Like Madonna di Campiglio, but in France: the gentle skiing travels, the gloss less so
The Ski Snug teamUpdated 12 October 20265 min read
You love Madonna di Campiglio because it does everything neatly. The pistes are groomed with real care, the centre is smart and walkable, the aperitivo is taken seriously and the Brenta Dolomites stand over the lot. Underfoot it is kind: the blues average 12.9 percent on our measure, gentler than the Italian average of 14.4, and only 18 percent of the piste we measure is steeper than one in four. Yet there is plenty to do, with 155 kilometres across three linked sectors and 17.3 kilometres of black, the second most of the 10 Italian resorts we cover.
The honest headline: France can give you the skiing, but not the gloss. All three French resorts our matching puts closest drop the upmarket tag we give Madonna, and two of the three sit a long way lower. What you can carry over is the gentle mix, a family feel and, in one case, more snow than you are used to. In return, France gives you a bigger linked area every time.
| Resort | Village | Top of the skiing, measured | Piste we measure around the village | Gentler than 15% | Steeper than one in four | Piste at or above 1,800 m |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Your benchmarkMadonna di Campiglio | 1,550 m | 2,496 m | 115 km | 36% | 18% | 61% |
| Saint-Martin-de-Belleville | 1,450 m | 2,691 m | 75 km | 36% | 20% | 75% |
| Les Gets | 1,172 m | 1,965 m | 99 km | 34% | 23% | 1% |
| Châtel | 1,200 m | 2,084 m | 82 km | 35% | 26% | 23% |
On snow, Madonna sits right on our line: 61 percent of the piste we measure is above 1,800 metres and the skiing tops out at 2,496 metres, within a few metres of the 2,500 we ask for, so we have not made the call either way.
Saint-Martin-de-Belleville: the closest on the skiing
- VillageVillage
- 1,450 m 100 m lower
Saint-Martin-de-Belleville: 75 km of piste we measure. 50 km green and blue 67%19 km red 25%6 km black 8%
Measure the mountains and Saint-Martin is the nearest of the three to Madonna. Thirty-six percent of the piste is gentler than 15 percent, exactly Madonna's share, and 20 percent is steeper than one in four, against 18. The village is at 1,450 metres, only 100 below Madonna's, the closest height of the three.
It also settles the snow question. It is snow sure on our measure: 75 percent of the piste we measure is above 1,800 metres, up to 2,691 metres, 195 higher than Madonna's top. And the linked area is in another league: Saint-Martin sits inside the Three Valleys, quoted at 600 kilometres and genuinely linked, on the same lift pass as Courchevel, Méribel and Val Thorens.
What you give up is the scene and some of the softness. Our read on Saint-Martin is an old Savoyard village, traditional and quiet, with food high on its list: lovely, but not Madonna's smart, sociable centre. We measure 75 kilometres around the village, against 115, with 50.2 kilometres of green and blue. Its blues average 16.6 percent, a French blue rather than your 12.9, and there are 6 kilometres of black against Madonna's 17.3. A good Madonna skier will spend more time out in the wider Three Valleys than at home.
Les Gets: the closest on the family village
- VillageVillage
- 1,172 m 378 m lower
- Highest liftTop lift
- 2,466 m 114 m lower
Les Gets: 99 km of piste we measure. 55 km green and blue 56%35 km red 35%10 km black 10%
Our matching puts Les Gets closest of all the French resorts we cover, and it is the family pick. Our read is warm and traditional, a pretty village that is good for families, with tree skiing on its list. It has a little more easy skiing than Madonna, 55.3 kilometres of green and blue against 53.8 of blue and easier, with 34 percent of the piste gentler than 15 percent and 23 percent steeper than one in four. The blues average 15.0 percent, steeper than yours but the kindest of the three picks.
It is also the gateway to the Portes du Soleil, twelve villages across two countries on one linked circuit. The official figure is 600 kilometres; it measures nearer 580, and one independent count puts it at 426. Any of those is far more than Madonna's 155, and the Les Gets and Morzine sector alone is 117.
The catch is the one the engine flags: height. The village is 378 metres lower than Madonna's, the skiing tops out at 1,965 metres by our measure, 531 below yours and the second lowest of the 55 resorts we cover, and only 1 percent of the piste we measure is above 1,800 metres. It is not snow sure on our measure, and after Madonna that is a real change.
Châtel: the closest on a long, easy cruise
- VillageVillage
- 1,200 m 350 m lower
- Highest liftTop lift
- 2,200 m 380 m lower
Châtel: 82 km of piste we measure. 45 km green and blue 55%31 km red 38%5 km black 7%
Châtel shares the Portes du Soleil with Les Gets, and it has one thing neither of the other picks has: its longest run is a blue, as Madonna's is. We measure Madonna's longest at 2.3 kilometres with 224 metres of drop; Châtel's is 3 kilometres with 220. Our read is rustic and friendly, a farm village on the Swiss border, traditional and good for families, and its own corner of the circuit, 120 kilometres, is shared with Torgon and Morgins.
The mix is close too: 35 percent of the piste is gentler than 15 percent, against 36. It sits a little higher than Les Gets: the skiing reaches 2,084 metres by our measure, 412 short of Madonna's, and 23 percent of the piste we measure is above 1,800 metres. It is still not snow sure on our measure. The trade is the steep end: 26 percent of the piste is steeper than one in four, against 18, yet there are only 5.4 kilometres of black, the least of the 17 French resorts we cover. We measure 82 kilometres around a village 350 metres lower than yours.
Strip Madonna back to what it is on the snow, a gentle, well balanced mountain at a sensible height, and Saint-Martin matches it most closely of the three: the same gentle share, almost the same steep share, a village 100 metres lower and snow we are happy to call. Go knowing the village is quiet rather than smart, the home slopes are smaller and the blues are a touch steeper. If a family village matters more than the snow, Les Gets.