Risoul is next door to resort Vars and its very easy to hop over the ridge from one resort to the other. The biggest down point about this place is that the closest transfer is Turin, and that is a relative slog at almost 3 hours drive away. If you can handle the transfer though, there is some really good skiing to be had for beginners and intermediates amongst picturesque glades and rolling terrain. The village is at 1650 m so is high enough to give a reasonable guarantee of good snow.

I would rate the gentle learner slopes of Risoul as some most extensive and interesting in Europe and make progression a very enjoyable experience. The sheer number of slopes also means that anybody teaching young or inexperienced skiers will not get bored out of their minds as they can still ski many different runs during the day.

The apres ski is surprisingly lively for such as small village and I had a particularly good time at the “Yeti” nightclub where they seems to have good DJ's playing on a regular basis. For those wanting a slightly more relaxed evening there are plenty of more sophisticated establishments such as La Tradideria restaurant which does a really lovely meal.

Freestylers can be assured that there is a good superpipe in this resort and some consider it to be the best in France. I'm not convinced, but its certainly very good. The “Surfland” park is located by the Cezier chairlift which has everything except a really big line of jumps (although this may have changed since my visit two years ago). The Skier/Boardercross is really well done and you can have loads of fun racing your mates head to head through the giant burns and rollers.

I've heard some people say that Risoul and Vars are really good for expert skiers, but I don't think this is particularly accurate. Sure, you can have a good time here, but the bottom line is that the slopes around the resort just aren't as steep and funky as those of many other French resorts. I do rate the tree skiing here though as being about the best and most easily accessible in the alps. Its just unfortunate that it still doesn't match up to the glades of Canada; this is probably just down to tree type and spacing. It's mighty good fun though and is a great escape during those days when the weather isn't great.

Overall, I would say that Risoul is best suited for beginners and intermediates and would have my vote if I had to take a family on holiday somewhere. Although its not the best for better skiers, its certainly not the worst and there is a really good vibe to the place. Wouldn't be in my shortlist of places to visit for a season or on a holiday.