Enjoying over 300 days of sunshine per year and UNESCO World Heritage listed, Briançon is a really stunning and special part of the world, rustic and not over-developed. Snowgums is in a quiet village on the Serre Chevalier side of Briançon and five minutes from everything you need. It has the best of all worlds, the sun of Provence, the snow and mountains of the Alps, plus loads of history and everything you need for either an action-packed holiday, or a quiet break taking in clean mountain air and heaps of atmosphere.
Briançon, at 1326 metres, is the highest town in the European Union, and the second highest in Europe. It is at a crossroad for Provence to the south, west to Grenoble, and east to Italy. Perched on a small hill surrounded by mountains and a couple of dozen old forts, the old town of Briançon overlooks two breathtaking valleys, Serre Chevalier, and the valley of the river Durance.
A great treat in all seasons is to luxuriate in the hot waters of the local thermal spa at Monetier, in Serre Chevalier, heated by natural springs. There are indoor pools, outdoor pools – fabulous to be swimming in with snow falling on you!, plunge pools hammam, sauna, jacuzzis, music dome and more. From the pools there are stunning views over high mountains, hanging glaciers and the whole valley of Serre Chevalier. A fabulous experience daytime or evening, very reasonably priced. Recommended!
Hiking, climbing, swimming – at the fantastic swimming pool, with long slide, in Briançon that the Italians come over the border to use, visiting Turin for the day, enjoying local markets, Wednesday and Sunday, festivals and events in Briançon Serre Chevalier and the villages of the valley, lunch in a mountain refuge (hotel), day or lunch in Italy, via ferrata, relax in Snowgums’ beautiful, big garden, with stunning views of mountains in all directions, paragliding, ice-skating, tennis, excellent French food, wine and good eating!
On average a holiday here costs 20% less than in the more well-known northern French Alps, the Savoie. With fantastic skiing for all levels and great options for summer holidays – hiking, cycling, swimming – in mountain lakes, pool and thermal spa, climbing, picnics, this is an unbeatable location for your holidays at any time of year. If you want to visit an authentic mountain valley, with real villages, history and soul, rather than a purpose-built resort, then Briançon Serre Chevalier is for you!
Year-round fun!
All year round...
Hiking, climbing, swimming – at the fantastic swimming pool, with long slide, in Briançon that the Italians come over the border to use, visiting Turin for the day, enjoying local markets, Wednesday and Sunday, festivals and events in Briançon / Serre Chevalier and the villages of the valley, lunch in a mountain refuge (hotel), day or lunch in Italy, via ferrata, relax in Snowgums‘ beautiful, big garden, with stunning views of mountains in all directions, paragliding, ice-skating, tennis, excellent French food, wine and good eating!
Spring, summer, autumn
Swimming in lakes with beaches, road biking, mountain biking – secure bike storage at street level, kayaking, rafting, picnicing in the mountains, walking with pack donkeys, BBQ in Snowgums’ garden, pony riding, walking with llamas, feeding the marmots, Go Ape – climbing in the treetops!, fishing, playing/relaxing in Snowgums’ garden, golf on the highest course in Europe. There is so much to do here – a lifetime’s exploring within an hour of Snowgums.
- Spring – May & June – wonderful as the valleys are awash with colour, the snow melts and everything is lush green, Ibex (large mountain goats) descend to lower slopes to eat the new growth, wildflowers in the meadows are stunning. Quiet, as it is not school holidays; chairlifts and cablecars closed. The best months for kayaking and rafting as the rivers rise as the snow melts on the mountains. May is sometimes wet.
- Summer – July & August – very hot during the day, but cool at night, stunning and popular, especially mid July – mid Aug (French holidays), festivals & events, activities for children. July – climbing world cup, Briancon medieval festival – first weekend, Tour de France. August – Chateau Queyras medieval festival – first weekend.
- Autumn – September & October, beautiful late summer, often we are still in shorts til mid-October! September is lovely and quiet after everyone has gone back to school, a real ‘Indian summer’.
Winter
Skiing (250kms of pistes, 1200 – 2880, one of the largest ski areas in Europe), snowboarding, sledging, relaxing, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, ski-touring, hike to a mountain hotel for dinner, husky sled rides, ice climbing. Other ski destinations are within easy reach if you want to try something new for one or two days, Montgenevre, La Grave, Les Deux Alpes and more. Snowgums has a toasty warm boot room. There is a free ski bus from near the house, running half-hourly to Chantemerle, dropping you right in front of the cable car and saving you the hassle of snowchains, digging out the car, parking etc. We encourage visitors to think about coming here by train, overnight from Paris or by TGV fast train to near here, as for a winter trip you don’t need to have a car once you are here. We also work with a great ski hire shop at Chantemerle which offers our clients 25 – 40% discount off their ski hire.
Winter ski season (lifts open) – mid December until end of April
- December & January – usually very cold
- Mid-February & early March – French & UK school holidays
- March & April – longer days and not so cold, but still with good snow (by the mid-afternoon at the end of April the slopes can be soft)
- Christmas, New Year & Feb holidays – ‘descente flambeaux’ (torch light descent of mountain by ski instructors and public), Santa arrives by cable-car, street musicians, street theatre, children’s events & activities
- January – Jazz Festival, International Ice-climbing Festival
Kids’ stuff
10% discount for young families (on stays of 14 nights or more) *
Children and families love staying at Snowgums. There is heaps to do in the area all year round, the option of kids playing in our large garden, the possibility of sledging on the field in front of the house, in winter, and running around the field or descending to the glacial river at the bottom of the field.
Snowgums’ apartments are very child-friendly, and we have a kid’s corner packed with books, toys and DVDs for all ages. Some parents self-cater, whilst some order in a few meals from our meal delivery service, home cooked by local chefs , so that they can dine in a more leisurely way with fine French, Sri Lankan or English’ cuisine once the young children are in bed – recommended!
Spring, summer, and autumn – Wendy house/ club house, converted from old haybarn and furnished with children’s furniture, and enjoy playing and searching for bugs in our half acre walled garden with built-in BBQ with fruit trees for shade, when it’s super hot in summer, and stunning mountain views in all directions.
We are here to point you in the right direction for any activity or sport that you are after whether it’s trying a new sport, or going to feed the marmots. You are spoilt for choice with sports to do with the kids in all seasons throughout the whole area. In winter there is skiing for all abilities here in Briançon Serre Chevalier and I can help you with recommendations for ski school for the kids. There are also lots of other sports which kids love, sledging on great sledging slopes, specially created for this purpose, snow-shoeing on tracks through the woods, cross-country skiing, ice-skating or swimming.
In summer there is fantastic mountain biking and cycling, quiet trails or down-hill, acro-branch – climbing in the tree tops on all sorts of obstacles whilst securely attached, endless wonderful hikes in the valleys or over mountain passes, big and small, for either a picnic or to eat in a mountain refuge – highly recommended, walking with llamas, or donkeys, pony riding, rafting down rivers, trying via ferrata, or climbing, and more.
There is a fantastic swimming pool in Briançon, which has a huge slide, indoor/ outdoor pools, paddling pools, whirlpool, jacuzzi, lawns for relaxing on and magnificent mountain views 360 degrees. There are also a couple of wonderful lakes nearby with small, child-friendly beaches and cafes or why not try one of the local ‘bio’ (organic) pools?
Throughout the year there are festivals and ad hoc events, most of them free, organised for families and children in the old town, villages and the 24 forts that surround Briançon Serre Chevalier. In winter this includes, street theatre & musicians, Santa arriving by cablecar, horse drawn carriages on the snow, husky sled rides, torch descents on skis down the mountain in the dark, and fireworks. In summer there are numerous music festivals and traditional dance events, bouncy castles, free theatre outdoors, games and sports in the park, and an annual highlight is the Briançon Medieval Festival, held in the first weekend of July – the old town is adorned with flags and regalia, half the residents turn out in fancy dress, and there are all sorts of organised activities, archery, donkey rides around the cobbled streets, chain mail making, dressing up in medieval costumes etc. It’s a wonderful weekend not to be missed!
Available on request:
highchair
baby bath
cot and cot linen
baby monitor
baby booster seat
* where there are a maximum of two persons aged 12 or over per apartment
From Snowgums’ visitors’ book
There is something for everyone here
Pippa was really prompt in her replies when making initial enquiries and on booking sent helpful information. On arrival she was warm and welcoming and gave us a gorgeous selection of food local produce. The property has everything you need and great bike storage. There is a wonderful back garden with fantastic views of the mountains. Pippa guided us to find the best locations to eat and hike; which gave us some local knowledge. There is something for everyone here-beautiful views for those that just want to look and for those that want to be active the best mountain and road biking, hikes, swimming and kayaking. We stayed for two weeks and wanted more time to explore so many other treasures that this area has to offer.”
Sally