coincided with the weekly descent flambeau, when ESF instructors showed off their skills at the floodlit Front de Neige base area. Another evening, we struck it lucky in the six-lane bowling alley attached to Le Flocon restaurant.

The highlight was the Wednesday ice hockey match though. Located in Les Eucherts, the ice rink is a fraction of the size of an international venue. Nevertheless, it’s the setting for one of the most popular nights in town, when the local White Tigers take on visiting teams in a three-person match.

Our final day, the sun didn’t shine in La Rosière. Instead, the snow started to fall – providing the last vital element for a successful family ski holiday. The resort had ticked all the boxes (snow-sure, family-friendly skiing, pizza and sunshine) in confirming its status as a perfect destination for skiing families this winter.

Essentials

Katja was a guest of La Rosière. Alpen Lodge (0033 0450 272272; mgm-hotels-residences.com) has two-bedroom apartments from £1,136 per week, self-catering. You can fly from London Gatwick to Lyon with easyJet (easyjet.com) from £42 return. A six-day Espace San Bernardo lift pass costs £239 per adult; £179 per child.

Read more with our guide to ski holidays in La Rosiere.