Aplace in the Alps is not only for the jet set a it can also be a great asset for families. With prices starting at about £60,000 for a basic two-room flat in France, a mountain eyrie is within the reach of many on the second-home market, and it will provide not just the base for a lifetime of ski holidays, but a summer playground as well.

Moping through forests singing “Doh, a deer” at the top of your voices is just the start of it. With one eye on the changing climate, many alpine communities are working flat out to broaden their appeal beyond the snow, and you’ll find plenty on offer in the summer months besides the traditional activities of hiking and rock-climbing a including tennis, rafting, mountain-biking, golf, swimming, archery and parapenting. It’s enough to make any teenager think twice about picking up his PlayStation.

But before you slap a deposit on the first cabin you find, there are a couple of caveats. The first is that what makes a good ski resort for hairy-chested young hedge-fund managers will not necessarily work for families a especially those with young children.

“Over the years, we’ve found a different kind of resort works for small children,” says Moira Clarke of the tour operators Esprit. Founded in 1982, Esprit has carved out a niche for itself as a family-skiing specialist, and it knows a thing or two about children and skiing. “We’ve found most families don’t need hundreds of miles of pistes or buzzing nightlife. What really works for them is easy access to the nursery slopes, a sympathetic ski school and back-up activities in case the children get bored.”

The second caveat concerns altitude. For young bloods with their eyes on the off-piste, the rule is a simple one: go as high as you can. The problem is, once the snows melt, many of these top-of-the-world resorts can be bleak and lifeless, shut up for the summer and surrounded by an ocean of mountain rubble. It’s a tough trick to pull off. What you really need is a resort with enough high-altitude skiing to insure your investment against global warming, but which offers enough activity to keep you happy in the summer.

So where should you be looking? The race is on to find the next Ste Foy-Tarentaise. For years, Ste Foy was Vald’Isãre’s secret stash of powder: guides would take their clients to the tiny, three-lift resort when Val was skied out. Then someone realised the potential of this secluded and beautiful spot a and bang went the property market.

Buying into the resort is no longer the bargain that it once was: Ste Foy specialist Lodge and Loft is offering a 120sq m, four-bedroom apartment close to the pistes for £399,000, and freestanding chalets in the middle of the village sell for close to £1m.

One possibility is the village of Vaujany. It lies further south than Ste Foy, beyond Grenoble, but still within driving distance of Britain. This is an important consideration if you have to shift children and their clobber about several times a year, especially if air travel becomes subject to penal “green” taxes. Vaujany has only a few pistes of its own, but the nursery slopes are good, and when you want more, you can hop on a cable car from the centre of the village to Alpe d’Huez next door. This is a much more serious skiing prospect, boasting a 152-mile network of groomed runs. Meanwhile, back at base, the village is home to a big pool and sports centre, tennis courts for the summer and lots of biking, both on and off-road.

Vendeenne, a local estate agency, is marketing a new development of seven chalets and 31 apartments in the centre of the resort, with one-bedroom flats selling off-plan for £90,000.

Another enticing prospect is Grimentz in the Swiss canton of Valais. Valais is subject to a ban on new property sales to foreigners, but this does not apply to apartments with preexisting authorisations, as well as some lease-back schemes and aparthotels. Pure is offering newly built flats in this charming village. They’re not cheap, but they do look sumptuous. Studios start from £295,943.

Finally, one interesting compromise between big and small resorts comes in the shape of Paradiski in France a a vast network of 264 miles of pistes, shared between the interconnected resorts of Les Arcs and La Plagne. Both are split into lots of different villages a which is deeply annoying if you’re a young professional in search of one big buzzing town, full of bars and nightclubs, but ideal for families in search of more low-key surroundings.

La Plagne is better for younger children because of its flattish pistes, and Profin is marketing family suites in a new four-star aparthotel in Belle Plagne for £387,000. There’s a pool in the basement, and in both summer and winter, tour operator Esprit will be using the hotel as a base for its family holidays; as a result, the hotel’s creches and playrooms will be staffed by Esprit’s qualified nannies.

The big drawback is that you can’t cook in the rooms, but if you’re looking for a completely hassle-free holiday, this is an enticing prospect.

On the other side of Paradiski, Les Arcs is home to more challenging intermediate skiing, as well as a frenetic programme of summer activities. There’s a good range of new developments here at different price levels, but the one attracting most interest is Edenarc, thanks to the success of the developer’s earlier project, Arc 1950. Erna Low is offering two-bedroom flats there from £260,000.

- Lodge and Loft, 00 33 479 062 532, www.lodgeandloft.com; Vendeenne Immobilier Montagne, 00 33 476 802 119, www.immo-oisans.com; Pure, 020 7331 4500, www.pureintl.com; Profin, 020 7776 2930, www.hoteldeuxdomaines.com; Erna Low, 020 7590 1624, www.ernalowproperty.co.uk

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