How to go skiing by train in the French Alps

The train stops, you arrive at your destination station. With your feet on the station platform, you look around you: you're there! Your accommodation is not far away, you will be able to drop off your luggage there, then you will walk to the start of the slopes, and your ski holiday begins!

Without having driven in traffic jams for long hours, without having to put on snow chains...

Go skiing by train in the French Alps, right up to your station, it's possible!

Where to go skiing by train in the French Alps?

Four destinations allow you to make the entire journey on board a comfortable train.

AlpAddict.com invites you to discover them:

The Chamonix Valley
Saint Gervais les Bains
Bourg Saint Maurice - Les Arcs
Briançon – Serre Chevalier

AlpAddict in Chamonix — Chamonix Mont Blanc train station

By train to the Chamonix Valley

You arrive by train to Saint Gervais-Le Fayet station, and from there you will board the Mont Blanc Express which will take you to Chamonix and Vallorcine, and beyond to Switzerland in Martigny. Along the route you can easily reach Servoz, Les Houches and its ski area connected to that of Saint Gervais, Chamonix, Les Praz, and its La Flégère area, Argentière and its Grands Montets area, as well as Vallorcine, connected to the Balme area and therefore to the Tour.

All stations of the Chamonix valley are therefore connected to each other by railway lines, and you can therefore easily reach your accommodation, but also change ski areas as you wish.

And the cherry on the cake? If you stay in the Chamonix Valley, you will receive a guest card… and with this guest card, train transport between Servoz and Vallorcine is FREE during your stay! Great, right?

No traffic jams, no hassle in the snow. You arrive by train in one of the most beautiful valleys in the Alps, at the foot of Mont Blanc, and you get off practically in front of your accommodation.

Train holidays in the Valley of Chamonix, it’s practical, easy and even… fun!

The Mont Blanc Express timetables can be viewed by following this link: by train in the Chamonix valley.

By train to Saint Gervais Mont Blanc

When you arrive at Saint Gervais-Le Fayet station, you will feel that you are not far from your destination. Indeed, the Mont Blanc Tramway will allow you to complete your journey without leaving the rails.

The Mont Blanc Tramway takes you from the bottom of the Arve Valley to the Col de Voza, in the heights of the ski area shared by Saint Gervais and Les Houches. Of course, it also stops in the village of Saint Gervais-Mont Blanc, which will allow you to drop off your bags before heading off to tackle the slopes.

From Saint Gervais Mont Blanc, you have the choice of skiing on two different unconnected ski areas. Depending on the location of your accommodation, you will be close to one of the two, and for the other you will have to travel a few hundred meters by crossing a bridge over the Bon Nant gorges.

On one side you will ski on an area shared with Les Houches benefiting from a plunging view over the entire length of the Chamonix Valley, and on the other you will descend towards Combloux (Demi-Quartier sector), Megève and Saint Nicolas de Véroce in the Evasion Mont Blanc area. A considerable ski area in Mont Blanc Country at the top of which you will enjoy a magnificent panoramic view of the Mont Blanc Massif.

To find out everything about the opening hours of Mont Blanc Tramway, click here!

In the future, around 2023, a valley lift project climbing from Fayet to Bettex will provide access in five minutes from the TGV station to the departure point of the Evasion Mont Blanc ski area. The mountain will truly be within reach by rail!

AlpAddict by train in the Alps — Train seat with mountain view

By train to Les Arcs 1600

You arrive at Bourg Saint Maurice, in Tarentaise: a train station, including TGV, a few dozen meters to go and there you are on board the “Arc-en-ciel” funicular which will take you to the Arcs 1600 station.

High-altitude resort, above the Isère valley, facing Mont Blanc, in a forest. An idyllic setting, easy to access, and a starting point for the second largest ski area in the world: Paradiski and its 420 km of slopes shared between the Arcs, Peisey and La Plagne.

A ski-in/ski-out holiday in optimal snow conditions with fantastic views of the surrounding mountains.

Getting to Les Arcs 1600 by train is super easy!

Bourg Saint Maurice, and its location near several major resorts, is also an interesting base for exploring the region. In fact, in addition to being able to access the Les Arcs ski area, you can discover La Rosière, Sainte Foy Tarentaise and of course go up to Val d'Isère and Tignes! To reach these locations, you will need to rely on the shuttles departing from the bus station.

To know everything about the funicular, click here !

By train to Briançon and Serre Chevalier

When the train enters the station Briançon, within Hautes Alpes, the terminus of the line that goes up the Durance, you may not know that you are only a few hundred meters from the start of the Prorel cable car, which provides access to the Serre Chevalier area.

Staying in the lower town of Briançon, a modern district as opposed to its upper town which has kept its medieval spirit and its fortifications, you can therefore leave your accommodation with ski boots on your feet and set off to explore the vast sunny area of Serre Chevalier.

City Briançon, the highest town in Europe, at an altitude of 1300m, offers all the services of a ski resort, with the possibility of making historical and cultural discoveries, during your moments of relaxation or après-ski.

A city in the sun and snow for your skiing holidays, easily accessible by train from all over France.

Train under the snow — A train under snow showers

By train to other destinations

In the future, the development of valley lifts – funiculars or cable cars – will make it possible to connect valley floors to resorts. This is already the case from Orelle for example, Maurienne station, connected to the Val Thorens area (Saint Michel de Maurienne station), Bourg Saint Maurice with its funicular going up in les Arcs These valley lift departures are located in the immediate vicinity of train stations and it will be easier to get up to the resort without having to go through all the snowy bends.

There are also many other stations where you can drop off your luggage without having to take your car, taking advantage of a shuttle or a taxi for the last few kilometers over very short distances. AlpAddict.com offers you a non-exhaustive list (because the concept of “short distance” by shuttle is very subjective!):

In Haute Savoie: Mont Saxonnex, Les Carroz d'Arâches, Samoëns from Cluses, Cordon, Combloux, Megève from Sallanches.
In Savoie: the Sybelles area from Saint Jean de Maurienne, Valloire-Valmeinier and Orelle from Saint Michel de Maurienne, Valfréjus, La Norma and Aussois from Modane (Please note, until the end of 2024, the train line is interrupted at Saint Michel de Maurienne, service provided by coach thereafter), La Plagne (resort, Montchavin or Montalbert) from Aime, Méribel, from Moûtiers via Brides les Bains and its very long cable car.
In the Hautes Alpes: Vallouise from Argentière la Bessée, Risoul from Guillestre Mont-Dauphin, Les Orres, from Embrun.

In other Alpine countries, there are many more possibilities to reach the destination at the foot of the slopes by train. Some of these villages have also grouped together around the label Alpine Pearls whose main objective is to develop soft mobility both to arrive at the resort and on site. Alpine Pearls can be found in Switzerland, Austria, Germany, and Italy. Of the twenty or so Alpine Pearls, ten offer direct train access, the others are in the immediate vicinity of the rail networks.

AlpAddict.com will talk again about "Alpine Pearls" in a future article.