Avoriaz - The Resort
Avoriaz Resort Map
Photo OT Avoriaz / S Lerendu
Avoriaz sits at 1800m, with a spectacular cliff top location overlooking Morzine. The resort is part of the Portes du Soleil ski area with 650km of skiing between France and Switzerland. It is the highest resort in the Portes du Soleil having the most reliable snow and is in the top 5 European resorts for snowfall even though there are not many runs above 2000m. Avoriaz is one of the better looking purpose built resorts, mostly wood clad and designed to fit in with the mountains. The idea is that right angles do not exist in nature.
The village is traffic free and there is uncovered and covered parking available which can be booked in advance. To get to your accommodation there are baggage sleds available at the entrance to the resort. There are also horse drawn sleighs and cat track vehicles which act as public transport. Avoriaz is quite compact with most accommodation close to the facilities. It is possible to ski to your door with snow covered paths between the buildings.
You can also stay in two hamlets lower down the hill. Just above Morzine, Les Prodains is linked to Avoriaz by cable car and has blue and black pistes returning to it. This is also where the free car park is located. To the North of Avoriaz are Les Lindarets and Ardent which access the ski area from four different chair lifts. These two hamlets sit up the valley from the village of Montriond near Morzine.