The French Alps by Drone

Contributor Jturner produced this spectacular video skiing down the Argentiere glacier, which is part of the Mt. Blanc Masif in the French Alps.  The glacier which runs perpendicular to the Chamonix Valley, made a disguised but widely noted appearance in the 21st installment of the James Bond series, The World is Not Enough.  In the 1999 film, 007 (played by Pierce Brosnan) there's an epic mountain ski chase scene which is set in the Caucasus but which, in fact, was shot on this very glacier.

The Dronetrip has graced AirVuz with a stunning bird's eye look Verdon Gorge in southeastern France.  The canyon runs up to 700 meters deep (about 2.4k ft) for a length of about 25 km (40 mi) in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence.  Formed by a Durance River tributary, it's considered one of the most stunning canyons in Europe if not the world.  In this video, Dronetrip's DJI Mavic Pro drone beautifully captures this amazing natural marvel which is sometimes called the Grand Canyon of Europe.

The Aguile du Midi is probably France's best known mountain, after its neighbor Mt. Blanc.  Unlike Mt. Blanc though, the Aguile du Midi peak is served by a cable car, the world's highest.  The cablecar's top station has become one of the most iconic sites of the Alps.  At an altitude of 3.8k meters (about 12.6k ft.), its panoramic views are matchless.  That is, until you could circle the peak itself, via a drone.  That's what dronealps did in this amazing 360 aerial of the great peak.  

Mont Blanc, in the French Alps, is the highest mountain peak of France, as well as the highest in the entire Alps system. Its peak is 4.8k meters (just under 15.8k ft.) above sea level. Chamonix is a small village located in the shadow of the great mountain. It was the site of the first Winter Olympics in 1924, the first of three held in the French Alps. DroneAlps, one of the top French drone piloting companies, found the perfect sunny day to capture this quaint Alpine paradise under a fresh coat of snow.

Avoriaz is one of the best known skiing desinations in the French Alps. It's in the area between Chamonix and Mt. Blanc to the south and Lake Geneva to the north. The resort has 51 slopes with a top-to-base drop of just under 1.4k meters or about 4.5k feet. It is one of the resorts credited with pioneering modern skiing, and continues to be among France's top ski resorts and amongst the top in the entire Alps region. Ear Trumpet Media created this drone video of the magnificent slopes of Avoriaz.

Contributor Dronealps, one of the top drone piloting companies in France, created this epic aerial video of one of the most beautiful spots in the French Alps.  Aiguille du Midi is a sibling of Mt. Blanc, the highest mountain in the Alps.   Aiguille du Midi features  cable car to its summit of 3.8k meters (about 12.6k ft), which for a time in the mid-20th century was the highest cable car in the world.  The viewing platform at its peak is one of the most iconic sights in France.

Top contributor Zimy da Kid took a drone along on a hike into the French Prealps.  These are essentially "mini Alps" which lie to the west of the "real" French and Swiss Alps.  It's actually a series of ranges, including the Chartreuse and Vercor Mountains.  With modest elevations, they are generally accessible without climbing equipment.  In this video, you'll get a bird's eye view of this epic hiking trip as they walk to the top of Grand Veymont, which at 2.3k meters (7.7k ft) is the highest peak in this range.  

Award winning drone pilot Florian Ledoux created this spectacular aerial video of France's Parc National des Écrins.  The park covers about 900 square km (about 350 square mi) in the Dauphiné Alps, a subchain of the greater Alps Mountain system.  The park includes the Barre des Écrins, the highest peak in the range at about 4.1k meters (about 13.5k ft).  The park is a short distance from Grenoble and Albertville, the sites of the two Winter Olympics held in France.  

Top contributor Freeway Prod used a DJI Inspire 2 drone to create this stunning aerial video of the Citadel de Sisteron, a very well known fortification in the foothills of the French Alps.  The town of Sisteron is located in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department, which is just to the south of the Hautes-Alpes department in the heart of the French Alps.  The citadel was built to take advantage of Sisteron's strategic location in the middle of a gap between two mountain ridges.  

Top contributor Dronealps created this spectacular video by flying a drone through the Bossons Glacier in the French Alps.  The glacier was formed from the snows of Mt. Blanc, and it flows about 7.5 km (around 4 mi) past the iconic Aiguille du Midi mountain and ends around Chamonix.   This is a flying maneuver not for the faint of heart, as you'll see from the video one wrong turn and the drone would be completely irrecoverable from the vast glacial field.  

The fortress town of Briançon in the French Alps bears a number of distinctions.  First of all, it is the highest town in France with at least 2,000 inhabitants.  Second, its strategic position relative to a key mountain pass made it one of the most heavily fortified cities in Europe after the current structures were built in the 17th century to protect against invasion from the (then) Holy Roman Empire.  Famously, the town withstood a long seige in 1815, near the end of the Napoleonic Wars.  

In this video, contributor ANTHONYVLOG puts the DJI Mavic Pro 2 drone to good use showing the beauty of the French Alps.  The video was shot in the Haute-Savoie department, which is part of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.  Haute-Savoie is in the heart of the French Alps; Lake Geneva lies immediately to its north and Mt. Blanc to its south.  This video will take you on a ride through this magical region, including shots of its snow-covered forests, frozen lakes, bridges, stunning lakeside towns, and more.  

Grand Montets is a resort in the Chamonix Valley in the French Alps.  It's known for its particularly challenging runs down the Aiguille d'Argentière.  It lies immediately to the north of Mt. Blanc, the tallest mountain in the Alps.  It is especially well known for its cable cars, which whisk skiers to a restaurant at the peak.  In this video by top drone piloting company dronealps, you'll get a bird's eye view of the very top of Grand Montets during the height of the winter ski season.  

Prepare to be blown away by this grand aerial tour of the French Alps, compliments of contributor Wilman.  Here are the well known spots featured in the video: Les Deux Alpes, Venosc; Monteynard Lake; Ecrins National Park; Road to Alpe d'Huez; Chambon Lake; Emosson Dam (Switzerland);  Refuge du Plan de l'Aiguille, Chamonix; the Passy Plaine-Joux; and Bossons Glacier, Chamonix.  The video was filmed using a DJI Phantom 4 Professional drone. 

Capture.ch created this stunning drone valley from the Contamines Valley in the French Alps.  It sits between two of the best known ski resorts in the region: Chamonix and Megève.  The valley is just a short distance from Mt. Blanc, the highest mountain in all of Europe west of the Caucasus.  The slopes of the valley host skiers in the winter and mountain climbers in the summer.  Ride along in this video through this stunning snow-covered alpine valley in the heart of the French Alps.

The Arvey River is a relatively short waterway in the Alps.  It flows mostly through France before joining the Rhone over the Swiss border.  On its way there is snakes through the village of Chamonix in the shadow of Mt. Blanc.  Unfortunately, the level of human activity has degraded the quality of the river.  In this stunning drone video by Franlac-Channel-France, you'll see the still stunning alpine valley and the mighty mountain which towers over it.   

Get a good long look at the highest mountain in the Alps, compliments of contributor pierrethiaville. He used a DJI Mavic Pro drone to film a pair of runners taking on a ridge with Mt. Blanc in the background.  The "White Mountain" is probably France's greatest natural treasure; it's the highest mountain in Europe west of the Caucasus.  Chamonix, which sits in its shadow, is probably the single best known ski resort in the world.  Sit back and enjoy the view of this magnificent mountain peak.

Contributor lempreinte-STD created this beautiful drone video of Grenoble, the most important city in the French Alps region and host of the 1968 Winter Olympics. It's actually in the foothills of the great mountain chain, surrounded by two sub-ranges of the the so-called French Prealps to its north and south and the Alps proper to its east.  In the video, you'll see the city from the vantage point of all three ranges: the Chartreusse (north), Vercor (south), and Belledonne (east) mountains.  

Contributor lempreinte-STD created this beautiful drone video of France's Chartreuse Mountains, one of the ranges that make up the French Pre-alps chain.   The highest peak in th Chartreuse, Chamechaude, reaches an altitude of just under 2.1k meters (just over 6.8k ft.), and most of the mountains are accessible by hiking.  The mountains extend north from Grenoble, the 1968 Olympics host city and the city generally regarded as the capital of the French Alps region as a whole.  

Najibk used a DJI Mavic Pro drone to create this beautiful aerial view of a famous lake and spa town in the French Alps.  Lake Bourget (Lac du Bourget) is an alpine lake in France's Savoie department.  With a maximum depth of 145 meters (around 475 ft.) it's the deepest in France, and with a surface area of 17 square mi (around 45 square km.) it's either the largest or second largest depending on the season.  The video also captures  Aix-les Bains, a famous spa town on its eastern shore.  

Contributor Didge used a DJI Mavic Pro drone to create this beautiful aerial view of the area around Annecy in the French Alps.  Located a half hour drive south of Geneva, Annecy is the largest city in the Haute-Savoie department.  The city is situated at the northern end of Lake Annecy, the third largest in France.  Variously called "The Pearl of the French Alps" and "The Venice of the Alps", it appeals to both outdoors-seekers and skiers as well as travelers interested in its long cultural history.  

The Belledonne Mountains are part of the Dauphiné Alps, itself a western subchain of the greater Alps range.  Their highest peak, Grand Pic de Belledonne, has an altitude of just under 3k meters (around 9.9k ft.).  The mountains lie just to the east of Grenoble, and were used for the skiing events when that city hosted the 1968 Winter Olympics.   In this drone video from Valentino, you'll get an awesome aerial view of the Belledonne from the vantage point of Puy Gris, one of its peaks.

If there's a spot worth capturing in the Alps, particularly the French Alps, we're pretty sure DroneAlps has conquered it.  In this elegantly produced reel, they show us the best of nearly 30 locations, including Mer de Glace, Aiguille du Midi, Sion, Beaumont-Hamel Memorial, Thiepval Memorial, Pozieres British Cemetery, Les Praz, La Tania, Argentiere,  Meribel, Lake Geneva, St. Gervais, Val Thorens, Verbier, Courchevel, Megeve, Lac de Montriond, Col des Montets, and more.

Skiing is a right of passage in some parts of the world, especially in the Alps Mountain range. Mont Blanc, or "White Mountain," is the highest in the Alps and the tallest in Europe outside of Russia's Caucasus peaks. At 15,781 feet, its size and grandeur are truly breathtaking. See skiiers, hikers, snow-covered trees, billowing clouds, and of course Mont Blanc in this piece by SoukOner.  This video was shot with the DJI Mavic 2 Zoom drone and shows off its impressive capabilities.