Like Sestriere, but in France: higher is easy, softer blues are not
The Ski Snug teamUpdated 12 October 20265 min read
You love Sestriere, and you want to try France. People go back to Sestriere for a short list of reasons, and its own list says them: snow sure, a big area, value. It is a purpose built high resort on the Milky Way, high and practical by our read, and modern. The village sits at 2,035 metres, the fourth highest of the 55 resorts we cover, and 91 percent of the piste we measure is at or above 1,800 metres, up to 2,788, so it is snow sure on our measure.
The mountain has a shape people underrate. We measure 160 kilometres of piste around the village, the most of the 10 Italian resorts we cover. Thirty percent is steeper than one in four, and there are 17.9 kilometres of black and 10.8 of marked itinerary, the most of the 10 Italian resorts we cover on both. Yet the blues average just 12.0 percent, the second gentlest of the 55 resorts we cover. The Via Lattea is quoted at 400 kilometres, but that counts Montgenèvre, which needs the International pass; the standard pass gives you roughly 305, our own subtraction.
The honest headline: France can go higher than Sestriere, at the door and at the top, and all three of our picks are snow sure on our measure. What France cannot give you is blues that soft: every pick's blues are steeper. Tignes keeps the most of the rest.
| Resort | Village | Top of the skiing, measured | Piste we measure around the village | Steeper than one in four | Blues average | At or above 1,800 m |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Your benchmarkSestriere | 2,035 m | 2,788 m | 160 km (Via Lattea quoted at 400 km with Montgenèvre) | 30% | 12.0% | 91% |
| Tignes | 2,100 m | 3,449 m | 130 km (Espace Killy, 300 km) | 25% | 17.6% | 97% |
| La Plagne | 1,800 m | 3,022 m | 202.5 km (Paradiski, 425 km) | 27% | 15.5% | 80% |
| Val Thorens | 2,300 m | 3,154 m | 211 km (Three Valleys, quoted at 600 km) | 25% | 16.5% | 96% |
Tignes: the closest on the height and the feel
- VillageVillage
- 2,100 m 65 m higher
- Highest liftTop lift
- 3,456 m 616 m higher
Tignes: 130 km of piste we measure. 76 km green and blue 58%34 km red 26%21 km black 16%
Plus 14 km of marked off piste itinerary, kept out of the piste total.
Of the French resorts we cover, our matching puts Tignes closest to Sestriere, and it loses none of Sestriere's character on the way. Our read on Sestriere is high and practical; on Tignes it is the same two words, the other way round. Both are modern. Tignes's one line is high, snow sure and built for skiing, with a long season and value against its neighbour on its list.
At the door they are level, near enough. Tignes's village is at 2,100 metres, the second highest of the 55 resorts we cover and 65 above yours. Above it, Tignes pulls away: the skiing reaches 3,449 metres, measured, the highest of the 17 French resorts we cover and 661 above your top. Ninety seven percent of the piste is at or above 1,800 metres, against 91, and 94 percent above 2,000, against 75.
The hard end comes with you, and grows in kilometres, if not in gradient. There are 14.2 kilometres of marked itinerary, the tenth most of the 55 resorts we cover, against 10.8, and 20.5 of black against 17.9. Espace Killy, shared with Val d'Isère, is 300 kilometres, a figure we have checked against our own measurement.
The trade is the blues, some piste near the door, and the flight. Tignes's blues average 17.6 percent, the seventh steepest of the 55 resorts we cover, against your 12.0: the biggest change underfoot of the three picks. There is more easy ground in all, 76 kilometres of green and blue against your 50 of blue and easier, but we measure 130 kilometres around the village, 30 fewer than around Sestriere, and 25 percent of it is steeper than one in four, against 30. You fly to Geneva, not Turin.
La Plagne: the closest on the value
- VillageVillage
- 1,800 m 235 m lower
- Highest liftTop lift
- 3,250 m 410 m higher
La Plagne: 203 km of piste we measure. 128 km green and blue 63%47 km red 23%28 km black 14%
If what you love is Sestriere's value, La Plagne is the French answer. It is a big, gentle area that families love by our one line, practical and friendly by our read, with families, value and beginners on its list. It is modern, as Sestriere is, and the steep share carries over: 27 percent of the piste is steeper than one in four, against 30.
The easy end is far bigger. We measure 202.5 kilometres of piste around the village, the fifth most of the 55 resorts we cover and about 43 more than around Sestriere, with 128 kilometres of green and blue against your 50 of blue and easier, also the fifth most of the 55 resorts we cover. Paradiski, shared with Les Arcs, is 425 kilometres, a figure we have checked against our own measurement.
The height works out evenly. The village we put at 1,800 metres is 235 below yours, and the skiing tops out at 3,022, measured, 234 above. Eighty percent of the piste is at or above 1,800 metres, so it is snow sure on our measure too. What you give up is the off piste, 3 kilometres of marked itinerary against 10.8, and the softness: the blues average 15.5 percent against 12.0. Its 28 kilometres of black, the fourth most of the 55 resorts we cover, average 25.5 percent against your 30.1.
Val Thorens: the closest on the size
- VillageVillage
- 2,300 m 265 m higher
- Highest liftTop lift
- 3,230 m 390 m higher
Val Thorens: 211 km of piste we measure. 134 km green and blue 64%61 km red 29%16 km black 8%
Plus 8 km of marked off piste itinerary, kept out of the piste total.
Sestriere has a big area on its list; Val Thorens has a bigger one. We measure 211 kilometres of piste around the village, the fourth most of the 55 resorts we cover and about 51 more than around Sestriere, and the Three Valleys around it is quoted at 600 kilometres and joined by lift, though we have not verified the whole of it ourselves. There are 134 kilometres of green and blue, the third most of the 55 resorts we cover, and the gentle share carries over: 37 percent of the piste is gentler than 15 percent, against your 35.
It is higher everywhere. The village, at 2,300 metres, is the highest of the 55 resorts we cover, 265 above yours; the skiing reaches 3,154, measured, 366 above your top; and 96 percent of the piste is at or above 1,800 metres. It is snow sure on our measure.
The trade is the mood and the hard end. Our read on Val Thorens is buzzy and high, with a party scene on its list, and we class it as lively, not modern: a different week from a high and practical one. There are 7.6 kilometres of itinerary against 10.8 and 15.8 of black against 17.9, 25 percent of the piste is steeper than one in four, against 30, and the blues average 16.5 percent.
Snow sure is first on Sestriere's list, and Tignes keeps it with room to spare: a village 65 metres higher, a top 661 metres higher, and 97 percent of the piste at or above 1,800 metres. Our matching puts it closest, with the same practical, modern character, and it brings more itinerary and more black. Go knowing the blues are steeper and there is less piste close to the village. If the family and the value come first, La Plagne. If the evenings matter, Val Thorens.