Things to do in Ariege, Occitanie: The Best Ski & Snowboard Areas

Reviewed By davidpaskins - Capendu, France

I have been taking my family to Ax for 6 years now. It is a lovely ancient thermal spa town in the Pyrenees with bags of history and a ski resort above the town. There is a great market twice a week, lots of small independent shops and restaurants, and plenty of characterful places to stay. The resort itself is compact and very family-friendly, but still has 75km of pistes to suit all ages and abilities. It is less chi-chi than the alps, less banging than Andorra, and cheaper than both in terms of lift passes and ski hire. If you avoid French school holidays it isn't very crowded either. There are pistes up to 2400m and plenty of snow cannons as well, so the conditions are generally good. There are also lots of other great winter sports activities available, such as: dog sledding, Nordic skiing, ski-joering, snow trekking,igloo-building, ice climbing, sledging, & snow biking. We have now started going in the autumn too. The place has a lovely micro climate: not too hot, not too cold. There are fantastic walks amongst the forests and glacial lakes, nature reserves, tree parks, canoeing & rafting, swimming & tennis, great mountain biking. It is perfect for relaxing active holidays.