Each year, more than eleven million UK residents visit France on Holiday. Because most holidays are scheduled during the summer months, most tourists choose a seaside holiday, often on the French Rivera. But in recent years, more and more families are scheduling a second holiday during the winter months. The most popular second holiday is Ski Holidays France .

Considering its immense popularity, it is surprising to learn that skiing came late to France. In fact, the first ski resorts in France did not open until the nineteen-sixties, which was a full twenty years after most Alpine countries.

Fortunately, the French had been skiing in other countries for years, so they took to the sport like the proverbial duck to water. And after a series of French wins at international skiing competitions, the sport finally caught on with the public. As a result, huge ski resorts started popping up all over the country.

Skiing in France can be found in two parts of the country— the Alps and the much smaller Pyrenees. Because of the extremely high altitude of most of these resorts (up to 3330 metres above sea level), the mountains are able to stay open for most of the year, often from November to May.

At present, the hundred biggest ski resorts in France can accommodate well over one million tourists. There's only one problem. The French love to ski. In fact, they are almost fanatical about it. Each year, more than five million Frenchmen go on skiing holidays. This means that resorts are typically quite crowded and prices are generally more expensive than in neighbouring countries, like Austria.