Reviewed by: DanChippendale, Intermediate Price Paid: $0.00 Summary:
Bareges is not your usual resort. Compared to the super modern Alps resorts, Bareges looks a bit backwards. But this is part of its charm. I have been going back to Bareges every year for the last 4 years (and am about to go again in 4 days time). It is France's 2nd oldest ski resort, and it shows a little, but they have been working hard to get it up to standard, by adding new lifts etc. The village itself is small and attractive, but not beautiful, it looks much better when the snow has reached as far down as the village. There are a few shops for food and some well equiped ski shops. There is a deffinate lack of decent restaurants and bars, only L'loncet offers anything near a lively night of apres ski, and thats pretty tame to say the least. But we have always had fun and sampled plenty of the local beverages. It is a small villge (you can walk through it in about 20 minutes, but is quite a good thing, as it gives it a cosy feel. You get the impression that not many non-French people go here for a holiday, which is fine by me, yo ufeel as though you have discovered something special. I have stayed in a few apartments in the village, these have usually been of decent quality, but nothing fancy, but they seem to be cheap and well maintained. We usually stay in a friends Father's chalet right at the bottom of the village, this is good in som respects but bad in others. It is nice to have a large back garden (to snowboard on if the slopes are closed, but it is also a long drunken walk home late at night, but it quite a romantic walk through the twisty roads and over some flowing rivers. Getting to the slopes from here can be a pain as the bus can be a bit hit and miss.
The snowboarding or skiing in Barages is pretty good, there isn't much to keep pros happy, but if you are intemediate there should be enough to keep you happy. I you want more open Alps style slopes, head over to La Mongie where there is some great slopes to be found and also some nice powder stashes if you look around. Again the quality of the snowboarding isnt amazing, but it has become like a second home to me, and know it very well, which gives me a comfort in my riding. We have slang names for different slopes and it is easy to find friends on and around the pistes. All in all Barages is a fun place to stay, but dont expect ultra modern.
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5 of 5
