Les Arcs Ski Resort
One of the French Alps’ original mega-resorts, Les Arcs serves up some impressive statistics: its five areas – Bourg-Saint-Maurice, Arc 1600, Arc 1800, Arc 1950, and Arc 2000 are located between 2660 feet (810 meters) to 10,580 feet (3226 meters), offer 106 runs totalling 125 miles (200km), 54 lifts and a longest run of 4.4 miles (7 km) that provides a substantial 6646 foot (2026 meter) vertical drop. As if that were not enough, Les Arcs is also part of the Paradiski group of ski-connected resorts, which includes La Plagne. The Paradiski network covers 264 miles (425 km) of pistes.
This is the kind of ski resort where there will be no problem finding something for everyone in your group. Pleasant open and pretty tree-lined runs are equally prevalent as are slopes with the thrilling pitches sought by experts. There are plenty of chairlifts and gondolas so snowboarders can avoid T-bars and pomas, the terrain park fans among you, whether beginner to advanced, can enjoy jumps and rails graded green to black, and everyone will enjoy the fact that all major lifts are state-of-the-art.
Les Arcs’ lodging and villages are ideal for groups and families, with many self-contained apartments and shopping centers. There is a relaxed casual atmosphere throughout and efficient bus services especially handy for connecting lodging located a little further from the slopes. The lower villages have some condominiums right by the lifts, while the more stylish accommodation is found in the higher villages. The slopes and villages of Arcs 1600 and 1800 look across the valley to Mont Blanc, the others take in panoramas of the north face of Bellecote in La Plagne.
Les Arcs is famous for being the place that helped establish snowboarding as the ‘next big thing’ for sliding down the European Alps when, in the early 1980s, a local instructor featured snowboards in a series of popular films.
Les Arcs Snow Report
Les Arcs 15-Day Forecast
Les Arcs Lodging, Accommodation & Hotel Options
Accommodation, lifts, lessons and package deals will launch in 2019 for the 2019/20 season.
Les Arcs Statistics
| Skiable Terrain | 425 km, 35,558 acres |
| Vertical | 2050 m (6,725 ft) |
| Top Elevation | 3250 m (10,662 ft) |
| Base Elevation | 1200 m (3937 ft) |
| Beginner Terrain | 5% |
| Intermediate Terrain | 52% |
| Advanced Terrain | 43% |
| Trails | 264 |
| Parks | 2 |
| Winter lifts Total | 131 |
| Gondolas Trams | Cable Cars 5, Funicular 1. Gondolas 16 |
| Chair Lifts | 58 |
| Surface Lifts | 51 |
| Longest Run | 16 km (10 mi) |
| Snowmaking | 798 acres |
| Season Opens | December |
| Season Closes | April |
How To Get To Les Arcs
Flying To Les Arcs
Chambery – 1hr 45 mins
Grenoble – 2hr 45 mins
Lyon – 2 hr 45 mins
Geneva 2hr 45 mins
Transfers To Resort
Minibus transfers to the resort operate from the airport, bus or train station.
Catching A Train To Les Arcs
International trains connect Bourg St Maurice to Paris on the TGV service. Eurostar also runs directly from London.
From Bourg St Maurice, there is a funicular which whisks skier up the mountain to Arc 1600. The bottom of the funicular is a short walk from Bourg St Maurice station. This is the quickest way to get to Arc1600, taking just seven minutes. The service runs every 20 minutes from 7.30am until 8pm. It is also possible to take taxi transfers to Les Arcs – approximately 30mins.
Driving To Les Arcs
There is a windy road to Les Arcs from Bourg St Maurice and winter conditions can make it hard to drive.
