The French Alps by Drone

Explore some of the most spectacular mountain scenery in Europe in this compilation video, which was created using some of the best footage from the "French Alps by Drone" collection.  You'll be treated to bird's eye views of the majestic peaks of the Mont Blanc massif, the Col du Joly pass, and more. 

Interested in sponsoring the French Alps collection?  As part of the sponsorship package, this compilation video will be re-branded with the sponsor's name, and will be available for use on the sponsor's website and social media pages.  

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. 

To get a sense of how drones are revolutionizing the way we can view action sports, check out this magnificent video from the French Alps by new AirVuz contributor maximemoulinfilm.  The subject of the piece is Sam Favret, one of France's top freeride skiers.  The video captures him seemingly flying down a mountain in the Aiguilles Rouges, a massif of the French Prealps which is situated across the Chamonix Valley from Mt. Blanc.  This video earned a nomination in the Extreme Sports category at the 6th NYCDFF.

Top AirVuz contributor Alexandre Velluet x Scandia Productions was picked as the Winner of the Drone Video of the Week in mid-March, 2023 with this fantastic travel video from the French Alps.  The video was created with footage from the DJI Mavic Cine 3 and a first person view (FPV) drone, along with shots from a Sony ground camera.  Follow along with this talented pilot/content creator and his companion as they take a four-wheel journey through some of the world's most spectacular alpine scenery.  

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.

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.

Former Drone Video of the Week Winner Julien Hulin brings us this magnificent aerial video from the French Alps.  The video was filmed in the area around the commune of Val-d'Oronaye, which is part of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, one of the main departments (provinces) of the French Alps region.  The valley is part of the Maddalena Pass, which is located on the French-Italian border and which connects the Cottian Alps and the Maritime Alps sub-ranges.  The video was filmed with a DJI Mavic Pro 2 drone.    

Former DVOW Winner Julien Hulin brings us this magnificent drone video from the French Alps, which was created to illustrate the effects of global warming on the glaciers of the Alps.  With their relatively small size, these glaciers are extremely sensitive to the ongoing rise in global temperatures.  The expected disappearance of at least 80% of their aggregate mass will mark the end of an important freshwater storage mechanism, and will forever disrupt the appearance of some of the world's most beautiful alpine landscapes.   

Prepare to be amazed by this spectacular first person view (FPV) drone video following a famous skier hitting the slopes of the legendary resort of Chamonix in the French Alps.  Watch maximemoulinfilm follow skier Sam Favret, who has become known around the world for being filmed tackling some of the world's most challenging back-country slopes.  Filmed during a period when Chamonix was otherwise closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the video combines FPV footage with shots from a DJI Mavic Pro 2. This video was a DVOY finalist in 2021. 

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 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.

Located in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alps-Côte d’Azur regions of France, the French Alps are an incredible mountain range. Located over 200k square km (around 81k square mi.), the highest point in the range is the famous Mont Blanc. Pilot Drone My Life heads out to the region with his DJI Mavic 2 Pro in tow to take in the serenity that surrounds the area. Enjoy peaceful shots of the snow-capped peaks, gushing waterfalls and glacial rivers, lush greenery, and rocky ledges that surround the area in summer.

Former Drone Video of the Week Finalist Laurent Paris brings us this spectacular drone video from the French Alps.  The video was filmed in and around the commune of Servoz in Haute-Savoie, one of the main departments of the French Alps region, which has borders with French neighbors Switzerland and Italy.  It's part of the broader region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.  Shot with a DJI Mavic 2 drone, the video captures the beauty of the region, which is home to some of the most spectacular alpine scenery in all of Europe.  

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.

Former Drone Video of the Week winner and Drone Video Award nominee ZilverSchmitz brings us this beautiful video from the famed ski resort of Les Arcs in the French Alps.  It's located in the town of Bourg-Saint-Maurice in the Savoie Department.  Situated in the Tarentaise Valley , it's one of the original mega-resorts of the French Alps.  It consists of five separate ski areas, each of which corresponds to a different base elevation ranging from about 1.2k meters above sea level (around 4k ft.) to to around 2k meters (about 6.6k ft.).  

Top AirVuz contributor Ori Feldman brings us this amazing video from the area around Mt. Blanc in the French Alps.  Created using aerial drone footage and ground-based timelapse shots, the video will take you over some of the world's most stunning alpine scenery.  Located near the spot where France, Italy, and Switzerland touch each other, Mt. Blanc is the highest peak in the Alps and the highest mountain in Europe ex Russia.  It has a peak altitude of just under 15.8k ft. above sea level, or around 4.8k m.  

Avoriaz is one of the best-known skiing destinations 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.

Check out this drone video of the famed Les Trois Vallées ski resort in the French Alps, compliments of top AirVuz contributor and pilot HendrikW.  Located in the Tarentaise Valley in the Savoy Department, Les Trois Vallées was originally three different resorts until the early 1970's when they were linked together by ski lifts.  With 600 km (around 375 mi.) of alpine runs, 183 lifts, and 120 km (about 70 mi.) of cross-country ski trails, it's considered the largest single ski complex in the world.  

Check out these stunning drone views from the French Alps, compliments of AIrVuz contributor and pilot Arnaud Lesueur.  The video features a mix of footage from a gimbal-stabilized drone with some epic first person view (FPV) drone footage.  Filmed at sunset, the piece captures the brilliant colors produced as the sun starts to fall below the horizon in the west.  Among other highlights, there's a spectacular FPV "gap" shot flying through a narrow "v" shaped rock formation which you'll see at about the 1:15 mark.

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.  

For a third upload to AirVuz, top contributor julien hudym brings us this magnificent wintertime drone video from the French Alps.  The video was filmed over the slopes of Val Cenis in Savoie, one of the main departments covered by the French Alps.  It was shot during the COVID-19 pandemic, at a time when the ski lifts were closed in an effort to halt the spread of the novel coronavirus and the normally busy slopes were eerily empty.  The video was shot using a Anafi Parrot drone as well as a ground camera.  

Contributor M_C_Black created this phenomenal aerial video of one of the biggest ski resorts in France: 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.).  Part of the Paradiski system, Le Arcs was one of the main venues for skiing events at the 1992 Winter Olympics hosted in nearby Albertville. 

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.

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 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 Chartreuse (north), Vercor (south), and Belledonne (east) mountains.  

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 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 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.

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.

Explore a famous French ski area by drone in this fantastic video by AirVuz contributor and pilot Yukix.  Shot largely with a first person view (FPV) quad, the video was filmed over the Les Arcs ski resort during the warmer months.  The resort is located in the Tarentaise Valley in the heart of the French Alps in the department of Savoie.   The video captures the beauty of the area as well and provides a glimpse of the range of summer recreational activities on offer here.  This video was a Drone Video of the Week Finalist.    

AirVuz contributor and drone pilot FrankyMoiss brings us this VERY impressive video from the heart of the French Alps, a result a filming job he did for a French television show.  The video was shot on the Aiguille du Midi, one of the peaks of the Mont Blanc Masif.  The top of the mountain is accessible from a cable car system, one of the world's longest, which originates in the village of Chamonix.  The video was shot using a combination of a first person view (FPV) mini-drone and a DJI Mavic Pro 2.  

Explore the majesty of the French Alps in wintertime with this excellent video by Bastien Nvs.  The video combines first person view (FPV) drone footage with gimbal-stabilized shots from a DJI Mavic drone as well as a few shots from a ground camera.  At about the 1:05 mark, there's a great shot flying over a mountain bridge as a train crosses it, followed by overhead shots of the same train as it winds through a forest.  Further on in the video, you'll be treated to some great FPV views skimming the treetops and diving steep canyons.    

AirVuz contributor and pilot LionelTardy brings us this stunning drone video from a famous mountain in the French Alps: Aiguille Verte.  Part of the Mt. Blanc masif (home to the highest mountain in the Alps), Aiguille Verte has a summit elevation of just over 4.1k meters above sea level (around 13.5k ft.).  The mountain, whose name translates to "Green Needle", was first ascended in 1865 by a team that included Edward Whymper, who went on to be the first climber to see the top of the Matterhorn just two weeks later.  

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.  

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 siege in 1815, near the end of the Napoleonic Wars.  

AirVuz contributor and first person view (FPV) pilot Kenny Dorion created this spectacular cinematic FPV video of the French Alps town of Annecy at a virtual standstill during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown.  With its outdoor spaces virtually empty of people, the video brings a unique perspective to the largest city in the Haute-Savoie Department.  Once called the Pearl of the French Alps, Annecy is located at the northern tip of its namesake lake, about 35 km (around 22 mi.) south of Geneva.

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.  

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.

Top contributor Julien Hulin has secured multiple Drone Video of the Week Finalist spots for his drone videos from the Brittany region of northwestern France.  In this amazing piece, he heads southeast to make a video showing the incredible natural beauty of the French Alps region.  The outstanding piece captures some of the spectacular alpine scenery of the area, including massive glaciers and razor-like rock ridges.  At about the 1:43 mark, there's a nice shot of the Pont du Châtelet bridge in the municipality of Saint-Paul-sur-Ubaye.  

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.). 

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 her 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.)! 

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.  

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.  

Contributor LionelTardy created this magnificent droen video from atop La Tournette, a famous mountain in the French Alps.  Part of the Bornes Massif in the subrange known as the Prealps, La Tournette has a summit elevation of about 2.35k meters above sea level or around 7.7k ft.  With prominence of just over 1.5k meters (just under 5k ft.), La Tournette is what is known as an Ultra in mountain classification parlance.   It's the highest mountain surrounding Lake Annecy, a prominent alpine lake in the Haute-Savoie Department.  

AdventurousDrone created this beautiful drone video of a well-known glacier in the French Alps.  It's called 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 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.).  

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. 

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. In this drone video by Drone My Life, you'll get an aerial tour of this majestic mountain and its surroundings.  The video was shot with a DJI Mavic Pro 2 as well as a first-person view (FPV) drone.  

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.  

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.  

Prepare to be blown away by this fantastic first person view (FPV) drone mountain surfing video from the French Alps by top AirVuz contributor haussmannvisuals.   Filmed in the area around the town of Chamonix, the video will take you soaring along the spectacular mountain ridges and giant (but shrinking) glaciers which cover much of the landscape.  It's testament to the cinematic power of FPV drones, which are capable of providing never-before seen perspectives of some of the world's most pristine alpine landscapes.

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.  

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.  

Check out this excellent 4k drone video from a pass in the French Alps, compliments of AirVuz contributor and pilot FreD...///...  It's called the Col du Joly, and it marks the boundary between the Savoie and Haute-Savoie Departments.  The pass, which sits at an altitude of just under 2k meters above sea level (around 6.6k ft.), connects the Montjoie and Beaufortain Valleys within the Beaufortain Masif.  Home of the Contamines ski area, the pass affords excellent views of the Mt. Blanc Masif, which lies to its northeast.

Top AirVuz contributor and pilot Ultraprod brings us this epic 60 second drone video from the heart of the French Alps.  The video was shot on the Aiguille du Tour, one of the mountains of the Mont Blanc masif.  He was able to use his drone to film himself sitting on a "shelf" made of a rock improbably balanced on another rock near the mountains's summit at an elevation of 3.55k meters above sea level or around 11.6k ft.  The location is near the fabled French town of Chamonix, on the French/Swiss border.  

Drones and mountains were made for each other, especially the kind of mountains that drone pilots can stand on and take epic selfies.  That's what this amazing piece by AirVuz contributor and drone pilot LionelTardy is all about.  He took to the French Alps near Albertville and filmed a series of dronies standing atop a number of the area's stunning peaks.   The area filmed is around the Pointe de la Sambuy in the Bauges Mountains, which are considered part of the larger chain known as the French Prealps. 

Top AirVuz contributor and pilot Ori Feldman brings us this magnificent drone video from the heart of the French Alps.  The video was filmed from the Mont Blanc massif, which is home to some of the tallest mountains in the Alps and which extends into neighboring Switzerland and Italy.  Filmed over the course of a week in the early summer, the video features footage of the Aiguille du Midi, which has a summit elevation of 12.6k ft. above sea level (a bit over 3.8k m), as well as the massive Argentière Glacier.  

AirVuz contributor and drone pilot Julien Ferrandez Photography created this stunning drone video of a mountain biker taking on a rocky ridge in the French Alps.  Watch as this obviously very skilled biker bravely courses through a serpentine mountain-top trail amidst some of the finest natural scenery in Europe.   He's not moving at a crawl, either - at several points in this video the biker gets some serious "air".  Go on this wild ride from an aerial view and feel that flow for yourself.

Check out these stunning drone views of the French Alps, compliments of AirVuz contributor Thibault_L.  Filmed with a DJI Mavic Pro 2 drone as well as a first person view (FPV) drone, the video was shot over Moucherotte, a mountain in the Vercors Massif.  Located on the edge of a plateau and overlooking (in parts) the town of Grenoble, Moucherotte has a peak altitude of just over 6.2k ft. above sea level or around 1.9k m.  The Vercors Massif forms part of the French Prealps, a chain of "foothills" located just west of the Dauphiné Alps.  

For a first upload to AirVuz, brand-new contributor Bastien Nvs brings us this stunning drone video from the French Alps.  The video was filmed over and around the Serre Chevalier valley, a major ski area near the town of Briançon and northeast of Écrins National Park in the Hautes-Alpes Department.  Not far from the Swiss border, the ski area features over 150 mi. of slopes (around 250 km), with peak altitudes of up to 9.2k ft. above sea level (2.8k m) with a vertical drop of up to 5.3k ft. (1.6k m).    

Check out this rather stunning drone video of a well-known fortification in the French Alps, compliments of contributor and pilot FreD...///.  It's called Miolan's Castle, and it's located in the Savoy region near the Italian border.  Built in the 11th century or earlier, in the 16th century it was converted into a notorious prison.  Its most famous inmate was the Marquis de Sade, who was able to escape from the prison in 1792.  Once compared to the Bastille, it ceased holding prisoners in the 19th century.  

Taking us through his best moments of 2019 is AirVuz contributor and pilot Mad Eagle Prod (Dav Baz). He’s enjoyed plenty of hikes through the mountains over the year, oftentimes taking dronies off the peak of the mountains once he has hiked there. He’s specifically showing us the French Alps of the Hautes-Alpes region in Southeastern France. The area’s tourist industry is largely dependent on these mountains, specially in the winter months when skiers come from around the world. 

The Argentière Glacier is one of the most famous in the Alps Mountains system.  Part of the Mont Blanc Masif (a grouping of mountains which itself is part of the Graian Alps subrange), the glacier runs perpendicular to the Chamonix Valley, home to some of France's most famous ski resorts.  The glacier is now about 9 km long (about 6 mi.), having shrunken considerably over the last century.  Get an aerial glimpse of the magnificent ice sheet in this fantastic drone video by AirVuz contributor and pilot Alan3.

Check out this drone video of a stunning alpine lake in the French Alps, compliments of content creator and drone pilot Capchure.ch.  Lac Vert is small but iconic-looking mountain lake near the town of Passy.  It's located just west of Chamonix, the famous ski town, in the shadow of Mont Blanc, France's (and the Alps') tallest mountain.  The lake is part of the Upper Savoy (Haute-Savoie) Department (province) in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, which covers much of the southeastern part of the country.  

Take in these breathtaking views from the mountains of the French Prealps, compliments of AirVuz contributor and pilot LionelTardy.  He filmed it flying from the summit of Le Tardevant, a mountain within the Aravis Range which in turn forms part of the Prealps.  Tardevant has a summit elevation of about 2.5k meters above sea level or around 8.3k ft.  The north-south oriented Aravis range covers parts of the Savoie and Haute-Savoie Departments, both of which are part of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of the country.  

Top AirVuz contributor and pilot Rafiki put together this fantastic drone video from the western fringes of the French Alps.  It was shot in the Vercors Masif, a chain of mountains and plateaus in the Departments of Isère and Drôme.  Lying to the west of the Dauphiné Alps, the highest peak of the Vercors is Mt. Greymont, which has a summit elevation of about 2.35k meters above sea level (just under 7.7k ft.).  It's considered part of the French Prealps, a larger system of mountains just west of the main Alps ranges.  

Check out these fantastic drone views from a famous ski area in the French Alps, compliments of AirVuz contributor Whitewolfproduction.  The Chamrousse resort is located the Isère Department.  Situated on the slopes of the Belledonne in the Dauphiné Alps, the resort features over 55 mi. (around 90 km) of ski runs and 24 chairlifts plus extensive cross-country ski tracks and other attractions.  Chamrousse hosted six alpine skiing events at the 1968 Winter Olympics, which were held in neaby Grenoble.    

Former Drone Video of the Week Finalist Bastien Nvs brings us this excellent drone video of the Luberon region of southeastern France.  Part of the historical region of Provence, Luberon is crossed by three small mountain ranges, all of which are part of the French Prealps (essentially, the western foothills of the Alps Mountains), as well as valleys of the Calacon and Durance Rivers to their north and south, respectively.  The video features footage of several picturesque hilltop towns as well as some of the surrounding countryside.  

Check out this short but stunning 4k drone video from France's famous Grand Montets ski area, compliments of top AirVuz contributor and pilot Jturner.  A very well-known resort in the Chamonix Valley of the French Alps, the Grand Montets is known for its particularly challenging runs down the Aiguille d'Argentière.  The resort lies immediately to the north of the mighty Mt. Blanc, the tallest mountain in the Alps.  The resort's runs lie at altitudes between 1.28k - 2.8k meters above sea level, or around 4.2k - 9.2k ft.  

AirVuz contributor Cyrille Pillet (Arsovicy) brings us this excellent drone video of some of Europe's most beautiful alpine scenery during the Winter.  The video was filmed in the area around Geneva, Switzerland, on both sides of the French-Swiss border.  There are actually two distinct mountain systems shown in the video: the Alps, which cover much of the southeastern part of France, the southern part of Switzerland, and the Jura Mountains, which form an arc extending northeast from Geneva and form part of the Franco-Swiss boundary.

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.  

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.

For a first upload to AirVuz, new contributor Charmuel brings us this stunning drone video from the French Alps.  The video was filmed from Les Saisies, one of the half dozen ski resorts of the Espace Diamant group.  It features footage of some of the most prominent mountains in the French Alps region, including Mont Bisanne, Chard du Beurre, Légette, Cernix, Combe de Douce and Mont-Blanc.  The last is the tallest peak in the entire Alps Mountains system, with a summit elevation of just under 15.8k ft. above sea level or around 4.8k m.  

New contributor Eric Garnier brings us this excellent drone video of a historic bridge in the French Alps region.  Variously known as the Caille Bridge and the Charles-Albert Bridge, it crosses a gorge of the Usses River separating the communes of Allonzier-la-Caille and Cruseilles in the department of Haute-Savoie.  The 630 ft. (192 m) steel suspension bridge was completed in 1839.   Since 1928, it's been complemented by a second bridge, also seen in the video: the Caquot Bridge or the New Bridge (Pont Neuf), a concrete arch structure.  

Talented content creator and drone pilot Thibault_L brings us this stunning aerial video from France's Chartreuse Mountains.  Part of the French Prealps (essentially, a series of foothills of the Alps Mountains proper), the Chartreuse run along a generally north-south line from Lake Bourget to Grenoble.  Starting at about the 1:20 mark, there's a beautiful shot of Chamechaude, the tallest of the Chartreuse peaks, which has a summit elevation of about 6.8k ft. above sea level or around 2.1k m.   

For a first upload to AirVuz, brand-new contributor Icaris.media brings us this stunning drone video from southeastern France.  The first roughly 80% of the video was filmed in the southern part of the French Alps.  At the :07 mark, there's a gorgeous "reveal" of a peak in the French Prealps, and at the :25 you'll fly over a stunning village perched atop a mountain ridge.  At the 1:08 mark, you'll see the hamlet of Requesteron in the Alpes-Maritimes Department.  The video concludes with an epic view of the French Mediterranean coastline.  

For a first upload to AirVuz, brand-new contributor Antonio06 brings us this fantastic drone video from France's Mercantour National Park.  Established in 1979, the park covers a bit under 700 square km (264 square mi.) in the French Alps, straddling the  Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and Alpes-Maritimes Departments near the southeastern part of the country.  It includes seven distinct valleys, and is home to 600 km (around 360 mi.) of marked footpaths.  The park sees close to a million visitors per year.  

Check out this stunning first person view (FPV) mountain surfing piece from the French Alps, compliments of talented AirVuz contributor and FPV drone pilot isairfilms.  The video was filmed in the Savoie Department in the region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes; Savoie is the home of some of the tallest mountains in Europe as well as many of the most famous ski resorts in the Alps region.  The video, which was shot over the course of several weeks, was picked as a Drone Video of the Week Finalist in July of 2021.  

Talented AirVuz contributor and first person view (FPV) drone pilot Arnaud Lesueur spent three hours climbing in the French Alps to create this marvelous FPV surfing video surfing over and around what he calls (and with good apparent reason) his favorite cliff.  The piece includes some epic shots, including two spectacular "gap" shots at the :28 and :38 marks, respectively.  The video was filmed near the famous skiing town of Chamonix, which lies just north of Mt. Blanc (the tallest mountain in the Alps) in the Haute-Savoie department.    

Check out these fantastic drone views of the French Alps, compliments of AirVuz contributor DUTCH DRONE ADVENTURES.  The video was filmed in the area of the municipality of Le Bourg-d'Oisans, which is located in the Isère Department of the official region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.  Situated between the larger cities of Grenoble and Briançon, it's part of a historical/geographical region known as Oisans, which is essentially the drainage basin for the River Romanche and its numerous tributary rivers.  

Top AirVuz contributor and first person view (FPV) drone pilot piotr.G_lab earned a spot as a Drone Video of the Week Finalist for this fantastic FPV mountain surfing piece from the French Alps.  The video was filmed at "golden hour" at an altitude of about 11.5k ft. above sea level (around 3.5k m) in the Ubaye Valley in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, one of the main departments of the French Alps.  The valley, through which runs the Ubaye River, is dotted with numerous alpine lakes, some of which you'll see in the video.  

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.).  

Check out these stunning drone views from the French Alps, compliments of brand-new contributor Whitewolfproduction.  The video was mainly shot over and around Roselend Lake (Lac de Roselend), which lies a bit to the southwest of Mont Blanc and more or less due east from the town of St. Albert.  The video also features footage of the nearby (and smaller) Saint-Guérin Lake.  The area is in the department of Savoie, which is part of the region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes that covers a large area of southeastern France.  

For a second upload to AirVuz, new contributor Arnaud Lesueur brings us this fantastic drone video from the French Alps.  Shot with a DJI Air 2S, the video features some spectacular hyperlapse shots.  The video was filmed on a day with some light clouds hovering well below the peaks of mountains, some of the highest in Europe.  In some of the shots, the clouds appear to resemble the sea, with the mountaintops looking like islands off in the distance.  It's a great way to view some of the world's most spectacular alpine scenery.  

For a first upload to AirVuz, brand-new contributor AntoineRI brings us these stunning drone views of the French Alps.  The video was filmed with a DJI Mini 2 drone over the Champsaur Valley in Hautes-Alpes, one of the main departments of the Alps region in the southeastern part of the country.  It's situated to the southwest of Écrins National Park, about 55 mi. (around 90 km) south of the town of Grenoble (the unofficial capital of the French Alps region).  The video features some stunning views of the mountains surrounding the valley.

Check out this excellent drone view of France's Lake Paladru, compliments of AirVuz contributor and pilot Thibault_L.  Created by a glacier of the Rhone River, the lake is located near the village of Charavines in Isère, one of the departments of the French Alps region.  The lake is about 3 mi. long (around 5 km) at its widest and covers an area of about 1.5 square mi. (about 4 square km).  The fifth-largest glacial lake in the country, Paladru has a maximum depth of about 108 ft. or around 33 m.  

Check out this stunning drone video of a picturesque village in the French Alps, compliments of AirVuz contributro Icaris.media.  Gourdon is located in the department of Alpes-Maritimes, in the foothills known as the French Prealps, more or less due west of Nice and due north of Cannes.  Set above the River Loup, the village has a full-time resident populatio of about 400.   Just east of the Préalpes d'Azur National Park, the village sits at an altitude of about 2.5k ft. above sea level (around 760 m).   

For a first upload to AirVuz, brand-new contributor Timo_Dev brings us this excellent drone video from a large glacier in the French Alps.  The Girose Glacier is located in the Dauphiné Alps (a subchain of the larger Alps system), a bit to the northwest of Écrins National Park in the Hautes-Alpes Department (which in turn is part of the large region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes).  Like almost all glaciers in the Alps region, the Girose Glacier is shrinking, most likely due to climate change.  The video was filmed with a DJI Air drone.  

Top content creator and first person view (FPV) pilot Drone My Life made great use of 72 hours in the French Alps to create this fantastic mountain surfing piece from the heart of one of the world's most beautiful alpine regions.  Opening with a shot skimming over the crystal-clear waters of a mountain lake, he heads into the mountains for some great action skimming along some fearsome-looking rock ridges.  This video was tapped for the AirVuz FPV Pilots to Watch list in late April of 2021.  

For a first upload to AirVuz, brand-new contributor and pilot Gabriel Widmann brings us this outstanding first person view (FPV) drone mountain surfing video from the French Alps.  The video was filmed with a GoPro Hero 6 action camera mounted to a five inch quad.  The video was filmed near the town of Briançon in the Hautes-Alpes Department, not far from the Swiss border; it's the highest city in the entire Alps region.  This video was picked by the AirVuz editorial staff for the FPV Pilots to Watch list in June of 2023.  

Top AirVuz contributor Arnaud Lesueur brings us this fantastic drone video from the French Alps.  The video combines setup shots with a gimbal-stabilized drone with adrenaline-filled first person view (FPV) shots skimming along the mountain ridges.  The video was filmed near Mont Blanc, the highest peak of the Alps, which has a sunnit elevation of about 15.8k ft. above sea level or around 4.8k m.  While the peak itself is in France, the massif of which it is part straddles the borders with neighboring Switzerland and Italy.  

Talented content creator and first person view (FPV) drone pilot Drone Mood continues his "Lone Rider" series with this fantastic video from the French Alps.  The video combines footage from a (gimbal-stabilized) DJI Mavic Pro 2 drone, a Sony A7RIII ground camera, and FPV drone footage.  The Mavic Pro 2 and the Sony cameras provide the "setup" of the location, which you'll then experience from an FPV perspective as he embarks on some epic FPV mountain surfing.  This was picked for the FPV Pilots to Watch list in July, 2021.   

AirVuz contributor and first person view (FPV) drone pilot Steven FPVRacer brings us this excellent FPV mountain surfing video from the French Alps.  The video was filmed around the ski resort of Gréolières-les-Neiges.  Known in part for being one of the closest ski resorts to the heart of the French Riviera, it's only about 35 mi. (around 60 km) from either Nice or Cannes.  The footage was captured with a GEPRC Mark 4 drone.  This video was picked for the FPV Pilots to Watch list at the end of Februay of 2022.  

For a first upload to AirVuz, brand-new contributor jesse_I brings us this excellent drone video from the Alps region of southeastern France.  Shot with a DJI Mini 2 drone, some of the featured locations include the mountain cross near the town of Turriers (at the :07 mark);  the historic town of Sisteron, on the River Durance (:14); the mighty Verdon Gorge, sometimes called the Grand Canyon of Europe (:17); the mountain pass Cormet de Roselend (:21); the Vallée des Glaciers, just south of the Mont Blanc massif (:29); and more.  

For a first upload to AirVuz, brand-new contributor He_Flies brings us this excellent drone video from the massive Verdon Gorge in southeastern France.  The canyon, which is formed by the Verdon River, runs for a length of about 15 mi. (around 25 km) and is up to about 2.4k ft. deep (about 700 m) in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur.  The video also features footage of the Lake of Saint Croix, an artificial reservoir at the outlet of the canyon, which was created in the early 1970's as part of a hydroelectric project.    

Talented content creator and FPV pilot Drone Mood continues his "Lone Rider" series with this fantastic video from the France.  Shot primarily in the peaks of the French Alps, the video combines footage from a (gimbal-stabilized) DJI Mavic 3 drone, a Sony A7RIII ground camera, and FPV drone footage.  The Mavic and the Sony cameras provide the "setup" of the location, which you'll then experience from an FPV perspective as he embarks on some epic FPV mountain surfing.  This was picked for the FPV Pilots to Watch list in April, 2023.