Les Arcs

Four purpose-built villages above Bourg-Saint-Maurice, with long runs from the Aiguille Rouge and a cable car link to La Plagne.

Skied here
Arc 1950 and Arc 2000 seen from a chairlift1,200 to 3,226 m
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Forecast at 1800 m today: low / high, modelled snow depth, and new snow in the last 24 hours.

We skied Les Arcs and the wider Paradiski area a few years ago. Our full review with scores comes after our next visit; until then this is a factual guide.

Is Les Arcs a good ski resort?

For most skiers, yes. Les Arcs is one of the big French resorts: around 200 km of its own pistes, a vertical of more than 2,000 m, and a lift link to La Plagne that turns it into Paradiski, one of the largest linked areas in the world. Its terrain leans easy to intermediate, with enough steep ground off the Aiguille Rouge and around Arc 2000 to keep good skiers busy.

The headline run is the descent from the Aiguille Rouge (3,226 m) all the way down to Villaroger at about 1,200 m, roughly 7 km and 2,000 m of vertical in one go.

Which Arc to stay in

  • Arc 1600 is the smallest and quietest, in the trees, linked to the valley by the funicular from Bourg-Saint-Maurice. Good for train arrivals and families.
  • Arc 1800 is the biggest village, with the most shops, restaurants and nightlife, and easy blues above it. It’s the obvious all-round base.
  • Arc 1950 is a small, car-free, newer village with ski-in, ski-out apartments. It costs more.
  • Arc 2000 is the highest, closest to the steep terrain and the Aiguille Rouge. Snow is the most reliable here; village life is thin.

Peisey-Vallandry and Villaroger are smaller, cheaper bases on the edges of the same lift system. Peisey-Vallandry is also where the Vanoise Express cable car crosses to La Plagne.

Snow and when to go

Arc 2000 and the upper slopes hold snow well into April. The lower runs towards Peisey, Villaroger and Arc 1600 sit in the trees, which helps a lot on stormy or flat-light days but makes them the first to suffer in a warm spell.

Getting there

Fly to Chambery, Geneva or Lyon and drive or transfer up the Tarentaise valley. The easiest way in is the train to Bourg-Saint-Maurice, then the funicular straight up to Arc 1600.