Get on the Slopes,Without the Ecoguilt

COUNTRY: United kingdom SECTION :Features PAGE(S) :1;2;3 CIRCULATION : (555817) SURFACE : 132 % AVE :87,73 K€ FREQUENCY : Daily AUTHOR : Liz Rowlinson 23 November 2019

Geton the slopes,without the ecoguilt CREDIT

The Greta Thunberg effectis taking over and #flyshame is affecting sales.Liz Rowlinson searcheswhere to buyfor great skiing near train stations

during winter you can take one of Eurostar’s dedicated “Ski Trains” direct to three stations: Moûtiers, Aime-la- Plagne and Bourg-St-Mau- rice, taking over seven-and-a-half hours. The closest ski resort to Bourg-St-Maurice is the modern purpose-built ski resort of Les Arcs. It’s low on traditional Savoyard charm but user-friendly, and is com- prised of four linked villages named after their altitude, all in the 264 miles of Paradiski ski area. Reached by aseven- minute funicular train from the station, it’s Elkan’s fa- aniel Elkan always vourite resort. “Taking the 9.45am train takes the train when and arriving at 7.03pm means an eight- he goes skiing every hour journey, which is sometimes not year to the French that much longer than flying,” he says. Alps. He relishes the Arc 1950 is very popular with fami- space to move lies because it is car-free, snow-sure around, while enjoy- and offers free activities each week, ing the scenery as plus the resort is a good investment as DEurostar carves through France. rental apartments are always in de- But for the former volunteer of mand. Resales cost around €492 [£421] Friends of the Earth who lives in Hamp- per sq ft,” says François Marchand of stead, north-west London, his carbon Erna Low Property; there are no new- footprint also counts. “Taking the train builds left now. creates a fraction of the carbon dioxide “Nearby Arc 1800, reached by free that taking the plane does,” he says. Ac- resort shuttle, is more popular with cording to sustainability consultancy those looking for lively après-ski,” adds Antithesis, a typical one-way journey Marchand. “There’s a new La Folie GROGER by plane from London to the Alps cre- Douce [day-party concept ski bar] ates around 122kg of carbon dioxide opening in December.” At the ski in-ski per person, a car 240kg (per vehicle), out five-star Residence Edenarc devel- GERHARD and a train ride only 12kg per person. opment, prices start from €319,000 for Snow is falling in the Alps and he is a new, furnished, two-bedroom prop- COTTE; not the only skier thinking about cli- erty through Erna Low. mate change. Snowcarbon.co.uk, the Forty-five minutes by car from GERARD website he set up to address the lack of Bourg-St-Maurice joined-up information on train ser- are the high-alti- vices, has been busy of late. “In the past tude resorts of six months I’ve had a spike in emails Tignes and Val from people saying they are trying not d’Isère. In Tignes, to fly, so what are the best ways to get you can get a to the Alps by train?” he says. three-bedroom SNOW The “flight shame” movement (com- property in a BUSINESS plete with its own hashtag, #flyshame) leaseback devel- Antares in Meribel, has already stopped Swedes flying as opment (which cover, from €2.11m, much asthey did, but with the Alps sit- gives you limited Athena Advisers; a ting at the centre of Europe, many personal usage flat in La Plagne property owners can – and do – drive or with a guaranteed near Aime-la- take the train. While you could opt to annual return) for Plagne station, top drive by electric car (Flaine in France is €375,000 through left, €243,000 with one ski resort with charging points), Erna Low Prop- Erna Low; Sandy Eurostar reports that bookings for its erty. and Mike Harris- winter trains to the French Alps have The commer- Smith, left increased year-on-year. cial centre of Val Sowhat are the most convenient re- d’Isère is cur- sorts for carbon-conscious property- rently going hunters? To reach France you can through major im- either take the Eurostar to Paris and provement, but pick up aTGV down to the Alps, or else prices are steep:

prime properties cost on average €1,887 utes by car to Méribel in the Three Val- off-plan from €243,000. Parisians use per sq ft, according to Savills, the third leys, or the smaller resorts of Bourg-St-Maurice for ski weekends highest in a ski resort after Courchevel Brides-les-Bains and Valmorel.” The thanks to its handy train connections, 1850 and Aspen, Colorado. The agent is agent is selling a four-bedroom pent- and Harris-Smith’s partner Mike uses it selling a spacious three-bedroom house apartment in Moûtiers for for his weekly commute back to the UK apartment there for €3.6 million. €259,000, and in Valmorel you can get to run his business in Berkshire. “We Consider buying in Bourg-St-Mau- a studio apartment for just €69,000. live in the small Savoyard village of Pei- rice itself for much lower prices: you Buyers on a budget who prefer the sey-Nancroix because we love to ski,” can get apartments for €325 per sq ft, holiday atmosphere of a ski resort she says. “It’s only 10 minutes from the or one in Moûtiers for €279 per sq ft. might prefer La Plagne, a cluster of re- Eurostar station of Aime-la-Plagne, and “Both are popular locations for buyers sorts five minutes’ drive from Aime-la- in winter Mike can use the snow trains.” because apart from the train stations Plagne, or 20 from Moûtiers. The most But regulars like Elkan say that train they are gateways to the valley and authentic is the former farming village companies will need to do a lot more if both have attractive historic parts,” of Champagny-en-Vanoise, where they want people to forgo planes. This says Sandy Harris-Smith of Leggett Im- there are plans to build a new lift which includes broadening their schedules, mobilier. “Moûtiers is especially popu- will connect nearby Bozel with as well as having the ability to book a lar with homebuyers who prefer to Courchevel in the Three Valleys. year in advance (like airlines). take the train. But it is also only 20 min- Athena Advisers is selling apartments Happily, you can increasingly get

GROGER

GERHARD

COTTE;

GERARD

SNOW BUSINESS Antares in Meribel, cover, from €2.11m, Athena Advisers; a flat in La Plagne near Aime-la- Plagne station, top left, €243,000 with Erna Low; Sandy and Mike Harris- Smith, left

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WARM WELCOME Chalet Le Rocher in Val d’Isère, main, €17m through Athena Advisers; Chalet Bellevue in Meribel, right, €3.95m with Savills; apartments in Kirchberg, below, start from €4.2m with Alpine Marketing

ronmentally conscious.” The agent is selling new apartments in the dual-sea- son lakeside town of Zell am Seeat the Elements Resort, from €242,900 for a one-bedroom property, or new chalets near the Schmittenhöhe cable car (completion in December 2020) from €1.095 million. Other stops on this branch of the line include the chic resort of Kitzbühel and next-door Kirchberg in Tirol. Smaller Fieberbrunn – two stops later – is another option, suggests Jessica Delaney of the agent. “It’s nestled be- tween the mountain ranges of Kitz- bühel and Saalbach, and the village dates back to the Middle Ages. It’s packed full of character and since 2015 has been linked to 167 miles of pistes.” further away by rail – even if it take a Properties in the Haus Jakob develop- while. Getting to Austria by train has A typical one-way ment there start from €1.97 million, and become easier this winter with the new flight from all have a rental obligation – standard Alpen Express sleeper that starts from for new Austrian ski resort properties. Dec 20. Every Friday it will take skiers London to the The train splits in Cologne and goes from Amsterdam (or Brussels) to wake to Langen am Arlberg, from where the up moments from the ski slopes of the Alps creates122kg popular resorts of St Anton and Lech Tirol, Salzburg and Arlberg. British can be reached within 20 minutes. travellers can take the Eurostar to Am- of carbon dioxide Bruce Haines, who travels to the pic- sterdam or Brussels. per person, while ture-postcard Tyrolean village of Alp- “Now Londoners can leave their of- bach by train every year, agrees it is a fice on Friday and wake up in the cen- a train journey is long day – with a 7am depart from Lon- tre of Zell am See,ready for afull day’s don, arriving at 8pm in the resort. “The skiing and an eight-day skiing week,” only 12kg best thing is that you inevitably meet a says Giles Gale of Alpine Property new family en route, and you can drink Finders. “This is the first time Austria beer and eat proper food all the way.” has been properly accessible by train – Perfect if you believe the journey is good for nervous fliers and the envi- part of the experience.