Val d'Isère is a fantastic place for children to learn to ski.
The fabulous beginners' and children's area at the Tête de Solaise offers everything you could ask for - shallow slopes, easy skiing, magic carpet lifts that are child's play to get on and off, and a huge fun area where youngsters quickly get to grips with the basic skills without even realising they're actually learning.
For parents and grandparents it's pretty good too. The lodge has enormous panoramic windows overlooking the beginners' area, plenty of seating, lots of toilets and somewhere warm to escape to while still keeping an eye on the action outside. Better still, because the beginners' area is right at the top of Solaise rather than tucked away at the bottom of the village, it's easy to meet the children for lunch without anyone having to ski all the way back to resort
At the end of the day, when little legs are tired, the 10-person Solaise Bubble will whisk everyone back down to resort level in less than five minutes.
Heated seats warm frozen fingers and toes, and there's no need for beginners to tackle the long run back to the village.
There's even free WiFi so they can upload the day's photos for their friends back home to see before they've reached the bottom.
For more advanced junior skiers, Val d'Isère is a paradise. Le Fornet, Solaise and Bellevarde all have loads of wide, sunny pistes that aren't too difficult but still give them a real sense of achievement.
There's a mini Skiercross near the Marmottes restaurant on the Bellevarde side and another one just off the side of the Madeleine on Solaise as well as the full-size Skiercross below Grand Pré.
The Snow Park has plenty of jumps and obstacles suitable for kids, so they can have fun in the park without you needing to worry about them doing anything too extreme. Children also love the dual slalom on the Stade, where they can race not just against the clock but against each other too.
There are heaps of options as far as ski schools are concerned, including several British-run schools with plenty of English-speaking instructors who are brilliant with children.
Most offer small group sizes - typically six or eight children maximum - big enough to have fun but small enough to receive plenty of individual attention and actually learn to ski as well.
If you're visiting during the school holidays, make sure you book well in advance.
The most popular schools and instructors can be fully booked weeks, sometimes even months, ahead.
