Avoriaz

Car-free, ski-in/ski-out high base at 1,800m: snow-sure, modernist, family-strong.

Avoriaz is Portes du Soleil's high-altitude car-free base, built on a clifftop terrace at 1,800 m. The architecture is uniformly modernist (Jacques Labro, 1960s) and lodging is uniformly ski-in/ski-out: skiers arrive by gondola from Les Prodains, and a horse-drawn sled or electric snowcat moves bags. The Stash terrain park is the largest in the Alps. Family options dominate; nightlife is gentler than Morzine or Châtel.