www.valdinet.com. From Bourg-Saint-Maurice, the D902 climbs up the Isère valley into the Haute Tarentaise, past tiny time-warp mountain villages such as Sainte-Foy-Tarentaise and la Gurraz, to the major winter resort of Val d’lsère and nearby Tignes. With over 400 km of superb downhill runs and cross-country terrain for intermediate and advanced skiers, Val is reckoned to offer the best skiing in France (some say Europe, or the world), but its true charms are only revealed after the first dusting of snow. In the height of summer, the scars of the skiing industry are distressingly apparent above the charmless village, and many hotels and restaurants are firmly closed.

The tourist office offers a long list of summer sporting activities including glacier skiing. There are some excellent treks into the Pare National de la Vanoise, where you will see stunning mountain scenery; several télépheriques can speed walkers on their way. Between June and September, when the snow is usually kept at bay (though snow flurries and low cloud are not unusual), the D902 south of Val d’lsère becomes the highest motorable road in the Alps as it crosses the dramatic heights of the Col d’lseran (2,770 m).