9 Best Alpine ski resorts in France

Most people when they visit France don’t think about skiing. They think about cheese and baguettes and the Eiffel Tower. But, you could be eating that cheese and baguette at some of the best ski resorts in France the world. (This has the added benefit of then letting you burn off some of that cheese while skiing!)

Skiing is a big deal in France. Within four hours of Paris, by high-speed train, you can be in the French Alps.  It is the thing-to-do, for French families during the winter school break, les vacances scolaires d’hiver.

With this massive interest in skiing, there are many resorts, but large and small, who cater to a variety of clientele. So how do you choose? My criteria for narrowing down to the top ski resorts are:

• Accessibility from Paris, London, and other major European cities.
• Altitude of the resort, to reduce the risk of poor snow conditions.
• Top ski facilities (ski lifts, snowmaking machines, etc.)
• Proximity to ski schools for lessons for adults and children.
• Full range of ski slopes: beginner greens, intermediate blues & reds, and expert blacks & off-pistes.
• Proximity and walkability to après-ski (restaurants, bars, and nightlife).

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I have narrowed down the ski resorts first, by how easy it is to get there. The two big trains stations, Moûtiers – Salins – Brides-les-Bains (talk about a name that is a mouthful!), and Bourg-Saint-Maurice have direct high-speed trains arriving from Paris, London, Brussels, and Amsterdam.

During winter, additional trains (Eurostar, Thalys, and TGV) arrive nearly every hour, carrying winter sports enthusiasts. These 2 train stations bring skiers to the foot of the Alpes in style and comfort.

The alternative is to fly into Lyon, Grenoble, or Geneva airports and then drive down. There is also the airport at Chambéry, which is smaller.

Along with good transport links, the following resorts all have easy access to ski lessons and equipment are everywhere, as well as plenty of after-ski activities.

Courchevel (1100 – 1850 m)

One of the most famous resorts in the Alsp is Courchevel, the high-end luxury ski resort that is popular with celebrities and royalty. It is part of the 3 Vallées which bills itself as the world’s largest ski area, with over 600 km (370 miles) that are easily skiable from one to the other.

The Moûtiers train station brings you to the foot of Les Trois Vallées (the 3 valleys) by high-speed train from Paris, London and other major cities in Western Europe.

You can buy a ski pass either for your own ski resort or for the full 3 Valleés, the price difference is usually around €50 more for the week. (Note: when I say easily skiable, I mean for a decent skier, not a débutant!)

In terms of luxury, Courcheval has many Michelin starred restaurants, especially at Courchevel 1850. The resort is made up of 6 villages which all have direct access to the ski lifts. The numbers in the name denote their altitude:

• Courchevel 1850 – Luxury resort, aimed at the high-end where the sky is the limit, in terms of prices. The highest concentration of 5-star hotels in France, outside of Paris. (There is even an Altiport on the resort so that the super-rich can fly in.)
• Moriond 1650 – large resort, ideal for families who are not going to be visiting nightclubs. Better for beginners as the slopes are quieter and further away.
• Courchevel Village 1550 – Plenty of shops and restaurants, ideal for families.
• La Tania 1400 – car-free, and in the middle of the forest. It is midway between Courcheval and Meribel resort.
• Le Praz 1300 – a traditional mountain village.
• Saint Bon 1100 – the original hotel resort built in 1908.

These individual villages will be very accessible on skis, but if you are looking for things to do après-ski and nightlife, you will have to choose which ambiance you want.

At night-time, going between the different villages will only be possible by car, not on foot. (You can reserve there by clicking in the links above.)

From Airport to Courchevel – Approximate times with no traffic:

• 2 hours from Chambéry airport
• 2 hours 15 minutes from Lyon or Grenoble
• 2 hours 30 minutes from Geneva

Val Thorens (2000 m)

The French ski resort at the highest altitude is Val Thorens, which is also part of the 3 Vallées, situated above 2000 m. Val Thorens says it guarantees snow, with its artificial machines. It is a very large resort, with just one epicenter village, and has plenty of restaurants, bars, and nightclubs.

It perhaps doesn’t have the small village charm of the Courcheval or Meribel, and is more of a mid-level resort (no Michelin star restaurants here). But the facilities are excellent.

It tends to be a “go-to resort” as it will likely always have decent snow conditions, and is easy to plan since everything is in one location. Some accommodation options in the area include:

• €€€ – Résidence Montana Premier – close to the ski school
• €€€€ – Fahrenheit Seven Val Thorens – with spa facilities
• €€€€ – Résidence l’Oxalys – within 100m of ski lift, with indoor pool
• €€€€€ – Altapura – within 100m of ski lift, with indoor pool

You can read more about skiing at Val Thorens here.

From Airport to Val Thorens – Approximate times with no traffic:

• 1 hour 40 minutes from Chambéry airport
• 2 hours 30 minutes from Geneva, Lyon or Grenoble

Les Menuires (1850 m)

Les Menuires is on the way to Val Thorens at 1850m, as they sit on the same mountain, with Val Thorens being higher. It tends to be less busy and less pricy than the other three in the 3 Vallées, while still maintaining excellent connections to the other resorts, since the ski pistes and chairlifts all connect.

A very family-friendly resort for people with small children, since the slopes nearby are good for beginners. (Expert skiers need not worry, they can easily connect to rest of Les 3 Vallées on skis.) You can find accommodation options at Les Menuires here.

From Airport to Les Menuires – Approximate times with no traffic:

• 1 hour 30 minutes from Chambéry airport
• 2 hours 15 minutes from Geneva, Lyon or Grenoble

Meribel (1400 – 1700 m)

A luxury resort right in the middle of Les 3 Vallées. If you are pretty decent on your skis, within 20 minutes you can be in Les Menuires, Val Thorens or Courchevel.

The problem with being so central, of course, is that it is in the middle. This means that there tends to be a traffic jam of skiers at the start and end of the day, as everyone is trying to get to the other parts of the 3 Vallées.

It has many small villages within it (which are skiable but not walkable from one to the other):

• Mottaret 1750 m – newer resort, built in the 1970s, mostly car-free.
• Altiport 1700m – Quiet area with one hotel and restaurant. Also some apartment accommodation.
• Méribel Center 1450-1700 m – the largest and liveliest part of the Meribel. Plenty of high-end shops, restaurants, bars and nightlife. This part of the resort is itself broken down into many neighborhoods.
  • La Chaudanne – near the main ski lift and the liveliest part of the village.
  • Le Plan du Moulin – short walk to La Chaudanne area.
  • La Renarde – a quiet chic neighborhood that is close to La Chaudanne area.
  • Les Chalets – At the foot for ski-lift Ardet, slightly further away from La Chaudanne, but still central.
  • Morel & Altitude 1600 – on the outskirts of Méribel Center. A 15-20 walk to La Chaudanne.
  • Le Belvédère 1600 m – a newer chic neighborhood that was built in 1990. Relatively far away from La Chaudanne (over 30-minute walk).
• Méribel Village 1400 m – a traditional hamlet-style village that is 2 km (1 mile) away from Méribel Center. Quiet atmosphere.
• Les Allues 1100 m – a Savoyarde style village connects to the other ski slopes by shuttle. There is one red ski run that connects to it, but they advise that this usually closes before the end of the season because of the low altitude of the village. (NOT SKI IN – SKI OUT)
• Brides Les Bains 600 m – a spa town at the bottom of the mountain that connects to Méribel by gondola. (NOT SKI IN – SKI OUT)

Note, the last two, Les Allues and Brides Les Bains, are not ski-in, ski-out. You can book accommodation by clicking on the links above. You will need to take a shuttle or gondola to access the higher slopes of the 3 Vallées.

But they are part of Méribel, so I didn’t want to leave them out, since you would be confused if you saw those names later and accidentally booked there instead. A free shuttle runs in the winter between all the areas.

From Airport to Meribel – Approximate times with no traffic:

• 1 hour 20 minutes from Chambéry airport
• 2 hours 15 minutes from Geneva
• 2 hours 30 minutes from Lyon or Grenoble

There are other ski resorts within the Les 3 Vallées that are accessible from Moûtiers, but these are the largest ones and most popular ones. (And the ones where you are most likely to find people speaking English if that is important to you!)

Les Arcs (1600 – 2100 m)

Usually in everyone’s list of the top ski resorts in France, Les Arcs is made up of 4 smaller sites. It is part of the ski domaine Paradiski which has Bourg-Saint-Maurice train station nearby for direct high-speed train access from across Paris, London, and Amsterdam.

Paradiski is slightly smaller than the 3 Vallées, at 425 km (265 miles) of skiable terrain, but is still quite big. You can get a week-long ski pass for just Les Arcs or the bigger Paradiski for about €50 more.

There are 4 main villages in Les Arcs. Each one is easily accessible one to the other on ski, but not on foot. A free shuttle runs between the sites. The villages are:

• Arcs 2000 m – Not the prettiest buildings, but good skiing. Something for everyone with good beginner slopes as well as expert terrains.
• Arcs 1950 m – the newest most luxurious part of the resort, facing Mont Blanc.
• Arcs 1800 m – the liveliest part of Les Arcs with shops, restaurants, and bars. Not the easiest slopes for beginners, but intermediates and experts will have a blast.
• Arcs 1600 m – aimed more at families, prettier lower village, with trees all around.

From Airport to Les Arcs – Approximate times with no traffic:

• 1 hour 45 minutes from Chambéry airport
• 2 hours from Geneva, Lyon or Grenoble

You can read more about Les Arcs here.

La Plagne (1800 – 2100 m)

La Plagne is another famous ski resort that belongs to the Paradiski domaine. It is made up of 11 villages across a large plain, so you have to consider location before booking. The villages within La Plagne are:

• Plagne Aime 2000 – the highest of the villages, with a modernist design. The main building is rather similar to a cruise ship.
• Plagne Villages – a charming quiet family village built in 1974.
• Belle Plagne – at 2050 altitude, a resort with higher-end accommodation and restaurants.
• Plagne Soleil – at 2050 altitude, the village is on a large plateau with sunny conditions for skiing, snowboarding, and other sports like snow-shoeing.
• Plagne centre – Plagne centre is just across from Plagne Soleil, with plenty of shops, restaurants, bar, and even a cinema.
• Plagne Bellecôte – an active hub in La Plagne, with a large shopping gallery as well as an ice rink, shops, restaurants, bars, outdoor heated swimming pool and spa facilities.
• Plagne 1800 – a former silver lead mining village that has been converted to an animated ski resort. The French UCPA ski center has a base at Plagne 1800, making it a lively resort with bars and restaurants catering to a younger crowd.
• Plagne Montalbert – a medium altitude of 1,350m, the picturesque village was built in 1980 with plenty of trees and tiny buildings made of wood and snow.
• Montchavin – Les Coches – actually two villages, with the village of Montchavin at an altitude of 1250m and Les Coches at 1450m. The two family-friendly villages are connected all year around by the Coches gondola.
• Champagny-en-Vanoise – a beautiful small village, made up of hamlets with traditional wood and stone.
• La Plagne Vallée – made up of several villages bordering the Isère river and the hillside slopes of the Versant du Soleil.

You can read more about each of the villages of La Plagne here.

From Airport to La Plagne – Approximate times with no traffic:

• 1 hour 30 minutes from Chambéry airport
• 2 hours 30 minutes from Geneva, Lyon or Grenoble

La Plagne and Paradiski is not as interconnected as Les 3 Vallées, so if you will likely only go to La Plagne once during your week-long holiday. The Vanoise Express cable car that connects Les Arcs to La Plagne is a bit of a commute, so it gets crowded at the end of the day. You can read more about La Plagne here.

Val d’Isère (1850 m)

A higher-end ski resort that is quite popular with British tourists. Val d’Isère is a large resort and recently got a €200 million upgrade. It is one of the prettier resorts, with plenty of restaurants, boutiques, vin chaud, and nightlife.

Val d’Isere is part of Espace Killy, the 3rd large ski domaine in France clocking in at over 300km (186 miles) of ski slopes. It is also near the high-speed train station of Bourg-Saint-Maurice.

The ski resort is home to the original Folie Douce, a bar/nightclub that is on the ski slopes, for partying skiers to stop in the afternoon for a bit of techno and a beer. (The other resorts now have chains of La Folie Douce as well, but the one at Val d’Isère was the first).

Basically, Val d’Isère is big and beautiful, and has excellent skiing. You can find accommodation options for Val d’Isère here.

From Airport to Val d’Isère – Approximate times with no traffic:

• 2 hours from Chambéry airport
• 2 hours 45 minutes from Geneva, Lyon or Grenoble

Tignes (1500 – 2100 m)

Tignes, the cousin of Val d’Isère, connects with it in the Espace Killy, and also offers excellent skiing. Val d’Isère has got the village charm (and the higher prices), while Tignes is more of a mid-level resort.

Tignes is the resort you pick, if you want to ski on the excellent Espace Killy, but Val d’Isère is out of budget. It is also the ski resort you pick if you want to ski on a glacier. From Tignes, you can take the funicular (cable car) to Grand Motte glacier, and ski at over 3000m. The glacier is even sometimes open in the summer (!), so if you have doubts about whether there is enough snow on the ground, Tignes is a good bet.

Tignes is made up of 5 villages which you can ski between, but after hours, it is not walkable from one to the other.

• Tignes Val Claret (2150 m) – the liveliest part with restaurants and nightlife.
• Tignes le Lac (2100 m) – Near Val Claret (but not walkable). Not the prettiest of villages, but has good ski-in and ski-out links. Good for families.
• Tignes le Lavachet (2050 m) – quiet area, good for families with small children. Linked to the other ski lifts in Tignes by shuttle bus (No Ski-In/Ski-out)
• Tignes Les Boisses (1800 m) – the new village which opened in December 2013, with limited shops and restaurants. Far from the rest of Tignes.
• Tignes Les Brevieres (1550 m) – traditional chalets, but a bit isolated, and far from the rest of the Tignes.

From Airport to Tignes – Approximate times with no traffic:

• 2 hours from Chambéry airport
• 2 hours 30 minutes from Annecy
• 3 hours from Lyon, Grenoble or Geneva

There is only one ski pass for both Val d’Isère and Tignes so you get access to the full Espace Killy ski domaine for one price.

Flaine (1500 – 1700m)

Flaine is not one of the “most beautiful” ski resorts. It was built in the 1960s, when the tendancy was to build big buildings in concrete rather than scenic little chalets.

It is more of a familial resort in the Grand Massif ski area with around 85 miles (137 km) of ski domaine, 62 lifts and an elevation of 1,600 to 2,500 meters.

There are 3 main parts to the Flaine resort, all walkable from one to the other. There is “Flaine-Forêt” at 1,700 m, “Flaine-Forum” at 1,600 m, and “Flaine-Front de neige” at 1,500 m. All three are connected by two exterior lifts and two pedestrian paths.

There are several great accommodation options around Flaine which include ski-in and ski-out facilities, including:

• €€€ – UCPA family (all-inclusive ski and lessons)
• €€€€ – RockyPop Flaine Hotel & Spa
• €€€€€ – Pierre & Vacances Premium Les Terrasses d’Hélios (aparthotel with indoor heated pool)
• €€€€€ – Pierre & Vacances Premium Les Terrasses d’Eos (aparthotel with outdoor heated pool)

From Airport to Flaine – There are several large airports within driving distance of Flaine. Approximate driving times with no traffic are:

• 1 hour 30 minutes from Geneva,
• 1 hour 50 minutes from Chambéry airport,
• 2 hour 30 minutes from Grenoble.

When is the best time to go?

The ski season in France starts anywhere from the start of December to the end of April, more or less, depending on the snow conditions. Resorts at higher altitudes like Val Thorens will have good ski conditions longer.

French school holidays are generally from the 2nd week of February to the end of the 1st week of March. If you are considering flying in and driving down, you should take into account the travel time in the car. You can read more about picking the best time to go skiing in France here.

So have you narrowed down your favorite yet? If it helps, all these resorts have fantastic facilities, and your choice will probably come down to what sort of atmosphere you are looking for aprés-ski and of course, the wallet.