Snow sure resorts with big linked areas in France
The Ski Snug teamUpdated 12 October 20264 min read
- France
- Snow sure
- Big linked area
Six French resorts give you both: a village or lifts high enough to count on the snow, and a lift linked area of at least 200 kilometres from the door. They are Val Thorens, Tignes, Val d'Isère, Courchevel, La Plagne and Les Arcs.
How we decide
Snow sure
means a village at 1,600 metres or above, or a highest lift at 3,000 metres or above. Either will do: a high village puts snow at the door, high lifts put it at the top. A lift only counts if it serves the pistes.
A big linked area
means at least 200 kilometres of piste, joined by lifts and reachable from the village. Espace Killy's 300 kilometres and Paradiski's 425 have both been checked against our own measurement. The Three Valleys is quoted at 600 and is genuinely linked, but we have not measured all of it. We measure 211 kilometres around Val Thorens alone, so it clears the line whatever the true total.
The six, side by side
| Resort | Village | Highest lift | Linked area | Piste steeper than 1 in 4 | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Val Thorens | 2,300 m | 3,230 m | 600 km quoted, Three Valleys | 25% | Late November to early May |
| Tignes | 2,100 m | 3,456 m | 300 km, Espace Killy | 25% | Late November to early May |
| Val d'Isère | 1,850 m | 3,456 m, on the Tignes side | 300 km, Espace Killy | 29% | Late November to early May |
| Courchevel | 1,747 m | 2,738 m | 600 km quoted, Three Valleys | 26% | December to April |
| La Plagne | 1,800 m | 3,250 m | 425 km, Paradiski | 27% | December to April |
| Les Arcs | 1,600 m | 3,226 m | 425 km, Paradiski | 26% | December to April |
The six
Val Thorens: the highest, and the easiest start
- Village
- 2,300 m
- Highest lift
- 3,230 m
- Linked area
- 600 kmquoted
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.
The highest village we cover, and gentler than its height suggests: 134 kilometres of the piste around it is green or blue, more easy running than 35 of our 55 resorts have piste of any colour.
The trade is the mood. It is buzzy, with a real party scene.
Tignes: the glacier and the long season
- Village
- 2,100 m
- Highest lift
- 3,456 m
- Linked area
- 300 km
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.
Tignes le Lac sits at 2,100 metres, the second highest village we cover, under lifts to 3,456 and the Grande Motte glacier, open through the winter. For early or late season, that is the reason to pick it.
The trade is a village built in the 1960s that shows it, and blues firmer than the colour suggests: 17.6 percent on average, against 16.2 across France.
Val d'Isère: the strong skier's pick
- Village
- 1,850 m
- Highest lift
- 3,456 m
- Linked area
- 300 km
Val d'Isère: 158 km of piste we measure. 90 km green and blue 57%46 km red 29%22 km black 14%
Plus 29 km of marked off piste itinerary, kept out of the piste total.
The same 300 kilometres and the same Espace Killy top as Tignes, from a village at 1,850 metres with trees, an old church and a main street that curves. It is the steepest of the six, with 29 percent of its piste steeper than one in four, and its 29 kilometres of marked off piste itinerary is the fifth most of our 55.
The trade is 250 metres of village altitude, and big, loud evenings.
Courchevel: here on its village, not its lifts
- Village
- 1,747 m
- Highest lift
- 2,738 m
- Linked area
- 600 kmquoted
Courchevel: 296 km of piste we measure. 179 km green and blue 60%85 km red 29%32 km black 11%
Courchevel 1850 is named for a height it does not quite reach: the resort centre sits at 1,747 metres. Its highest lift reaches 2,738, almost 500 below any other resort here, so it passes on the village alone, and which village you book matters. The lower villages, Courchevel Village and Le Praz, sit below our line.
In return you get polish, tree skiing and 32 kilometres of black, second only to Kitzbühel of the 55 we cover.
La Plagne: the big, friendly one
- Village
- 1,800 m
- Highest lift
- 3,250 m
- Linked area
- 425 km
La Plagne: 203 km of piste we measure. 128 km green and blue 63%47 km red 23%28 km black 14%
Paradiski, shared with Les Arcs, is 425 kilometres, the biggest area here that we have checked against our own measurement. La Plagne is friendly, practical and a family favourite, with 39 percent of its piste gentler than 15 percent.
The trade is the shoulder seasons: it runs December to April.
Les Arcs: the gentle cruising, from the door
- Village
- 1,600 mon the line
- Highest lift
- 3,226 m
- Linked area
- 425 km
Les Arcs: 200 km of piste we measure. 117 km green and blue 58%59 km red 30%24 km black 12%
Doorstep skiing across four linked villages, with tree runs. Forty eight percent of its piste is gentler than 15 percent, a share no resort we cover beats. Our village figure, 1,600 metres, sits exactly on the line and is one number for four villages, so its place rests on the lifts, which reach 3,226 metres.
The trade is the lowest village here, and a December to April season.
Just missed
Méribel
- Misses: Village 1,450 m
- Misses: Top lift 2,952 m
- Passes: Linked area
misses on snow, narrowly on both counts. The main village is at 1,450 metres, 150 short, and its lifts reach 2,952, just 48 short and higher than Courchevel's. Size is no problem: we measure 261 kilometres of piste around Méribel alone. Mottaret, higher up at 1,750 metres, would clear the village line.
Saint-Martin-de-Belleville
- Misses: Village 1,450 m
- Top lift: no figure
- Passes: Linked area
is also in the Three Valleys and also at 1,450 metres. We hold no top lift figure for it, so only the village test applies, and it falls 150 metres short.
Two you might expect to see
Argentière
- Passes: Top lift 3,275 m
- Misses: Linked area: 44 km measured
clears the snow test on its lifts, which reach 3,275 metres, but we measure 44 kilometres of piste around it and cannot show a linked area of 200 kilometres. Go for the steep: 59 percent of its piste is steeper than one in four, the highest share we cover.
Chamonix
- Misses: Village 1,035 m
- Misses: Top lift: not a piste lift
- Misses: Linked area: 103 km measured
misses on both. The town is at 1,035 metres, and its 3,842 metre lift is the Aiguille du Midi, a mountaineering cable car rather than the top of the pistes. We measure 102.5 kilometres of piste around it.