Puy
St Vincent is a purpose built ski resort in the French Alps. It
consists of two villages; one at 1600 meters where the main ski
activity takes place and the other at 1400 meters where there
are ski chalets, some hotels, bars, restaurants a church and the
Mairee. You will probably spend the vast majority of your time
at the upper location.
The resort is self contained with a number of shops including
some excellent but expensive clothes shops, a supermarket with
a good selection of fresh produce, a very good boulangerie and
various touristy shops for souvenirs.
There is L'office du Tourism and a small skating rink (which doubles
as a swimming pool in the summer) opposite the apartment along
with the Caisse for buying your ski passes. Skis and boots can
be hired from any one of three outlets. We use Chaud Sport which
is situated directly beneath the apartment.
Ski lessons can be booked through one of the three ski schools
that operate at the Resort.
There is a good range of restaurants that will satisfy all tastes.
The menus are typical of the region but you can always get pizzas
or steak and chips if you prefer. After your meal try some of
the local liqueurs - Genepie made from a wild mountain flower
is particularly good. All the staff at all the outlets speak good
English.
Ski lifts open at 9.00am and the last lift closes at 4.30pm
The supermarket closes at lunchtime so it is advisable to buy
any provisions for lunch before going out to ski in the morning.
If you fancy a day or an evening out then visit the nearby town
of Briancon. The old town is very quaint. There are a variety
of large supermarkets at Briancon including Champion and Geant
and if you are desperate for some fast food there is a MacDonalds.
The resort is also very popular in the summer. There are a wide
range of activities ranging from tennis, mountain walking, rafting,
cycling, luge and swimming. There is also an adventure park with
aerial runways in the trees. Some of the lifts are open to take
you up to 2000 meters. Look out for the Marmottes - beaver like
creatures that guard the mountains. A walk up to 2000 meters will
take you through the world's largest alpine rockery!
