Les Gets: Our North Alps “Level Up” Week (Beginner-Friendly, Family-Approved)

After ten days of moving hotels, hauling suitcases, and doing the usual December travel cardio, it was time for our annual retreat to the Alps—this time with my sister’s family.

We’d spent the last two years in the South Alps, mostly because it was closer to her home and we didn’t want to spend more than 3 hours driving. But this year for a change, we decided to try the North Alps, where snow tends to show up like it has a job. And we’d like to have real snow falling when we are in the mountain.

Instead of our usual plan—Christmas lunch at my sister’s house, then driving up together—we agreed to meet straight in Les Gets, which is basically the perfect halfway point between her place in southern France and our base in Montreux.

We only started skiing two years ago because we wanted something different from our usual December family holiday routine. We took one lesson as a “let’s see if we survive this” experiment… and ended up loving it. Year two we progressed. And now in year three? We’ve become slightly ambitious. (As in: we think we’re brave. The mountain disagrees. But we try.)

Why we chose Les Gets

If your priority is a low-stress learning curve, Les Gets makes life easy in a way many bigger-name North Alps resorts don’t. It’s friendly without being boring, and structured without feeling like a ski factory.

1) The terrain is “friendly by design”

Les Gets has that rare beginner magic: slopes that feel manageable, not humiliating.

• Lots of gentle, cruisy runs and tree-lined pistes that feel less exposed (less “I’m sliding off the edge of the world” energy).

• They even have an “Indian run train” (yes, that’s what it’s called here) which is fun for kids—and honestly, also for adults who are still negotiating with gravity. It’s a playful way to practise speed and control without panicking.

What I loved most is how clear the progression feels. Our instructor, Julian, started us on the magic carpet to warm up and check technique—snowplough, control, turning.

We did one run, and he basically went, “Okay, you’re fine. Let’s level up.”

Next thing I knew, we were on a chairlift heading to a green slope.

Even the green runs have options, so you’re not stuck doing the same one lap forever. By day 3 and 4, we were skiing blue slopes that lead down to the restaurant area at the bottom.

Not yet to the village though. That’s for next year. 😆

2) It’s a real village, not a ski factory

This is the big one for me.

Les Gets is an authentic family village—not a purpose-built resort where everything looks like it was designed by the same developer who created airport terminals.

It’s calmer. Easier. Less intimidating. You can actually walk around, pop into shops, grab groceries, and live like a human.

Bonus: there’s a free bus that runs regularly and can be tracked by app—so you don’t need a car to move around the village (and you definitely don’t need to walk uphill in ski boots unless you enjoy pain as a hobby).

3) Big ski area… without being forced into it

Les Gets sits inside Portes du Soleil, which means it’s connected to a huge ski area.

But the best part is: you’re not forced to “go big” before you’re ready.

You can keep it simple in Les Gets and Morzine, then expand only when confidence grows. It’s like having a beginner-friendly sandbox inside a giant playground.

4) Strong ski-school ecosystem

Beginner experience is basically a formula:

good instructor + good slopes + easy meeting points = happy learners.

Les Gets has plenty of ski school options: ESI, ESF, Evolution, BASS, etc. ESI instructors wear light blue amd ESF instructors wear red.

So if you ever lose your group (it happens), at least you can identify the correct shade of authority.

We’ve always gone with ESI, and we always take private lessons. From our experience, ESI seems to have more private lesson availability than ESF—and as beginners, learning together as a family is more fun (and less stressful) than being split into separate groups and reconvening later like survivors.

The honest trade-off

Les Gets is lower altitude (the village is around 1,172m), which is great for atmosphere and those beautiful tree-lined runs—but it can be a snow reliability trade-off later in the season.

For late December, though, it generally works well (and this is exactly why we picked North Alps in the first place).

How to get to Les Gets without a car

My sister drove from southern France and it took around 4.5 hours via toll roads.

For the no-car options, here are the two best routes:

Option A: Fly to Geneva → shuttle/private transfer

This is the classic, easiest option—especially with luggage. You book a seat, they drop you in the village. You can either arrange a shared shuttle at fixed schedule or book private transfer with various companies such as Alpy Transfer, Ski Transfers, Skiidy Gonzales, Alps to Alps, Alpine Fleet etc

Option B: Train to Cluses → bus to Les Gets (Altibus)

This is the route we took because we leave from Montreux and it worked well with our timing.

1. Train to Cluses (Gare de Cluses)

2. Bus from Cluses station to Les Gets via Altibus. Book online here.
It’s also the cheapest option and I loved that the bus stop is right in front of the station, and the departure time is synced with train arrivals. Very civilized. You can choose stops like Les Perrières and Les Clos (depending on where you’re staying).

We picked this route because it matched our check-in time, and we thought we’d arrive around the same time as my sister.

Plot twist: she got delayed by car rental issues + traffic.

So we arrived early and did the classic holiday sport: dragging suitcases across snow like we were filming a low-budget expedition movie.

The agency told us to take the free bus to the chalet and even explained the stops. But… they gave us the wrong stop. (The right one was two stops earlier.)

So we got off, looked around, realised something was off, and walked back with our suitcases.

Thank God it was downhill, not uphill. I’m not sure my pride would have survived an uphill suitcase march 🥹

What to do in Les Gets other than skiing

Les Gets is great because non-skiers (or tired skiers) aren’t sentenced to “sit in the apartment and wait.”

Night-time “wow”

Alta Lumina – an enchanted forest night walk with lights, sound, and storytelling.

It’s one of the most memorable evening activities you can do in the Alps—magical without being cheesy. Pack your warmest jacket as you will be walking around in the forest.

Snow activities without ski skills

• Snowshoeing / winter walking (quiet, scenic, and surprisingly satisfying)

• Luge / sledging + Yooner (sit-down sleds that are far more fun than they look)

• Ice skating in the village centre

• Cross-country skiing (Nordic skiing) — I used to think it was for advanced skiers only, but it’s actually its own thing and can be beginner-friendly (just… cardio-heavy).

• Take the cable car up to Mont Chéry for the views—on a clear day you can even see Mont Blanc. You can also hike up if you want extra exercise (Mont Chéry has walking paths).

Mont Chéry also has ski runs, but you’ll need the right lift pass.

Culture + chill plans

• Mechanical Music Museum — quirky, charming, very “only in the Alps.” Perfect for a rest day or bad-weather day.

• Wandering the village — shops, bakeries, and that cosy mountain town feeling that makes you forget you fell three times today.

The restaurant scene (aka: cheese season)

We mostly cooked dinners at the chalet and ate out for lunch between ski sessions, but Les Gets has a good variety of places.

Think: Savoyard comfort food + cosy chalet dining, plus casual spots for quick refuels.

What you’ll eat a lot (happily)

• Fondue and raclette (and yes—cheaper than Swiss prices, which feels like winning).

Types of places

• Traditional Savoyard chalets: wood, warmth, tartiflette energy.

• Mountain restaurants with views: ideal for long lunches ( non-skiers can access by the telecabine)

• Brasserie / crêpes / casual après: for when you want food without a mission.

• Sadly no Chinese restaurant which I craved, only one Japanese-Thai Restaurant (Sush’ski) and Indian Restaurant (Folies Indiennes). We tried Folies for dinner and were not disappointed.

Where to stay

For accommodation, the most useful platform is the official Les Gets booking site. We initially checked Airbnb but found fewer options, and the official platform often comes with discounts for activities—which adds up.

Important: during peak season (Christmas/New Year and summer holidays), many places run Saturday-to-Saturday bookings only, so book early.

Our chalet was higher up the village, and the view was ridiculous—in the best way. It reminded me of that Grindelwald feeling: you look out the window and the mountains are basically doing the most. My favorite activity every morning is to go down the stair and open the curtain in our balcony and just absorb the view.

Tips (learn from my minor suffering)

• Arrive early for ski rentals, especially if your stay starts on a Saturday. Everyone arrives at the same time, and most people start skiing Sunday. Rental shops will be packed. Even with an online booking (with sizes submitted), it took us almost two hours to get everything sorted.

• Store your skis at the rental shop if they offer it. Many places near the lifts do—this is a game changer. Walking around the village in ski boots is not a personality trait I want to develop.

• Lunch strategy matters. Our ESI private lessons were 12:30–14:30, which is awkwardly placed right in the middle of lunch life. On day 1, we ate after the lesson and then had very little time left to ski before lifts closed. From day 2 onwards, we packed lunch + drinks for a picnic up there and carried a small backpack. Much better.

• Know your bus stop (double check on maps, not vibes). The free bus is fantastic, but only if you get off at the correct stop. Ask me how I know.

Bonus: the New Year’s party on the slopes 🎆🥂

Les Gets also does a New Year’s party on 31 December, right as the sun starts to dip at the ski station—and it’s exactly the kind of “mountain festive” that feels fun, not frantic. There are food and drink stalls, a DJ keeping the vibe going, and the sweetest detail: free hot chocolate and mulled wine as long as you bring your own cup (10/10 eco-friendly and very on-brand for a ski village).

Then comes the show: ski instructors carving down in formation like it’s a tiny alpine spectacle… followed by fireworks to wrap it all up. The perfect ending to a day that already involved gravity, courage, and at least one “I meant to do that” moment.

Closing

Les Gets turned out to be exactly what we needed this year: a ski week that felt easy to manage, fun to improve, and still cosy enough to feel like a proper winter holiday—not just a sports camp in the mountains.

We arrived as “third-year beginners” feeling ambitious… and left with real progress, a little more confidence, and a very clear goal for next year: make it all the way down to the village on skis.

(And preferably without any dramatic suitcase detours.)

And yes—we got our snow. We came in hoping for falling snow, then immediately got humbled by the forecast saying there would be none during our stay. The village looked a little too politely winter-ish… until Day 3, when it finally happened. Overnight snowfall. We woke up to that quiet magic: fresh white on the ground and the kind of morning light that makes you forgive every single layer you had to wear.

Of course, the trade-off is that skiing instantly becomes colder—especially on the chairlift, where you sit still and question all your life choices. I ended up buying neck gaiters for all of us, plus proper bulky gloves so we wouldn’t freeze mid-air like decorative ski ornaments. But honestly? Worth it.

We asked for snow… and Les Gets delivered ☃️❄️❄️☃️