Ski & Snowboarding in Les Arcs, France - Excellent On & Off-Piste Skiing & Snowboarding

Les Arcs – Bourg-Saint-Maurice is a completely purpose built collection of resorts, offering an excellent array of on and off-piste skiing challenges – for all levels of skier or snowboarder. Situated above the IzPre Valley with views across to Mont Blanc, its slopes run down to four purpose-built villages that can easily be reached by public transport.

The first of the four main villages is Arc 1600, later were added the villages of Arc 1800 and Arc 2000. Most recently the village of Arc 1950 has been constructed by Canadian development company Intrawest, and offers a more aesthetically designed environment than the other heights. More than two-thirds of the resort is apartment accommodation, with a few large hotels providing the rest. Chalet accommodation is limited to the newly developing areas of the Peisey-Nancroix villages lower down the mountain.

Les Arcs Snowcam:

All the Arcs villages are conveniently situated below the slopes with easy access to lifts wherever you are staying. Largely surrounded by trees, they are comprised of large chalet-style apartment buildings with wooden balconies and sloping roofs. Shops, bars and restaurants occupy the ground floors. Arc 1800, the largest village, has the most restaurants, après-ski activities and liveliest nightlife.

The ski area offers plenty of high-level skiing, whilst lower down the tree-line gives welcome shelter when the weather turns bad. At the southern end of the domain, above Plan-Peisey, the tree-line runs are particularly extensive for a French destination. With an excellent lift infra-structure and vast areas (200km of pistes) for crowds to disperse into, lift-queues are rarely an issue these days.

In 2003/4 Les Arcs was joined by the nearby ski resort of La Plagne by the new double-decker Vanoise Express cable-car forming a new area now referred to as ‘Paradiski' – with the promise of 420km of pistes and hectares of off-piste placing it in the super league with the likes of the 3 Valleys and the Espace Killy.

Skiers off all abilities will find plenty to keep them happy on the Les Arcs pistes. Some are commendably long and many run attractively through trees.

The Aguille Rouge cable-car rises to a soaring 3226 metres high, giving magnificent views over the valley to Mont Blanc and a choice of a bumpy black or a red run back over a glacier.

For beginners, Arc 1800's nursery slopes are sunny and spacious. The children's ski school has a good reputation for teaching in English and has a sledging track and climbing wall. Boarders have their own state-of-the-art terrain park.

Les Arcs is truly a skiers and snowboarders resort. Good snow; an excellent teaching record – having pioneered the ski évolutif method (starting with short, then progressively longer skis, in the 1980s); a state of the art terrain park ‘Snowp'Arcs'; the Flying Kilometre speed skiing run; and miles of off-piste best explored with a mountain guide; the resort leaves little energy for après-ski!