Isola 2000 Ski Resort Guide

Isola 2000 is the closest high resort to the Cote d' Azure. The drive to Isola 2000 from Nice is a spectacular one that winds up through the steep river gorges of the Maritime Alps and takes just one and a half hours. Worthwhile diversions abound, the Verdon and Cians gorges are at hand, as are spectacular fortress towns such as Entrevaux. Purpose-built in the 1970s, Isola 2000 has tried hard to lessen the ugliness of its ill-conceived concrete buildings by cladding many with wood and newer buildings are mostly traditional chalets in the pine forests above Hameau. The terrain is varied and is especially good for beginners and intermediates with a respectable 120km of piste and some challenging wooded off-piste runs for snowboarders and advanced skiers after new snow. Being located so close to the sea and above 1800m, Isola 2000 gets the brunt of the snowfall from storm systems moving into the Western Med and can often have very different conditions to the rest of the Alps. Early in the season, Isola 2000 tends to be more snow-sure than higher resorts further north but being so close to Nice means that it can get very busy at weekends and holidays.