Beyond the Slopes: Summer in Tignes, Courchevel, and La Clusaz

2026-09-09

Most Americans only think of the Alps in winter. All three of our destinations run a genuinely good summer season, quieter, greener, and priced differently, worth knowing about even if skiing is what brought you to the region in the first place.

Tignes keeps its glacier open for skiing well into summer, one of the few places in Europe where that's true, alongside hiking straight from the village across alpine terrain that's under snow the rest of the year. The lake in the village center, frozen solid in winter, becomes a genuine summer draw for swimming and paddleboarding.

Courchevel trades its winter formality for hiking and mountain biking across the same Trois Vallées terrain, plus an altiport with scenic flights and a noticeably calmer village than its December self. Restaurants that require reservations weeks out in February often have same-day tables in July.

La Clusaz is arguably at its best in summer: the Monday market, the working village rhythm, hiking through the Aravis massif right from Chalet Aravis's front door, and Lake Annecy, one of the clearest lakes in Europe, roughly 30-40 minutes away for a full day out.

Chalets rent for meaningfully less in summer than during ski season, and a private house with a full kitchen and space to spread out works just as well for a family hiking trip as it does for a ski week, arguably better, since there's no boot room to manage.

If a summer trip is something you're weighing, get in touch and we'll walk you through which of our three destinations and chalets makes the most sense for warm-weather dates.