The most beautiful villages for holidays in Haute Tarentaise

The Haute Tarentaise is the upper valley of the Isère, between Moûtiers and Val d'Isère. If the bottom of the alley aligns a certain number of charming little villages like Aime, Landry, Bourg Saint Maurice and Séez, at altitude we find a concentration of large ski resorts, famous throughout the world.

Do you like skiing? Do you like beautiful landscapes? Do you like hiking in front of the Mont Blanc or at altitudes well above three thousand metres? The Haute Tarentaise offers you this pleasure.

Imagine you are in Bourg Saint Maurice, deep in the Isère valley, where in winter all the exit routes are closed by snow: the Petit Saint Bernard pass towards Italy, Iseran pass towards the Mauritian, Cormet de Roselend towards Beaufortain… However, you notice when you look up at the peaks around you that roads climb towards mountain resorts, all around you, crossing forests first, then mountain pastures, well beyond the limit of the trees' survival.

From the resort of La Plagne to that of Val d'Isère, let's take a tour of the ski areas of Haute Tarentaise.

La Plagne, Les Arcs and La Rosière

La Plagne, Les Arcs – these two resorts being linked in winter by the ski area Paradiski- and La rosière are among those resorts that have successfully integrated architectural modernity and high altitude. Here, there is nothing old or traditional. Everything was built in the last century, on the edge of forests and mountain pastures. The goal? to benefit from excellent skiing conditions for many months, and to enjoy incredibly beautiful panoramas.

In summer, these same resorts shelter you from the heatwave and their location on a balcony well above the overheated valley floors is ideal for breathing a big breath of fresh, pure air. Entirely facing north and northwest, they benefit from the brightness of the peaks, but also from the snow on the ubacs (northern slopes of the mountains), where the angle of incidence of the sun is low enough not to melt all the snow. Opposite, the adrets, the southern slopes are often devoid of snow at the same altitude. These interconnected resorts offer unlimited skiing for beginners as well as experts and off-piste addicts. Guaranteed snow throughout the season. Thus La Plagne is connected to the resorts of Peisey Nancroix, Les Arcs, Villaroger and Champagny in Vanoise and La Rosière is connected to La Thuile in Aosta Valley through the snow fields of Little Saint Bernard, a pass which remains closed in winter

In each of these resorts, you can choose the atmosphere that you like the most. Indeed, several hamlets with often different architectural characteristics make up these resorts. The snow liner of Aime 2000 has nothing to do with the block of flats of Plagne Bellecôte and the small buildings buried under the snow of Belle Plagne. Similarly, Arc 1950 built on the concept of a village reproduction, with colorful facades, does not resemble Arc 1800 hidden in the slope of the mountain.

The common point is the incredible ski area of each of these areas, the highest points of which are magnificent viewpoints over the surrounding massifs: the Mont Blanc, Beaufortain and Vanoise massifs on the front line.

Towards the sources of the Isère: Tignes and Val d'Isère

Following and going up the Isère valley from Bourg Saint Maurice, towards Sainte Foy Tarentaise, whose area offers magnificent views of the peaks of the Vanoise, we reach Tignes and Val d'Isère. Two very different resorts.

Very modern Tignes, at 2100m altitude, allows you to enjoy a stay at an altitude at which the ancients did not usually build continuous housing. There is a form of artificiality, certainly, but the setting all green in summer and all white in winter is sufficiently exotic to overlook the few architectural ugliness. The climb by funicular and cable car to the Grande Motte glacier at 3500m altitude, takes you to one of the highest ski areas in France. The third after Les Deux Alpes and La Grave.

Val d'Isère, on the other hand, has managed to retain its old-world charm, despite the urban development of recent years. The old village has been modernized and rebuilt in the traditional architectural style in stone and wood. It is modern, but remains harmonious. The church and the few alleys that surround it have retained their old soul. The only truly renowned village resort at this altitude, luxurious, with a refined and authentic style, it has everything to please you, winter and summer.

The larch forests around Val d'Isère take on their beautiful reddish colors in autumn, maintaining this ancient link with the Haute Maurienne which is located the other side of the Iseran, the highest Alpine road pass, at 2764 meters, narrowly beating the Bonette Pass and the Stelvio Pass (Italy).

The Val d'Isère and Tignes ski areas are connected and offer a sporty and physically challenging experience. There are also some areas dedicated to beginners, but in general, you need to be a good skier if you want to enjoy the vastness of the area. The snow and sunshine are the assets of this ski area. Sometimes gusts of wind, the foehn and the Lombarde wind disrupt the descents on the side of the Col de l'Iseran.

The Tarentaise Valley around Bourg Saint Maurice

The small villages at the bottom of the valley, along the Isère, Aime, Mâcot, Bourg Saint Maurice and Séez offer pretty views of the mountains that dominate them, in a sunny and fairly open environment, unlike the lower part of the Tarentaise which is very steep. It is in these villages that local life is concentrated in all seasons. It is also in these villages that we find masterpieces of baroque art, particularly around Aime.

From Bourg Saint Maurice, in the summer, you can easily reach Beaufortain and Italy, after the opening of the passes. The Cormet de Roselend road leads to a very beautiful high-altitude lake created by the construction of a dam. Very beautiful hikes are possible on its banks and on the ridges that surround it. The Petit Saint Bernard pass, with its view of Mont Blanc, its alpine garden and its history, allows a nice stop on the road to the nearby Aosta Valley.

The station connects Bourg Saint Maurice to the rest of the French rail network, facilitating access to the Haute Tarentaise ski resorts, especially in winter.

The Haute Tarentaise, around Bourg Saint Maurice, gives you access to the high mountains but also to the services of modern resorts. A destination appreciated by sportsmen and lovers of high-altitude landscapes.

Activities not to be missed in Haute Tarentaise

Climb to Les Arcs in funicular from Bourg Saint Maurice
Crossing the Alps by the big collars: the Petit Saint Bernard, the Cormet de Roselend and especially the Col de l’Iseran.
Admire the sunset from La Rosière
Ski all day in the ski area Paradiski which connects Les Arcs to La Plagne
Hike to the Monal chalets
Getting closer to the world of glaciers, in Tignes, taking the cable car terrace to the Grande Motte glacier.
Getting started with driving on ice, in winter in Val d'Isère.
Diving under the ice in the lake of Tignes.
Discover Tignes dam at Lake Chevril during a guided tour.

The best webcams in Haute Tarentaise

(click on the name of the village)

La Plagne : Superb view of the Vanoise from the summit of the Grande Rochette.
La Plagne: the view of the Haute Tarentaise and Mont Blanc from the Roche de Mio
La Plagne: discovery of the resort and its ski area from the summit of Bécoin.
Les Arcs: the high mountains from the Aiguille Rouge!
Les Arcs: bird's eye view of Bourg Saint Maurice and La Rosière from this webcam.
Peisey Nancroix: the village in the foreground, the ski area just above, in the middle of the forests.
La rosière: the landscape of the mountains of Haute Tarentaise
Tignes: from the Grande Motte glacier as if you were there. HD webcam, and magnificent panorama.
Lake of Tignes: the lake in the center of the resort.
Val d'Isere: you can't miss this webcam of the center of the village of Val d'Isère. You could believe you were looking out the window!
Val d'Isere: from the heights of Fornet, a view of the narrow Isère valley between the Val d'Isère resort and the climb to the Col de l'Iseran