La Plagne (Centre), France

Plagne Centre is the original Plagne resort and still suffers from the brutal use of concrete and block architecture common to the purpose built French ski resorts of the 1960's. The main hub has a newly refurbished shopping mall that winds its way around the village under cover from the elements. There is a surprisingly varied array of shops, restaurants and bars and the apres ski scene is fairly lively, with live music through the week and a friendly atmosphere. None of the other La Plagne resorts can compete with Plagne Centre in terms of resort facilities.

There are some stylish modern accommodation developments in recent years that have helped to 'soften' Plagne Centre - five luxury chalets are contained in Summit Hill, which is situated right at the foot of the home pistes on the 'front de neige'. These chalet apartments have a cool, boutique hotel vibe and others with a more traditional look and feel.

The skiing in the wider La Plagne and Paradiski area is ideally suited to beginner and intermediate skiers, with wide blue runs surrounding the village and a couple of fantastic ski schools. This is not to say that more experienced skiers will not enjoy La Plagne – the relatively recent Vanoise Express will whisk you across from one end of the La Plagne area to Les Arcs, offering a huge and varied ski area to all visitors to the Paradiski area.