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  • Escape to Geneva

  • By Time Out editors

    Posted: Mon Jan 7 2008

  • Weekend skiing, once the preserve of snowboarding suits, is now big business. With several top resorts within about 90 minutes‘ drive of Geneva, you could wake up in London and be sipping a vin chaud on the slopes by lunchtime

    Escape to Geneva

  • Six great reasons to fly to Geneva

    Les Carroz
    Geneva airport 80km Slopes 700m-2,500m Lifts 78 Pistes 265km
    Les Carroz, just ten minutes from the motorway, is the perfect back door into Flaine’s skiing area. The village is very attractive, with good-value eateries. At just 1,000m, the sunny home slopes aren’t snowsure, but there’s direct gondola access into the Grand Massif.
    www.lescarroz.com

    Chamonix
    Geneva airport 90km Slopes 1,035m-3,842m Lifts 49 Pistes 150km
    Host of the first Winter Olympics in 1924 and hemmed in by glaciers, this place is dripping with history and the scenery will take your breath away – as will the Aiguille du Midi cable car, which transports skiers up to 3,842m and the start of the famous 24km-long Vallée Blanche.
    www.chamonix.com

    Le Grand Bornand
    Geneva airport 50km Slopes 1,000m-2,100m Lifts 38 Pistes 90km
    One of the closest resorts to Geneva, Le Grand Bornand makes a great spot for a weekend’s thoroughly unpretentious skiing. The area has plenty to keep you happy for a few days, with a couple of gondolas leading to mainly beginners’ and intermediate pistes.
    www.legrandbornand.com

    Megève
    Geneva airport 70km Slopes 1,100m-2,350m Lifts 79 Pistes 300km
    Paris’ alpine arrondissement is one of the most attractive resorts in the Alps. If the snow’s right, Megève’s skiing is a vast expanse of tree-lined cruising, interspersed with the cosiest restaurants imaginable. And you couldn’t be in a better place for lunch… plus it’s only 70km back to Geneva.
    www.megeve.com

    Verbier
    Geneva airport 170km Slopes 1,500m-3,330m Lifts 94 Pistes 410km
    If you’d prefer a little more après with your ski, then head for Verbier, long the spiritual home of the Sloane Ranger and a great place to party (if you splash the cash). The smart chalet-dominated resort has endless snow on the glacier and a huge ski area.
    www.verbier.ch

    easyJet.com.jpg
    Fly to Geneva
    • London to Geneva from £24.99.
    • Fly from Luton, Gatwick and Stansted – up to 21 flights a day!
    • All fares are single and include tax.

    Win flights!
    Answer the question: in which year did Chamonix host the first Winter Olympics?… and you could win return flights for four to Geneva. ENTER COMPETITION

     easyJet.com Book online for low-cost travel: cheap flights, hotels, car hire, parking and insurance across many top European destinations.

    Book your ski flights now and your skis go free! Book any flight to a ski destination with easyJet before the end of January, enter code SKINOW08 and your skis travel for free. Terms and conditions apply, see website for details.

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