Discover Les Arcs and its ski area

Les Arcs is a ski resort in Haute-Tarentaise located near Bourg Saint Maurice, in Savoie. This ski resort, whose many hamlets feature modern architecture integrated into the landscape, is easily accessible from the railway network.

Le Les Arcs ski area develops above the station, but also on the slopes of Vallandry and Villaroger, at both ends of the domain.

This internationally renowned ski resort is linked by a cable car to the ski slopes of La Plagne, thus forming the ski area known as Paradiski.

When we arrive at Bourg Saint Maurice by train, we have the possibility of going up to the Arcs station by funicular.

We then arrive at Arc 1600, one of the stations that make up the area.

Let’s go visit Les Arcs and its ski area!

The ski resort of Les Arcs: Arc 1600, Arc 1800, Arc 2000 and Arc 1950

The Arcs resort is therefore not a single resort built around a village but rather a group of hamlets or districts that have been built over time. There are thus Arc 1600, Arc 1800, Arc 1950 and Arc 2000. Hence the plural used to indicate the name of the ski resort: Les ArcsEach of these districts is autonomous, with its own services, accommodation and ski lift departures.

Let's start the tour with Arc 1600. This district is the first one you come across when you arrive from Bourg Saint Maurice, and it is also a historic district. Today, a funicular provides easy access from Bourg Saint Maurice station. Practical and quite unique in France, this interconnection allows travelers arriving by train to avoid the winding road that goes up to the station.

Arc 1600 responds to the old name of Pierre Blanche. From the 60s, ski lifts connected Bourg Saint Maurice to the small plateau of Pierre Blanche in order to ski through the forest on the slopes below the lifts. Until 1968, the year of construction of a first hotel. And that was the beginning of the adventure. It was a hotel with innovative and strange architecture, composed of three arches. Hence the initial name 'Les Arcs'. Then, it was the turn of the resort located at 1800 meters to see the light of day in the mid-70s, with the construction of a very large hotel. Same architectural design, very integrated into the slope, the balconies mainly overlooking the Tarentaise and Mont Blanc which exceeds the peaks of Beaufortain. Buildings hidden at the edge of the forest. A ski-in ski-out departure to the slopes. It is Arc 1800.

At the end of the 70s, in the valley behind the ridge line overlooking Arc 1600 and Arc 1800, a new resort was built at an altitude of 2000 metres. A small fortified castle that had to withstand storms and the extreme conditions of this site. The result was a fairly concrete resort, with a characteristic silhouette, dominating a hillock in an area devoid of trees. It is therefore Arc 2000 which completes the initial trio.

Then, in the early 2000s, it was Arc 1950 which was born in the form of a small village with colorful facades, slate roofs and a small square where a few restaurant tables were set up. The ski slopes cross the village, integrating it entirely into the ski area. The hamlet is located just below the Arc 2000 resort, a few minutes' walk away. It is nestled closer to the bottom of the valley, where the forests begin again, before plunging towards Montvalézan and Villaroger, already in the upper Isère valley.

So we have four resorts with different atmospheres. Arc 1800, with the number of lifts that go to attack the ski area from its snow front, now plays the role of showcase for the whole. With its long buildings hidden between the trees and its very lively snow front, facing the sun. Arc 1600 has the advantage of the funicular. Access to the area is also very easy anyway, as is the return to the resort.

Arc 1950 and Arc 2000 have a slightly different positioning. Arc 1950 consists of many luxury accommodations and occupies a very high-end positioning. Arc 2000, since the beginning, has highlighted its sporty side under the slopes of theRed Needle (3228 meters) accessible only from this station and the launched kilometer track where speed records are periodically broken.

Peisey Vallandry, integrated into the ski resort of Les Arcs

The small village of Peisey-Nancroix seems suspended on an overhang which dominates the Isère valley and which controls the entrance to the Rosuel Valley, Nordic site in winter and place for magnificent walks in summer.

Above your head you can see the cables of the Vanoise Express cable car which connects the two parts of the Paradiski ski area: Les Arcs and La Plagne.

The road continues on a few more bends, which you can avoid by taking the Lonzagne cable car which takes you to Plan Peisey.

Plan Peisey and Vallandry are the two hamlets that complete, on this slope, the access to the ski area of ​​Les Arcs. The architecture is not unpleasant, with modern buildings in mountain style, like large chalets. The site is very wooded, the orientation towards the afternoon sun (but not in the late afternoon) guarantees sufficient sunshine and regular snow cover while remaining at a suitable altitude of 1600 meters. Optimal conditions for a ski holiday, about ten kilometers from Landry and its train station.

La connexion with the rest of the ski area, and the slopes of Arc 1800, is done in three or four ski lifts, with a short descent between each one, just to warm up a little!

Villaroger, the ski area of ​​Les Arcs on the slopes of the Aiguille Rouge

The small village of Villaroger, located on a small plateau at an altitude of 1200 metres at the entrance to the upper Isère valley, is a gateway to the Les Arcs ski area for good skiers, and for many locals too, given its proximity and ease of access from Bourg Saint Maurice.

Located just opposite Sainte-Foy-Tarentaise, a resort that occupies the other side of the Isère in this valley that ends at the Val d'Isère resort along the Italian border, the Villaroger ski resort is connected to the ski area by two chairlifts that provide access to the ski slopes around Arc 2000 and Arc 1950. Even if there are blue runs that go back down into the forest along forest paths, the trails, most often in the shade from midday, are often icy and difficult for real beginners. For the more athletic, the good news is that they can embark on a very long descent directly from the summit of the Aiguille Rouge with almost 2000 meters of elevation gain. And if conditions permit, they can do so exclusively on red and black slopes.

Discover the ski slopes of Les Arcs 1600 and 1800

We will arbitrarily choose as starting point Arc 1800 to do our tour of the resort. Why? It is the largest and most dynamic of the hamlets, it is the entry point for skiers from Peisey Vallandry and those coming from the La Plagne ski area and its central position makes it a good starting point also for skiers staying in Arc 1600. The arrival point being on the slopes of Arc 2000 and Arc 1950, skiers from this sector can do the loop in the opposite direction to discover the area.

The slopes visible from the valley, just above the resort of Les Arcs, as seen from the banks of the Isère, are those of a first curtain of slopes whose summit is the ridge line that descends from the Aiguille Grive to the Pointe du Fond Blanc, at an average altitude of around 2400 metres. Behind this ridge we enter the second part of the area, the one that descends towards Arc 1950 and 2000 and climbs the slopes of the Red Needle.

It is therefore important to identify the crossing points between the two sectors: the Col de la Chal/Col du Grand Renard, the Col des Frettes/L'Arpette, and the Clocheret/Comborcière junction. The first connects all the upper parts of the slopes, the second connects Arc 1800 to Arc 1950/2000 and the third Arc 1600 to Arc 1950/2000.

Between Arc 1600 and Peisey Vallandry, you can ski overlooking the valley of the Tarentaise, above Landry and Bourg Saint Maurice and facing the peaks of Beaufortain and Mont Blanc clearly visible. On the right looking at the Montblanc, we can easily see La rosière and the gap of the Petit Saint Bernard pass. A feast for the eyes. On this side, you ski by moving laterally: an ascent, a descent, either under the lift, or by pushing as much as possible in one direction to find the start of a new lift. The slopes are wide, well-marked, often between the fir trees. There are also traverse slopes such as Plan Bois, Traversée and Arpette which allow you to go from one hamlet to another in complete safety on easy slopes in the middle of the forest. It is therefore very accessible skiing that we find on this side of the ski area.

But it can be made more difficult because there are also many red runs, parallel to the blue ones and more direct. The Arcs resort is therefore ideal for a family or group stay when not everyone has the same level: you can go up together on the same ski lift, come back down on two different slopes but which lead to the same arrival point.

Starting fromArc 1800, I like to warm up a little on this slope, before switching to the other side. So I set off on the Carreley chairlift towards the Col des Frettes and descend for the warm-up on all the long blue and red runs that return to the starting point. Again at the Col des Frettes, this time heading towards Arc 1600 by the blue Arpette trail, first 3, then 2, then 1. Easy, in the forest, with beautiful views of Mont Blanc. Once in Arc 1600, we discover the slopes of the area with the Cachette 6 chairlift and the descent to the resort by the blue (Lutins and Arpette 1), the red Arolles or Cachette, or the black Rouelle, steep in the forest.

Then, back to Arc 1800, by the Mont Blanc 4 chairlift, the blue crossing slope, Belvédère 3, then 2, then 1. It is a beautiful easy slope, but very pleasant in the forest, to do absolutely. We enjoy very beautiful landscapes.

Upon arrival at Arc 1800, we aim for the start of the Transarc cable car. Easy to spot, it is the only gondola in the area. At the top, you might want to go back down the big red slopes towards Arc 1800, but a new part of the ski area opens up to skiers.

Discovery of the Arcs ski area 1950 and 2000

Once at Col de la Chal, at an altitude of 2600 meters, we discover another landscape, at the same time as we discover another area. We have lost sight of the Isère valley, we discover the grandeur of the Aiguille Rouge.

Large boulevards then open up to skiers, all the way to the end of the valley where the two high-altitude resorts are nestled. Arc 1950 and Arc 2000.

We can take advantage of this to try all these big, long, straight slopes: Teppes, Plagnettes, Tuffes in red or Col de la Chal in blue. And then go back up by chairlift Arcabulle  (and we will have fun watching the crazy sledding descents on the Luge 2000 slope) or further down the Pré Saint Esprit. We can have fun doing variations on this very sunny sector with very good quality snow. We still ski between 2200 and 2600 meters above sea level. The Grand Col sector with its chairlift, its red slope and its black slope is accessible from the blue Col de la Chal slope which gently descends from the pass. We reach an altitude of 2832 meters there.

To get to the sector of theRed Needle, you have to take the cable car Varet and then the Aiguille Rouge cable car. The scenery from the summit is magnificent, overlooking the peaks of the Mont Blanc massif, Savoie and the neighbouring Aosta Valley.

This is a domain reserved for very good skiers. A red run (Arandelières) descends by crossing the façade of the Aiguille Rouge and passing under the cable car. Departures of black runs (Robert Blanc, Lanches, Dou de l'Homme, Crêtes) originate along the Arandelières route for skiers who want to return to the Varet cable car.

La black track (Aiguille Rouge) passes on the side of the Aiguille before plunging down to Arc 2000, with its Génépi variant. Skiers can continue the crazy descent by the red of the Aiguille Rouge, at the arrival of the Lanchettes chairlift, up to Villaroger thus descending two thousand meters of altitude difference in one go. They can also cut through the black Droset, finding the forest up to the Prés Saint Esprit chairlifts or that of Comborcière which leads back to Arc 1600 and Arc 1800.

The districts ofArc 1950 et Arc 2000, are thus at the end of the route for the entire sector composed of large boulevards which descend from the Col de la Chal, but also at the starting point for the very difficult sector of the Aiguille Rouge.

Can an inexperienced skier climb the Aiguille Rouge? I would say that he can stop at Varet and go back down the blue Vallée de l'Arc, and if he feels he can do it, he can leave on the Arandelières 1 variant, but always from the arrival of the Varet gondola.

The return from this valley to the first sector of the area described in the previous paragraph is therefore made by the Comborcière chairlift, at the lowest level of the valley downstream from Arc 1950, or by the Bois de l'Ours chairlift at the level of Arc 1950 and finally by the Col de la Chal, but be careful, it is a red run that awaits you.

It's still the fastest way to get back to Peisey Vallandry.

Skiing in Les Arcs allows you to try out different types of slopes of increasing difficulty. You can let yourself slide in the middle of the forest, quietly, or ski on large boulevards adapted to all audiences. The slope can become steeper and we go on increasingly difficult red slopes, before testing the Aiguille Rouge sector. The common point between all these ways of skiing is the magnificent landscape that will accompany you and the silhouette of Mont Blanc that will watch over your course.

The fact of having several hamlets that make up the resort allows you to always have a point of support to rest on a snow front. Apart from the descent of the Aiguille Rouge towards Villaroger, there are no really totally isolated sectors. You can ski safely in Les Arcs.

With 200 kilometers of slopes Spread over 105 trails served by 53 ski lifts, the Les Arcs ski area promises you wonderful hours of skiing.

Good skiing in the resort of Les Arcs.

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