SOLD ON the idea of an Alpine summer? Now you need to know where to go — and how much you might pay. Here’s our choice of six more of the best resorts. You’ll find that prices are much lower than in winter, and the mountain towns and villages are quieter, too. The range of activities is mind-boggling: even the most hyperactive families won’t run out of things to do.

All activities can be booked through the tourist-board websites provided

MASSIF DES ARAVIS
France

The Massif des Aravis is a place apart. Lying east of Lake Annecy, in the foothills of Mont Blanc, it has long been overlooked by skiing’s jet set, and has escaped the mushrooming mechanisation of big-name winter-sports resorts. It looks and feels far more French than the likes of Courchevel and Val d’Isère.

Mule trekking in the Swiss Alps

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BACKGROUND

• A head for heights in Switzerland

• Green Spaces: Biohotel Stanglwirt, Austria

• Alps alive - with the sound of polo

• Family holidays in the mountains

• Trekking without the tears

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• Mule trekking in the Swiss Alps

To get the full effect, you need to stay in Comburce, a hamlet of 15 or so chalets above the village of Manigod. Up here, farming families used to pasture their livestock in the summer months, and the lack of ski lifts and other tourist infrastructure is a godsend. It’s a place for long, contemplative walks and picnics that last until supper time. And if, after four or five days, you start to feel a bit twitchy, you can always drop down to one of the larger villages, such as La Clusaz, and throw yourself into some swimming, tennis or mountain-biking.

Getting there: with Sea France, (0871 222 2500, seafrance.com ), return ferry crossings, leaving Dover on August 8 and returning on the 15th, start at £98 for a car and passengers. Or fly to Geneva with Swiss, BMI, British Airways, Jet2 or EasyJet, then hire a car — from £208 for a week in August with Carrentals.co.uk (0845 225 0845, carrentals.co.uk ).

Where to stay: Gîte Manigod (00 33 450 09 98 47, gite-manigod.com ), in Comburce, is a recently restored farmhouse, built in 1789. Book the entire property, which sleeps seven, for £800 a week, self-catering, in the peak summer months, or by room for £31pp a night, B&B.

Tour operators: Lagrange (020 7371 6111, www.lagrange-holidays.co.uk ) has one week in a one- bedroom apartment (sleeps four) in the nearby village of La Clusaz for £842, self-catering, including Eurotunnel crossings, arriving on August 8.

More information: aravis.com .

CHAMONIX VALLEY
France

You don’t need a beard and 100ft of rope to fit in here, but it helps. Chamonix has long been a gathering point for the mountain-goat brigade, and you only have to look up to see why. Towering over the town is the Mont Blanc massif, which, at 15,781ft, is the tallest of the Alps — and arguably the most spectacular. In summer, this is one of the busiest mountaineering destinations in the world.

But not everyone comes to risk life and limb on its crags. Nearby you’ll find softer, lusher slopes for more measured adventures. The Prarion, a northern spur of the massif, is just such a place, and at its foot lies the pretty village of Les Houches.

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