Briancon, France
01 Activities
02 where to stay
03 where to eat
04 how to get there
01 ACTIVITIES
Skiing
One of the cool things they have are three hour passes that you can use at any time of the day. Once you scan your ticket, it starts a timer and at the bottom of almost every hill, there are buses to take you back to whatever town you are staying in for just 2 EU. You can also brake your ticked up into specific areas of the mountains. This is not exactly a beginners resort as the easy runs are pretty steep.
Snow karting
From Briancon, you can take a bus from (Briançon - Europe) to the stop (SAINT-CHAFFREY - Chantemerle) then walk along the road for about five minutes until you see the track. It is 25 EU for ten minutes which is expensive but in my opinion totally worth it for one round. The track isn’t very big, but there are a lot of turns so a lot of opportunity for drifting. At the end remember your number because they will hand out a sheet with times and places on it.
Hot Springs
The same bus you would take to go karting will also take you to the hot springs. It is at the end of the line, about thirty minutes. They have a tube shooting out water over the pool. This place gets very crowded after the lifts close so I suggest going early if you want to go.
02 WHERE TO STAY
Auberge de la Paix - Stay inside the walls of the castle! It is beautiful and just outside the walls, there are amazing vista points. The only drawback is that it is at the top of a hill. On the plus side, there is a bus stop right outside the first entrance that will take you down to the ski slopes or into town. There is also a little supermarket just 20 m up the hill from the hotel. No one speaks English there but they are very helpful anyway.
03 WHERE TO EAT
(most places don’t speak English maybe a little Italian)
In the Castle
Creperie L'eterlou - Amazing creperie! Get a set menu so you can try one sweet and one savory plus a typical alcoholic drink made by them.
Le Gavroche - You need to book ahead of time at this restaurant otherwise you will not get a place or you will get a time really late in the evening. Ask your hotels' desk, and they should be able to help you. The food is very typical for the mountain area of France. You can get melted cheese on a block (it does not smell very good but people seem to like it). I suggest the set menus because you can taste a lot of things for about the same price as getting one plate.
Le Jasmin - Great food. It is a mix of several types of Asian cuisine. Everyone who comes in seems to know the cook. She runs the kitchen by herself, so it does take a while to get food but it is worth the wait. Just don’t go if you are really hungry.
Downtown
L’Alpin - It is on the pricey side, so I recommend it for lunch. They food is fantastic but the staff isn’t very friendly if you don’t speak French.
Le Club - Right across from L'alpin is a much more relaxed place with great jazz music. The bar tender speaks English (really well) and is willing to help out in any way. The menu is a little limited but a great atmosphere.
Across from the gondola, there is a fantastic sandwich shop with hot wine. It is a great place to get snacks before or after skiing. Not much is open from 14:00-19:00 (2pm-7pm) except for this shop and a couple of others. They don’t have a website, but you will see people walking around with the sandwiches when you are close to the lift.
04 HOW TO GET THERE
1. Train to Oxlu and you can take a bus or taxi. The taxi is very expensive, and the bus only comes four times a day.
2. Linkbus - There is an airport bus/car (depending on how many people register). You can get a from or to these three airports (Torino 25EU / Lyon 45EU - upon request, Paris / Grenoble 37EU) there are reduced prices for kids under 12. You must buy your tickets beforehand or they will not stop for you. They have different sized cars based on how many people there are.
3. Drive but there isn’t that much parking.