Tree skiing all the way down to the valley floor, which most high French resorts cannot offer and which makes a real difference on grey days. There is genuine beginner terrain, a great deal of red skiing through forest, and steep open ground above Le Monêtier for stronger skiers. Briançon at one end is the draw. It is a working town with a Vauban fortress on the UNESCO World Heritage list and the highest old quarter in the European Union, with restaurants and shops that exist for the people who live there rather than for visitors. Three freestyle disciplines of the 2030 Winter Olympics are due to be held here. The valley is long and the villages are spread out, so choose where you stay carefully to avoid spending the week on a bus. Le Monêtier les Bains at the far end has thermal baths that are worth booking ahead. Prices sit well below the Tarentaise, and the Hautes Alpes get more sun than the northern Alps do.