The French Alps by Drone

Check out this stunning dronelapse video of a famous ski resort in the French Alps, compliments of contributor Rein Martens.   It's called Val Thorens, and it's situated in the Tarentaise Valley in Savoy, in the heart of the French Alps.  The resort is linked to two other resorts through valleys. Val Thorens has the distinction of being the highest ski resort on the continent of Europe.  It's also the most-visited ski resort in France, and its cable car to the top of Cime de Caron is one of the world's largest.  

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.

Prepare to be blown away by this grand aerial tour of the fabled French Alps region, compliments of contributor and drone pilot Wilman.  Here is a rundown of the well-known spots you'll see 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. 

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 above sea level (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.

Contributor and pilot 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.  

Top contributor and pilot 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.

Flying a drone in extreme temperatures can be challenging. In extreme wind they can be hard to control, above and near water can be terrifying, and bitter cold can render batteries useless and fingers numb. Hamilton Drone Services took their fleet out to the French Alps and experienced some of the woes of extreme cold first hand. They were in Les Trois Vellées, a ski region in the Tarentase Valley, Savoie département of France. The 4K footage is incredible, making the struggle well worth it in the end. 

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.  

In this video by Felix Matheron, you'll get an aerial perspective of some of the world's most beautiful alpine scenery.  What makes this video different from almost any other though is the way that it mixes footage from two very different types of drones: a DJI Mavic Pro 2 and a first person view (FPV) racing drone.  The former provides a highly stabilized and cinematic type of video experience, while the latter permits much more aggressive flight paths.  Watch and appreciate how well the video blends the two.  

Grand Montets is a very well-known 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.  

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 a famous cable car to its summit of 3.8k meters (about 12.6k ft) above sea level, 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 in the southeastern part of the country.  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, once known as the Gateway to Provence.

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, ending its long course around the equally iconic town of 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.  

Top contributor 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 Arve River is a relatively short waterway in the Alps.  It flows mostly through France before joining the Rhone River just over the Swiss border.  On its journey the river snakes through the village of Chamonix in the shadow of the mighty Mt. Blanc, the tallest mountain in the Alps.  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 and pilot 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 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 above sea level (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.  

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.

Here's a magnificent 4k drone video of a small town in the French Alps, compliments of contributor sollan1967.  The town is called Saint-Gervais-les-Bains, and it's situated in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.  The idyllic-looking town was the site of a significant tragedy in the late 19th century: in 1892, a previously hidden lake within a nearby glacier lake in the nearby Tête Rousse Glacier broke out, causing massive flooding in the valley and killing 200 people.  

If there's a spot worth capturing in the Alps, particularly the French Alps, we're pretty sure top contributor 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.

France's Mont Blanc, or "White Mountain," is the highest mountain in the Alps and the tallest in Europe outside of Russia's Caucasus peaks. It's part of the Graian Alps, a chain of the greater Alps system.  At with a peak elevation of about 4.8k meters above sea level (around 15.8k ft.), 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.

Contributor M_C_Black created this phenomenal aerial video of one of the biggest ski resorts in France.  Using a DJI Mavic Pro, he filmed the Le Arcs resort.  It's one of the mega-resorts of the Tarentaise Valley in Savoy, in the heart of one of the world's great ski regions.  The resort features over 100 runs and over 50 lifts; the highest skiable peak is  Aiguille Rouge, which offers a drop of over 2k meters (about 6.7l ft.).  It's part of the Paradiski system which includes two other resorts in the valley.  

Here is a short but stunning aerial view of a famous glacier in the French Alps, compliments of MountainRunner.  It's the Mer de Glace, and it's situated on the north side of the masif of Mont Blanc.  The glacier is about 7.5 km long (a bit under 5 mi.) and about 200 meters deep (around 660 ft.).  Counting its "tributaries", it's the largest glacier in France and the second-largest in the entire Alps system.  Its (steadily rising) bottom point now sits at an altitude of about 1.5k meters (around 4.9k ft.).  

Top contributor Piers Cunliffe used a DJI Mavic Pro to create this beautiful aerial video of the famed Three Valleys (Les Trois Vallées) ski region in the French Alps.  It's actually a series of linked ski resorts which lie within the Tarentaise Valley in Savoy. While the resorts aren't under single ownership, they can be accessed with a single pass, and on that measure it's considered the world's largest ski resort.  The video includes footage of the  Courchevel, Méribel, Les Menuires and Val Thorens resorts.

Translating to “white forest” in French, Vars La Forêt Blanche is a lovely ski resort in the French Alps. Featuring over 115 trails, 185 km (115 miles) of slopes and 360-dgree views of Mont Ventoux, Mont Blanc (the highest peak in the entire Alps system), the Ecrins, and the Italian peaks the area is an incredibly popular destination for locals. Pilot hittheroad.today captured the unique destination with his DJI Mavic Air in this beautiful winter flight, which was recorded in brilliant 4k.

Contributor gdm74190 is really selling it with this promo drone video he created for Passy Tourisme!  The aerial footage taken in the south-eastern Alps region of France contains all that's required for a fantastic family ski trip.  Some killer slopes, views of Mont Blanc (France's highest peak), good friends, French food, and a warm cabin stay complete this perfect vacation.  Passy is situated in the Haute-Savoie Department, which in turn is part of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.  

France's Verdon Gorge is considered one of the top natural sights in Europe.  Located in the southeastern part of the country in the French Alps, it is sometimes called the Grand Canyon of Europe.  In this video by Drone My Life,  you will see the famous canyon from an entirely new perspective - from a camera mounted atop a first person view (FPV) racing drone.  It's definitely a novel way to experience the depth of this gigantic crevice created by the Verdon River, which reaches a depth of 700 meters (over 2.3k ft.)! 

AdventurousDrone created this beautiful drone video of a well known glacier in the French Alps.  It's calle Bossons Glacier, and it's part of the Mont Blanc Massif.  It's sourced from one of the sides of the great Mt. Blanc (the tallest peak of the Alps), and it ends some distance short of the fabled town of Chamonix.  Bossons has the largest altitude drop of any glacier in the Alps.  The glacier has shrunk considerably in recent decades; even a few centuries ago it extended all the way to Chamonix.  

Here's a beautiful 4K aerial video of a ski area in the French Alps, compliments of contributor and drone pilot Clmng13.  It's called Les Orres, and it features 35 ski runs which total around 100 km (about 60 mi.) in total length.  Its slopes are serviced by 17 lifts.  The peak elevation of the resort is about 2.7k meters or around 5.6k ft. above sea level.  Shot on a beautiful winter day, the video does a fantastic job of bringing out the natural beauty of Hautes-Alpes, one of the main Departments of the French Alps.  

The area around Mt. Cenis in the French Alps is the site of an important pass which connects France to Italy.  In the late 1800's, newly-unified Italy created a fortification here to protect against invasion from its neighbor, against which had gone to war as part of the Italian Wars of Unification.  In this drone video by Drone My Life, you'll get a magnificent bird's eye view of the remains of Fort Varisello, which was never put to use given that France and Italy ended up fighting on the same side in World War I.  

Contributor Matt38310 used a DJI Mavic Pro 2 and a GoPro Hero 7 to create this video from a trip to the foothills of the French Alps.  The area filmed is called the Vervors Massif.  It's one of the chain of mountains which run through southeastern Francs, forming a rough "C" starting just west of Lake Geneva.  These are called the French Prealps, and the Vercors lie roughly in the middle of the chain.  The highest Vercors peak is Grand Veymont, with a maximum elevation of about 2.35k meters (about 7.7k ft.). 

This video combines drone and ground camera footage to record a memorable hike to a well-known mountain called La Tournette in the French Alps.  Actually, more the foothills ("Prealps") of the great mountain range, a grouping called the Bournes Masif.  La Tournette is the most prominent of the mountains which surround the fabled Lake Annency.  Its peak elevation is 2.35k meters or about 7.7k ft. above sea level; it's considered an "Ultra" class peak due to its prominents of just over 1.5k meters (just under 4.7k ft.).  

Aix-les-Bains is a fabled spa town in the French Alps.  It lies on the shores of Lake Bourget, France's largest glacial lake.  The second largest town in the Savoie Department, Aix-les-Bains was one of the most fashionable getaway destinations in France in the years leading up to World War I.  In this drone video by Cedric Vilella, you'll get a great tour of the Hôtel les Suites du Lac, a luxury property which sits right on the shores of the lake in this storied town which is also known for its annual music festival.  

Contributor and pilot FreD ...//... used a drone to aerially film a climbing session on a via ferrata in the French Alps.  Via ferrata means "iron path", and it's basically a way for climbers to tackle climbing routes that would otherwise be too dangerous.  It is based on the use of a steel cable which is attached to the rock every ten meters (around 30 feet) or so.  As the technologies to protect climbers from injury has advanced, so has the number of via ferratas.  In France, there are now over two hundred.  

If you look at a map of southeastern France, you could probably guess that there would be some sort of fortification built around the town of Sisteron.  It lies on a bend in the river which marked the division between the historical regions of Provence and Savoy, the latter being the last region to become part of the modern nation-state of France.  And the fortification which was used to defend the border is the mighy Citadel of Sisteron, which you'll see from above in this drone video by nicos aerial.