The French ski regions rank amongst the largest, highest, and most spacious worldwide. Second to none is the ski area Trois Vallées, with over 600 kilometres of piste and 200 ski lifts. It consists of the three valleys Courchevel, Méribel, and Val Thorens/Les
Menuires. At 2,300 m, Val Thorens is the highest ski resort in Europe.
Further combined ski regions are La Plagne and Les Arcs (420 km, 169 lifts), as well as Tignes and Val d'Isère (350 km , 97 lifts). The largest glacier ski regions are found in Tignes (2,100 - 3,350 m) and Les 2 Alpes (1,300 - 3,560 m).
Additionally, France is home of the highest mountain in the Alps, Mont Blanc (4,792 m). At the foot of the mountain lies one of the winter sports hot spots, Chamonix, scene of the Olympics in 1924. From here, the second highest cable car in Europe goes up to
the Aiguille du Midi (3,842 m). This is the starting point for one of the longest and most spectacular deep snow ski runs in the world, the glacier run (20 km) through the Vallée Blanche down to Chamonix.
Other Winter Olympics took place 1968 in Grenoble (Alpine competitions in Chamrousse) and 1992 in Albertville (competitions in Tignes, among others).
