A village that became a resort rather than the other way round. Ancelle sits in the Champsaur valley in the Hautes Alpes, with hotels and guesthouses run by people who live there all year. It is one of the better places in the southern Alps for cross country, with its own trail area alongside the downhill slopes, and Orcières Merlette is close by when you want a bigger mountain for a day. Prices sit well below what you pay further north and the valley has kept an ordinary French rhythm to it.