Val d'Isère

These two resorts make up 'l'Espace Killy, named for favorite son Jean-Claude Killy, an Olympic gold medal winner and one of the most famous skiers of all time. This is one of the most complete ski areas in the world, an area so vast and with so many options, both on and off-piste, that you won't get bored on your one-week ski holiday. The two areas offer a mind-boggling 104 lifts with an uphill capacity of 140,000 skiers per hour and a vertical drop close to 2 km. Val d'Isère was an actual village before it was a ski resort and has a lively après-ski scene. Tignes has much less nightlife as most people visiting this purpose-built resort are there to ski and then relax in their own apartments.As far as the skiing is concerned the Val d'Isere portion of l'Espace Killy is made up of four areas -- three main ridges dropping into town and a glacier area -- with plenty of terrain for every level of ability. From Tignes there are two dozen different lifts, 30,000 acres of skiable terrain and a vertical drop of more than a mile and a third, higher than anything in North America.

The Balme Caves are ranked as one of the Seven Marvels of Dauphine and have been inhabited since prehistoric times. The site was used as a sacrificial altar, but was later sanctified and made into a chapel by François I. The caves include a 35 meter high porch, a lake, several pools, limestone formations, and numerous rooms, some of which wind like mazes. There is also a dinosaur exhibition on site.