Vars ski resort guide & reviews Ski area, apres-ski, things to see & do in Vars, Hautes-Alpes
Vars review
The family friendly resort of Vars sits at an altitude of 1650m in the spectacular Hautes-Alpes between the Dauphiné and Provence regions on the Italian border. The resort is made up of 4 hamlets with the town centre at Les Claux - a purpose built village of low-rise chalet style residences with direct access to the slopes.
Vars Après-ski
Après-ski in Vars is fairly relaxed and relatively tame when compared to some of the larger resorts such as Tignes and Val d'Isere. Some of the hotspots when the lifts close are...
- Le Kha
- Le Lynx
| Key information (whole area) | |
|---|---|
| Altitude | 1850m |
| Top lift | 2750m |
| Family | |
| Beginner | |
| Intermediate | |
| Expert | |
| Piste (km) | 185 |
| Longest run | km |
| Off piste | |
| Cross country | 40 km |
| Season | Dec to April |
| Snowboard parks | 2 |
| Heli Skiing | ✘ |
| Summer skiing | ✘ |
| Glacier skiing | ✘ |
| Babysitting | ✘ |
| Creche | ✔ |
| Apres ski | Relaxed |
Vars ski area guide
The ski area immediately around Vars offers skiing and boarding from 1650m to 2750m with over 185kms of groomed trails.
If thats not enough, you can buy the Forêt Blanche lift pass which means you can also ski over in to the pretty resort of Risoul making the Forêt Blanche ski terrain one of the largest lift linked ski areas in the southern Alps.
Beginners
Vars is ideal for beginners with many gentle green and progressive blues trails throughout the ski area. Ski school meets at the beginners area at Les Claux.
Intermediate
If you’re looking for wide, motorway pistes that aren’t too taxing you’ll love Vars and Risoul. However, for some more challenging terrain, try the Olympic red run from the top of La Mayt down to Ste Marie - 1000m of vertical and great fun.
Advanced
Expert skiers will have to do some work to find the best off piste, but seek and you shall find…we’re talking about the area off the Pic de Chabrieres which is best tackled with a guide. There are 10 black runs to have a go at as well, but our advice for good skiers and boarders is to buy the Forêt Blanche lift pass so you can roam around the Risoul ski area.
Things to see & do
- spa & wellbeing
- Chabri’aire lLeisure park with luge and trampolines)
- snow bikes
- Winter walking and snowshoeing trails
- Dog sleighs
- Tobogganing
- Parapenting
Children
Vars has a very good children's club called Le Chatelrêt that provides day care for children aged 3 and 12 years old.
It is open from Monday to Sunday from 7.30am to 7.00pm during all the school holidays and Wednesday afternoons and all day Saturday during the school year.
For younger children, the ESF runs a ski nursery for children over 3 months old.
Featured ski chalets
Self catering holiday rentals are a great option for families, friends and groups as they provide the space, freedom and flexibility to do what you want, when you want. Les Claux is the main place to stay as it has slope access and is where most of the shops, bars and local amenities are located.
See all rentals
Our view on Vars ski resort
As well as being a fantastic family friendly ski resort, Vars will be whatever you want it to be. If you like quaint, relaxing alpine villages then Vars ticks all the boxes. If you want to literally ski right to your front door there's plenty of that too. The resort by itself is small but when you add in the ski area of Risoul, you'll find yourself in one of the largest ski areas in the southern Alps.
