St. Jean d'Aulps

St Jean is one of the smaller resorts in the Portes du Soleil; it’s a traditional village that originally grew around an 11th century monastery, the Aulps Abbey. As a part of the Portes du Soleil ski area, St Jean has access to over 600km of ski slopes. The local hill is sunny and wooded, with fairly limited terrain, but the high skiing in Avoriaz is within easy reach for those looking for something different.

With a peaceful location five miles north of Morzine, beautiful mountain scenery and year round activities, St Jean is a great place for families looking for a genuine Alpine village. St Jean village itself is a short distance from the ski area, but there is a second centre by the lifts that offers some fantastic access to the slopes.

St Jean is one of the more convenient Portes du Soleil ski resorts, and the short hour and fifteen minute transfer time means it's a perfect choice for buyers looking for an easy, weekendable resort. 

With 50% of the skiing in the immediate St Jean area marked as blue and green runs, this resort is fantastic for beginners. Intermediates are well provided for too, with a further 43% of the slopes marked as red runs. However, expert skiers would be best suited to off-piste or heading over to the larger ski areas nearby.

Boasting a range of forest tracks, St Jean is a great place to get back to nature, while confident skiers will enjoy the tree skiing in the area. Elsewhere in the Portes du Soleil the slopes are mostly wide, open runs, with plenty of space to make even the busiest slopes feel empty. The Infamous Swiss Wall in Avoriaz is skiable for those looking for a challenge, although as the signs point out, the run is best attempted only by experts.

A proposed link with the Les Gets ski area will give St Jean a larger immediate ski area, but the resort doesn't suffer too much without it. The fast lift up to Avoriaz is just a short distance up the road, and offers the best access to the high slopes of Avoriaz. 

As one of the lower ski resorts in the French Alps, St Jean is excellent during the summer season. The wooded hills are perfect for mountain biking, the Dranse de Morzine offers a range of watersports from kayaking to white water rafting, and there are a number of good hiking trails too.

The collection of towns, resorts and villages each offer something unique, and give summer visitors plenty of new places to explore. There is a mix of peaceful and adrenaline pumping activities in the area, with fishing and walking for those who don’t want to get the blood pumping, and paragliding or rock-climbing for the adventurous.

The old Aulps Abbey is an excellent place to visit, offering a look into the history of the area beyond mountain sports and farming. As is the case in Chatel, the village still has several active farms, including those producing dairy.

Property in St Jean d'Aulps ranges from tiny studio apartments to luxury chalets, with some superb new build developments offering the chance to buy a bespoke ski chalet at excellent value. There are also some great resale properties in the area, but many of them are on the market at a higher price than the new build developments, and in need of some refurbishment.

There are a number of apartments in the area, both in the centre of the old town, and further out. Of the apartments in the centre of town, buyers have the option of both new build and resale. While some of the resale apartments are fairly spacious and well furnished, the tax options and bespoke nature of new build projects ensure they're generally the preferred option.