Pra Loup

Pra Loup is a sun-drenched ski resort in the Ubaye Valley of the Southern French Alps, sitting at the gateway to the Mercantour National Park. Created in 1961 and named after the wolves that once roamed these mountains, it was designed by legendary French ski racer Émile Allais and national team coach Honoré Bonnet, two names that tell you everything about the resort's skiing pedigree. Today, Pra Loup has two base villages: Pra Loup 1600, the main hub with shops, restaurants, and bars right at the foot of the slopes, and the quieter, more intimate Pra Loup 1500 Les Molanès. Linked by lifts to La Foux d'Allos, together they form the Espace Lumière.

On the Pra Loup side itself, around 100km of pistes rise from 1,500m to 2,500m across 49 runs, and with the Espace Lumière link the combined area stretches to over 180km. Over 80% of the skiing sits above 2,000m, and one of Pra Loup's most distinctive features is that the beginners' slopes are up there too, at mid-mountain altitude, so first-timers get the best snow and views from day one. Wide, open terrain above the treeline gives way to larch-lined runs lower down, with flowing reds and long blues making up the bulk of the skiing and steeper blacks and accessible off-piste higher up for stronger skiers. Mediterranean sunshine means around 300 days of sun per year, and north-facing aspects keep snow conditions reliable from mid-December to early April.

Beyond the slopes, Pra Loup has a distinctly southern spirit. The pace is relaxed, the food leans into Provençal mountain cooking with lamb, local cheeses, and hearty stews, and there's enough going on to fill rest days comfortably: snowshoeing, snowmobiling, paragliding, ice skating, bowling, and a more. On clear evenings, the Mercantour National Park's designation as an International Dark Sky Reserve means spectacular stargazing right from the resort. Barcelonnette, just 7km down the valley, adds cobbled streets, excellent restaurants, and a curious Mexican-influenced architecture, a legacy of 19th-century emigration, for an afternoon that feels a world away from the slopes.