June 12, 2025 | By Anita Jain Shah

Earlier this year, I found myself standing once again in the heart of Alpe d’Huez — a French Alpine resort I thought I already knew. Except, this time, the bass had stopped thumping, the lights weren’t dancing across the slopes, and the crowds had long melted away.

In 2023, I attended Tomorrowland Winter, one of Europe’s most talked-about electronic music festivals, hosted in the middle of snow-covered mountains. Alpe d’Huez was unrecognisable from its usual winter postcard imagery. There were fireworks exploding over glaciers, DJs playing to packed snowfields at 2,000 metres, and people from over 100 countries dancing in ski suits.

It was surreal. Electric. The kind of travel moment that doesn’t just make your Instagram feed, but rewires your memory of a place.

But then came 2025. No festival. No frenzy. Just the same mountain in its natural rhythm — snow falling softly on empty slopes, chairlifts gliding in silence, and that golden alpine sun that Alpe d’Huez is famous for. Suddenly, the loudest thing in the village was the crunch of snow under my boots.

What Tomorrowland Did to the Alps
The arrival of Tomorrowland Winter has undeniably put Alpe d’Huez on the radar for a new generation of travellers. It’s no longer just the domain of seasoned skiers and quiet holidaymakers. The festival brought in thousands of attendees from across the globe — many of whom may never have considered a snow holiday otherwise.

Hotels sold out, chalets were booked a year in advance, and ski gear was swapped for statement outfits and LED goggles. For one week, the resort felt more like a high-altitude Ibiza than a traditional alpine escape. And that was the magic — the transformation was total, but temporary.

Same Slopes, Different Story
Returning without the festival felt like visiting a different destination entirely. But this time, I had the space to explore Alpe d’Huez for what it truly is: one of France’s most versatile and sun-soaked ski resorts.

At 1,860 metres, Alpe d’Huez sits high on a south-facing plateau, basking in an average of 300 days of sunshine each year. The ski area spans 250 km of runs across five villages, with gondolas and chairlifts connecting everything seamlessly. Whether you’re a beginner or a backcountry enthusiast, the terrain adapts to your level.

How to Reach Alpe d’Huez
Despite its high-altitude charm, Alpe d’Huez is surprisingly accessible — especially for Indian travellers combining it with other French or Swiss experiences. The resort is well connected to three international airports:
– Lyon-Saint Exupéry Airport (LYS) – 150 km / approx. 2.5 hours
– Grenoble Alpes-Isère Airport (GNB) – 105 km / approx. 1.5 hours
– Geneva Airport (GVA) – 220 km / approx. 3 hours

Car rentals and private transfers are the most flexible way to reach the resort, with the final drive offering breathtaking Alpine views. Many agents also package the journey with 2–3 nights in Lyon or Geneva — adding a gastronomic or cultural city break before the mountains take over.

Beyond the Beat
The truth is, Alpe d’Huez doesn’t rely on the festival to be relevant — it evolves with it. Tomorrowland Winter is a brilliant chapter in its year-round narrative, but certainly not the whole book.

This is a destination that welcomes both the adrenaline of a music festival and the quiet luxury of a traditional winter escape. In summer, it transforms yet again — attracting cyclists from around the world who come to conquer the 21 iconic hairpin bends of the Tour de France.

Its proximity to cities like Lyon, Geneva, and Grenoble makes it an easy inclusion in multi-stop itineraries, especially for Indian travellers looking to combine mountains with gastronomy, vineyards, or city breaks.

A Lesson for the Industry
For those of us working in travel media and trade, there’s a growing need to understand destinations in layers — not just as one-dimensional sellable products. Festivals like Tomorrowland Winter can create global visibility and rebrand a place overnight. But they also highlight something deeper: how a destination can wear different personalities and still feel authentic.

Alpe d’Huez is a reminder that the strongest destinations are those that hold their ground, with or without the buzz. That travellers today — especially from emerging markets like India — are seeking both moments of madness and mindfulness, sometimes in the same place.

As a journalist, I love when a place surprises me. But as a traveller, I love it even more when it shows me more than one version of itself.

 

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