Le Mappaz is a mountain chalet overlooking the traditional, Savoyard village of Arêches, in the Beaufortain region of the French Alps. Most British people have never heard of Arêches but The Telegraph described it....

'Arêches Beaufort, France: Skiing in rural peace and quiet

Situated in the snow-loaded shadow of Mont Blanc, we discover that the rural idyll of Arêches Beaufort conceals a bonanza of back country riches'.

We discovered Arêches in 2013 and fell in love with it; the scenery is stunning, the architecture is authentic and the restaurants are inviting and friendly.  

The apartment has amazing views of the Beaufortain mountains; Arêches is down the road and the Lac de Saint Guerin is up the other way, making it a great spot winter or summer. In the winter the snow plough clears the road to just beyond the chalet so there is very little passing traffic, and in the summer it's ideally placed to explore some great hiking, biking and climbing routes.

The placed is kitted out with the stuff that we think people want, but if we've missed something just let us know. There's a games room (albeit a rustic one), with full size table tennis table and table football (slightly rickety, I grant you), and there's secure storage for equipment like bikes and ski gear.

It's under 2 hours from 3 international airports; Geneva, Lyon and Grenoble, and Chambery airport is only an hour away; so there's scope to find good deals on flights and car hire. If you like getting to the Alps by train, Albertville and Moutiers are both within 45 minutes; and again there are car hire options from these 2 mainline stations. Or jump in the car and drive through the channel tunnel, its takes about 12 hours door to door. Check out our ‘your journey’ page for more details on travel, suggested routes and stop overs.

Have a scout about on Google Earth and see for yourself - it's really pretty.

Nicola and Andrew xx