Resorts of extremes MOST CONVENIENT: ISOLA 2000

Lots of resorts that were purpose-built in the Sixties, practically all in France, set entirely new standards of convenience. They were built with very little else in mind (apart from keeping cost down to a degree that now seems short-sighted). Avoriaz, Flaine, Les Menuires and Les Arcs are well-known examples.

But the much less widely known Isola 2000, in the far southern French Alps, puts even these resorts in the shade. Or at least it did: the original resort consisted of a linked series of hotel and apartment buildings stretching down the side of the long, gentle nursery slopes. You parked on one side of the building, and stepped out on to the snow on the other. As in many other convenience resorts, more recent parts have been built with greater regard for aesthetics and the environment; however, such additions, appealing though they may be, are nowhere near so convenient. But most visitors will think this a price worth paying.