Best for families

Best Ski Resorts for Families in the Portes du Soleil

The best ski resort for families in the Portes du Soleil is Les Gets, a genuine farming village with doorstep nursery slopes, a famous children's area and the shortest learning curves in the region. Avoriaz is the snow safe pick, car free and ski in ski out at 1,800 m, and Morzine is the best real town for mixed families. The whole circuit is mid mountain rather than high mountain, so altitude is the one thing to plan around. Get the base right and this is one of the best family regions in the Alps.

Last reviewed June 2026

What matters

What families need to know about the Portes du Soleil

The Portes du Soleil links a dozen French and Swiss villages into one of the largest ski circuits in the world, around 600 km of mostly gentle, tree lined pistes an hour or so from Geneva. For families the draws are real villages rather than purpose built blocks, short transfers, and terrain that flatters children and nervous parents alike.

The honest weakness is altitude. Most villages sit between roughly 1,000 and 1,200 m, and only Avoriaz at around 1,800 m is properly snow sure. In a warm February you ride lifts up to skiable snow from valley bases; book January or February in a normal year and it rarely matters, but late March is a gamble below Avoriaz.

Costs are friendlier than the glamour resorts. Full area passes run around $70 a day with cheaper village level passes for learning weeks, and a comfortable family week lands in the $2,000 to $4,000 band per person. Compare the wider field in our family ranking for France and the Alps.

The ranking

Our family picks for the Portes du Soleil

Ranked on children's facilities, nursery terrain, snow security, village life for parents and value.

Les Gets

the family benchmark

A real village with doorstep nursery slopes and the best organized children's skiing in the region.

Les Gets has spent decades perfecting the family week. The Chavannes slopes above the village hold a dedicated children's area with gentle lifts and themed runs, the ski schools are deep in English speaking instructors, and the village itself is a working Savoyard town with a Friday market and a famous mechanical music museum for storm days.

It beats Avoriaz to the top spot because the village experience is warmer and the learning terrain starts at the front door. The price is altitude, around 1,170 m, so peak season weeks are the safe booking.

Avoriaz

the snow safe fortress

Car free, ski in ski out and the only properly snow sure base in the circuit. Function over charm, and it works.

Avoriaz perches on its cliff at around 1,800 m, the highest village in the Portes du Soleil, and bans cars entirely; luggage moves by sled and children roam free. Almost every apartment is ski in ski out, and the Village des Enfants children's school is one of the most respected in France.

The architecture is a love it or hate it stack of timber towers, and evenings are quieter than Morzine. For guaranteed snow under small skis and zero morning logistics, nothing else here comes close. See Avoriaz vs Morzine for the head to head.

Morzine

the real town for mixed crews

The biggest, liveliest base in the region, ideal when the group includes non skiers, teenagers and grandparents.

Morzine is a proper year round town with an ice rink, pools, cinemas, restaurants at every price and the widest accommodation choice in the circuit. Lifts rise on two sides toward Les Gets and Avoriaz, and buses fill the gaps.

The town sits at around 1,000 m, the lowest of the big three, so you ride up to the snow rather than ski to the door. For families whose holiday is more than ski hours, the town wins anyway.

Chatel

charm in the Abondance valley

A flowery, genuine village with improving lifts and family prices, a half step quieter than the headline names.

Chatel keeps its farming village soul while connecting into both halves of the circuit, with a gondola to Super Chatel's gentle slopes and quick links toward Avoriaz. Children's facilities are solid and prices undercut Morzine and Les Gets.

The village straggles along a road, so pick accommodation near a lift or the shuttle. We do not yet publish a full Chatel review; ask us to price it and we will brief you straight.

Champery

the Swiss side classic

A handsome Swiss village under the Dents du Midi, with one caveat: the home slopes sit a cable car ride above town.

Champery is the prettiest village on the Swiss side, all carved balconies and serious peaks overhead, with Swiss ski school polish and quieter slopes above at Planachaux. Prices run higher than France, though less than the famous Swiss names.

The catch for families is that the village has no real home run; you ride the cable car down at day's end. Fine once you accept the rhythm, frustrating if you expected doorstep skiing.

Morgins

the quiet Swiss family corner

A low key Swiss village with gentle local slopes and some of the calmest family skiing in the circuit.

Morgins sits on the Swiss border with its own easy, sunny slopes and a village pace that suits young children. The Swiss Wall and the wider circuit are reachable when parents want mileage.

Nightlife is close to nonexistent and the village slopes are modest. As a quiet, fairly priced family base with the big circuit on tap, it is underrated.

La Chapelle d'Abondance

the budget pick

The cheapest sensible family base in the circuit, a farming village with its own gentle slopes next door to Chatel.

La Chapelle d'Abondance is our budget pick: an unpolished dairy farming village a few minutes from Chatel, with gentle local skiing at Crete Beni and some of the lowest accommodation prices anywhere in the Portes du Soleil.

Lifts into the main circuit need a short bus or drive, and evening options are a handful of family run restaurants. For a first family week where the budget leads, it delivers far more than it charges.

Saint Jean d'Aulps

the contrarian local hill

Not really in the circuit at all, and that is the point: a quiet local mountain at local prices, 15 minutes from Morzine.

Saint Jean d'Aulps and its Roc d'Enfer ski area sit just outside the linked circuit, a proper locals' mountain with uncrowded slopes, a friendly ski school and prices that make the big resorts blush.

The area is small and the village is a valley town rather than a postcard. Families who care about empty pistes and small bills, and not about logos on the piste map, should look here first.

Compared at a glance

The family shortlist

Village	Altitude	Best for	The verdict
Les Gets	around 1,170 m	The complete family week	Doorstep nursery slopes, warmest village.
Avoriaz	around 1,800 m	Snow security	Car free, ski in ski out, best children's school.
Morzine	around 1,000 m	Mixed groups	Real town, widest choice, lowest base.
Chatel	around 1,200 m	Village charm on a budget	Genuine, improving, well priced.
Champery	around 1,050 m	Swiss polish	Beautiful village, cable car commute.
Morgins	around 1,350 m	Calm with small kids	Gentle Swiss corner of the circuit.
La Chapelle d'Abondance	around 1,000 m	The budget week	Farming village prices, circuit nearby.
Saint Jean d'Aulps	around 950 m	Empty local slopes	Outside the circuit, half the price.

Save on the extras

Book the trip well

Most families do not need the full Portes du Soleil pass for a learning week; village level passes cost meaningfully less and cover everything a beginner child will touch. Geneva is barely 90 minutes away, so shared transfers are cheap and plentiful, and booking lessons before Christmas secures the English speaking instructors.

Book the extras and save

Lift passes, airport transfers and lessons are where a family trip quietly leaks money. Booking ahead almost always beats the resort window price.

Compare lift passes Book a transfer Find lessons Reserve ski hire Travel insurance

Keep planning

Related family guides

Read the full Portes du Soleil region guide and the reviews of Les Gets, Avoriaz and Morzine, settle the big choice with Avoriaz vs Les Gets, and prepare with ski school explained for parents.

Questions worth asking

Family skiing in the Portes du Soleil FAQs

What is the best family resort in the Portes du Soleil?

Les Gets is our overall pick for its doorstep nursery slopes, outstanding children's area and genuine village feel. Avoriaz wins for snow security and ski in ski out convenience, and Morzine for families who want a real town.

Is the Portes du Soleil snow sure enough for a family trip?

In January and February, yes, and snowmaking covers the key home runs. The villages are low, mostly 1,000 to 1,200 m, so for late March or April book Avoriaz at around 1,800 m and treat valley snow as a bonus.

Do families need the full Portes du Soleil lift pass?

Usually not in a learning week. Village level passes for Les Gets Morzine or Avoriaz cost less and cover all the terrain a beginner child will use. Buy the full circuit pass only for the adults who will actually tour it.

How do we get to the Portes du Soleil with kids?

Fly to Geneva and take a shared or private transfer of roughly 75 to 100 minutes depending on the village. It is one of the shortest airport runs to any major ski region in the Alps, which matters a great deal with young children.

How much does a family week in the Portes du Soleil cost?

A catered or hotel week typically lands in the $2,000 to $4,000 band per adult, with self catering in Chatel or La Chapelle d'Abondance dipping under $2,000. Full area passes run around $70 a day, village passes less.

Is the Swiss Wall dangerous for children?

The Swiss Wall at Chavanette is a famous mogul pitch graded beyond black, and no child or nervous intermediate should be led onto it; there is a chairlift down. The rest of the circuit crossing into Switzerland is gentle and well within a confident family's range.

Have it arranged

Tell us the dates. We price the trip.

If you want a Portes du Soleil family week priced by specialists, give us the dates, ages and budget below and we will route your brief to operators who know these villages house by house. No fee to you, ever.

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