La Plagne or Les Arcs: which is right for you?

One pass family covers both of these resorts, one double-decker cable car links them, and together they make Paradiski's 425 km. That closeness fools people into thinking the choice barely matters. It matters a lot: La Plagne grades 62% of its 225 km easy, Les Arcs just 52% of its 200 km, and only one of the two puts you on a direct train from London with a 7-minute funicular at the other end.

Here is how they split, with winter 2026/27 prices where they have been published.

La Plagne: the easy-mileage giant

La Plagne is eleven villages wearing one name. Six are functional purpose-built bases between 1,800 and 2,100 m, Plagne Centre, Belle Plagne and Aime la Plagne among them, and the rest are traditional lower hamlets such as Montchavin, Les Coches and Champagny at 1,250 to 1,450 m. Pick your altitude and your architecture; the lift system stitches them all together.

The skiing is the softer of the two by a wide margin. 139 of the 225 km are graded easy, 17 beginner lifts are free, and the upper mountain is a blue-run motorway network built for confidence. Add bases at 1,800 m and above plus the Bellecôte glacier sector running to 3,167 m and you have the snow-surer bet of the pair for early and late season weeks.

Evenings are the trade-off. Nightlife is moderate and spread thin, roughly 50 bars and 5 clubs across the whole area, liveliest around Belle Plagne and Plagne Centre and raucous nowhere. The compensation is the best single off-slope attraction in the Alps: the Olympic bobsleigh run, backed up by pools and ice skating.

Les Arcs: steeper skiing and a train to the door

Les Arcs is tidier: four car-free, purpose-built altitude villages, Arc 1600, 1800, 1950 and 2000, architecture-led since 1968, above the real valley town of Bourg-Saint-Maurice, with traditional Peisey-Vallandry alongside. The villages are self-contained and ski-in ski-out.

The mountain skews harder. Only 52% of the 200 km is graded easy, the intermediate share is fatter than La Plagne's (70 km against 59), and the Aiguille Rouge at 3,226 m headlines a descent of roughly 2,000 vertical metres towards the valley. There is no glacier, but 70% of the slopes sit above 2,000 m, which is the resort's own snow-sure claim and a fair one.

Then there is the train. Direct winter Eurostar services on Saturdays, TGV and the Travelski Night Express all terminate at Bourg-Saint-Maurice, and the funicular lifts you to Arc 1600 in 7 minutes, free with a train ticket in winter. La Plagne's stations still leave you a bus or taxi ride up the hill. For anyone in London or Paris avoiding airports, this alone often decides it.

Après is a one-village affair. Arc 1800 carries the scene with La Folie Douce, the Red Hot Saloon and late clubs, while Arc 1600 and Vallandry stay quiet. Families get beginner zones and magic carpets in every village, plus the Mille8 hub of pools and sledging at Arc 1800.

The pass decision

On price there is nothing in it: €368 confirmed for the Les Arcs 6-day Classic against a projected €370 for La Plagne's local pass. The real question is whether to pay for the whole of Paradiski. On the Les Arcs side that is the €412 Essential Pass, €44 more, with free cancellation and 14 express lanes included; La Plagne's equivalent ran €401 in 2025/26 and its new tariff publishes in September.

Our view: most groups ski their own side happily all week and cross the Vanoise Express once for the novelty. Buy the local pass unless your group genuinely covers ground. And if you do upgrade, the base village matters more, not less: you still ski home to it every night, so choose the resort first and the pass second.