Les Arcs
Encyclopedia
Les Arcs is a ski resort
located in Savoie
, France
, in the Tarentaise Valley
town of Bourg-Saint-Maurice
. Initially created by Robert Blanc and Roger Godino. It is a part of the huge Paradiski
system which is under ownership by Compagnie des Alpes
, a French-listed company owning several other ski resorts as well as theme parks.
. Since the opening of the Vanoise Express
cable car
in December 2003, Les Arcs has become part of the Paradiski
group of ski-connected resorts, which also includes the La Plagne
area. Paradiski
in total has 425 km of pistes.
Les Arcs has the reputation of being one of the original French "mega-resorts". All of them have a convenient, large and varied network of pistes. Les Arcs has the specificity of a unique "avant-garde" modernist architecture labelled as "heritage of the 20th century". Most of its resorts are built following this modernist architecture, with the exception of latest—Arc 1950—which is built following the traditional architecture in the Alps and also with a more defined village ambience.
The ski domain provides a mixture of open runs (especially above Arc 2000) and wooded runs (around the outlying villages of Peisey and Villaroger in particular). Its terrain park has a good reputation, with green, red and black jumps and rails. It is also good for snowboarders, with few drag lifts. The ski lifts have been gradually updated so virtually all critical lifts are modern, fast and comfortable.
Les Arcs' ESF ski school teaches the ski evolutif method, where students are taught parallel turns from the beginning, but on very short skis (that get progressively longer through the first week). Les Arcs is regarded as having excellent beginner ski areas in each resort, although absolute beginners have little to progress to; away from the nursery slopes things get trickier. Les Arcs is also regarded by many as the home of snowboarding in Europe. Local instructor Régis Rolland popularized the snowboard in France with the Apocalypse Snow series of films made in the resort in the early 1980s.
The ski area of Arc 2000 and 1950 consists of a broad valley, with these two resorts at the bottom of its broader part. One of the sides of the valley is the ridge with the area's highest point, the Aiguille Rouge. The other side is a ridge to Arc 1600, 1800 and Peisey-Vallandry, which hold a wide range of runs. There are also a lot of relatively safe off-piste possibilities available in addition to those where you would require a mountain guide
.
In Arc 2000 you also find the famous speed skiing
course used in the 1992 Olympics (Speed skiing at the 1992 Winter Olympics
). It is 2000 metres long with an additional 700 metres for stopping. The current world records in speed skiing
was set in Les Arcs with Italian Simone Origone at 251.4 km/h (156.2 mph) and Swedish Sanna Tidstrand at 242.59 km/h (150.74 mph), both in April 2006. The course is sometimes open for the public but with restrictions in altitude, snow preparations, equipment, etc., to limit the speed.
Thanks to a successful collaboration in the early 60s between Roger Godino, developer and constructor in mountain tourism, and Robert Blanc, born in the area and a ski instructor and high mountain guide, Les Arcs took shape with the help of well-known engineers, architects and town planners sharing the same creative spirit.
Three fundamental rules were followed in order to create a functional and aesthetic construction in keeping with the tourist development of that time:
Les Arcs is completely integrated into the mountain setting and distinguished by an exterior architecture avoiding buildings overlooking one another and by an interior open-plan concept (open kitchen, large picture windows, and raised balconies) which paved the way for a new style of living.
worked with Le Corbusier
for ten years. She worked as part of the Les Arcs design team including Roger Godino, Robert Blanc, Gaston Regairaz, Guy Rey-Millet and Bernard Taillefer. An exhibition will shortly be dedicated to her work at the Beaubourg National Arts and Culture Centre.
train station by the 'Arc en Ciel' funicular
railway. The journey time is approximately 7 minutes and many trains also call at two intermediate stations, serving the villages of Montrigron and Les Granges. It is connected to the other villages by regular free shuttle buses and ski lifts. Arc 1600 was the first area to be built on and is referred to as "Arc Pierre Blanche." Arc 1600 now has 30 shops, hotels and meeting rooms to offer its guests.
Arc 1800 is the biggest of the resort areas and consists of 4 'villages' known as 'Charvet', 'Villards', 'Charmettoger' and 'Chantel'. It has around 100 shops, shuttle services, hotels, meeting rooms, a two-screen cinema and an ice rink. There is a good selection of restaurants catering to most tastes including Casa Mia, voted resort restaurant of the year 2003 in a worldwide competition. The village has previously hosted the snowboarding and dance music
Snowbombing
event.
The village is at a convenient position on the mountain, just above the resort of Arc 1600, and given its altitude comfortably above the snow line for the entire winter. The "TransArc" gondola reaches the top of the Arc 2000 valley quickly (queues notwithstanding), and there is a good selection of ski lifts, such as the six-seater Vagere, to take you to the various parts of the mountain.
Arc 1800 occasionally has the benefit of better weather conditions, given the topography of the mountain. When heavy snow falls at Arc 2000, it can be closed down and can also be at the mercy of heavy winds funnelling down to the valley. This is not a problem for Arc 1800, which is also west facing and thus benefits from sunshine in the afternoon. Above Arc 1800 are the apartments of Les Alpages du Chantel. The residence houses 182 apartments in two 3–5 storey chalet-style residences that offer a ski-in, ski-out experience. Also on site is a local shop and a locally themed restaurant, Les Alpages.
This area is linked to the La Plagne resort by the Vanoise Express
cable car, departing from the village of Peisey.
Arc 1950 is a recent village development by the Canadian ski resort developer Intrawest
, which also developed such resorts as Whistler
and Mont Tremblant in Canada. It is linked (during the day till late evening) to Arc 2000 by a free pedestrian accessible gondola Cabriolet. The architecture of Arc 1950 is striking as it clearly moves away from the standard concrete blocks of the mega resorts of the period. Instead it is lavishly fitted out and heavily influenced by the local Alpine history and architecture. 1950 has several commercial, apartment and hotel buildings of different sizes, colours and shapes. It has a wide variety of shops and, for a mountain resort, a huge variety of eateries including Italian, Mexican, French, Savoyarde, creperie, American and an Asian crossover restaurant. It also has pubs, wine bars, lounges and a nightclub. The village is completely "ski in–ski out" and the hotels and apartments have by far the highest standard and comfort level in Les Arcs. In fact even compared to the vast majority of the French ski resorts (1950 was voted "the best place to stay in the Alps by Ski Club of Great Britain 2007). Intrawest sold the lodging operation in October 2009 to Pierre & Vacances which is creating a new "Premium" brand with Arc 1950 taking a lead. In addition Radisson Blu have Arc 1950 as their Premium ski resort.
Arc 1950 and 2000 have virtually the same access to the mountain. Given the altitude this is the most snow safe part (also in terms of quality of the snow) of Les Arcs and also presents numerous "powder" opportunities after a snowfall.
With a cable to 1950 and free shuttle buses to all of the other villages, Les Arcs' highest station has more than adequate transport links. It has a wide selection of shops, a cinema screen and meeting facilities. Being the highest it often has the best snow, although the nursery slopes above 2000 have a reputation for being crowded, and there aren't so many tree-lined pistes for when the weather gets bad. The Varet gondola is a quick way to get up to the higher parts of the resort and there is also a new selection of six-seater chairlifts including Arcabulle, Bois de l'ors and Marmottes to quickly ship you to the different sides of the mountain. Arc 2000 is well known for hosting speed skiing
(not for the fainthearted) and other events over the course of the season.
At one end of the ski area are the villages of Vallandry, Peisey and Plan-Peisey, from which the Vanoise Express
cable-car departs (to La Plagne
, the other half of the Paradiski
huge ski domain).
At the other end, across the valley from Sainte-Foy-Tarentaise
, are the villages of Le Pre and Villaroger. A continuous run with 2100 metres vertical drop links Aiguille Rouge to Villaroger and although rather low at 1200 Villaroger can be reached for most of the season given artificial snow and it is north facing. Administratively these villages are not part of the Les Arcs ski domain, but are seamlessly linked. Their ski area is largely wooded, but with some open slopes above. This can provide especially good skiing when fresh snow has fallen or a welcome relief when the weather is windy or bad.
you find the biggest concentration of world-class ski resorts in the world. Most well known neighbour systems are Espace Killy
(Val d'Isère
and Tignes
) and Les Trois Vallées
(Courchevel
, Meribel
, Val Thorens
and more). A weekly lift ticket in Les Arcs/Paradiski gives you a choice to ski one day in each of the other two systems mentioned. There were once plans to interlink all systems and resorts to create the—by far—largest ski area in the world. However that vision was ended with the creation of the Vanoise National Park
.
The piste network in Les Arcs is fairly dense, and off-piste opportunities are numerous. With a guide, though, some big adventures are possible. Particularly recommended are off the back of the Aiguille Rouge down to Villaroger, or off the back of the Bellecote
glacier
(from La Plagne) down to Nancroix valley, just below Peisey, which is linked by free shuttle bus. It is advised that both routes be only attempted with a guide and appropriate avalanche equipment. Off-piste routes from Tignes
to the Les Arcs area are also possible. You find very good descriptions of the possibilities in the book "Les clés de Paradiski" by Didier Givois (in French but with summaries in English).
Pickup for Heliskiing
by Jet Systems can be arranged between Arc 1950 and Arc 2000. Heliskiing is banned in France, and so the destination will be Italy or Switzerland. The aircraft used is the Eurocopter Ecureuil
.
.
Ski resort
A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing and other winter sports. In Europe a ski resort is a town or village in a ski area - a mountainous area, where there are ski trails and supporting services such as hotels and other accommodation, restaurants, equipment rental and a ski lift system...
located in Savoie
Savoie
Savoie is a French department located in the Rhône-Alpes region in the French Alps.Together with the Haute-Savoie, Savoie is one of the two departments of the historic region of Savoy that was annexed by France on June 14, 1860, following the signature of the Treaty of Turin on March 24, 1860...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, in the Tarentaise Valley
Tarentaise Valley
The Tarentaise Valley is a valley of the Isère River in the heart of the French Alps, located in the Savoy region of France. The valley is named for the ancient town of Darantasia, the capital of the pre-Roman Centrones tribe.-Description:...
town of Bourg-Saint-Maurice
Bourg-Saint-Maurice
Bourg-Saint-Maurice, popularly known as Bourg, is a commune in the Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.It is the last large town along the Tarentaise valley in the heart of the French Alps.-History:...
. Initially created by Robert Blanc and Roger Godino. It is a part of the huge Paradiski
Paradiski
Paradiski is a ski-area in the Tarentaise Valley offering uninterrupted skiing in between the areas of Les Arcs, Peisey-Vallandry and La Plagne. The area is linked, since December 2003, by the Vanoise Express...
system which is under ownership by Compagnie des Alpes
Compagnie des Alpes
Compagnie des Alpes is a French company created in 1989 to operate many ski resorts in Europe. Compagnie des Alpes is a part of Caisse des dépôts et consignations.-History:...
, a French-listed company owning several other ski resorts as well as theme parks.
The skiing
The five areas—Bourg-Saint-Maurice, Arc 1600, Arc 1800, Arc 1950 and Arc 2000—are situated at an altitude spanning from 810 to 3225 metres, although skiing is mostly possible above 1200 metres. The ski area consists of 106 runs, 54 lifts and 200 kilometres of descent. The highest peak in the resort is the Aiguille Rouge (Red Needle) from where is a 7 km long piste with 2026 metres in vertical drop down to the Village VillarogerVillaroger
Villaroger is a commune in the Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.-References:*...
. Since the opening of the Vanoise Express
Vanoise Express
The Vanoise Express is a double-decker cable car that links La Plagne with Les Arcs ski resorts in the Alps, acting as a vital link in the Paradiski area....
cable car
Aerial tramway
An aerial tramway , cable car , ropeway or aerial tram is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary ropes for support while a third moving rope provides propulsion...
in December 2003, Les Arcs has become part of the Paradiski
Paradiski
Paradiski is a ski-area in the Tarentaise Valley offering uninterrupted skiing in between the areas of Les Arcs, Peisey-Vallandry and La Plagne. The area is linked, since December 2003, by the Vanoise Express...
group of ski-connected resorts, which also includes the La Plagne
La Plagne
La Plagne is a French ski area in the alpine valley of the Tarentaise . Since 2003, La Plagne and the neighbouring resort of Les Arcs form Paradiski's ski area...
area. Paradiski
Paradiski
Paradiski is a ski-area in the Tarentaise Valley offering uninterrupted skiing in between the areas of Les Arcs, Peisey-Vallandry and La Plagne. The area is linked, since December 2003, by the Vanoise Express...
in total has 425 km of pistes.
The ski domain provides a mixture of open runs (especially above Arc 2000) and wooded runs (around the outlying villages of Peisey and Villaroger in particular). Its terrain park has a good reputation, with green, red and black jumps and rails. It is also good for snowboarders, with few drag lifts. The ski lifts have been gradually updated so virtually all critical lifts are modern, fast and comfortable.
Les Arcs' ESF ski school teaches the ski evolutif method, where students are taught parallel turns from the beginning, but on very short skis (that get progressively longer through the first week). Les Arcs is regarded as having excellent beginner ski areas in each resort, although absolute beginners have little to progress to; away from the nursery slopes things get trickier. Les Arcs is also regarded by many as the home of snowboarding in Europe. Local instructor Régis Rolland popularized the snowboard in France with the Apocalypse Snow series of films made in the resort in the early 1980s.
The ski area of Arc 2000 and 1950 consists of a broad valley, with these two resorts at the bottom of its broader part. One of the sides of the valley is the ridge with the area's highest point, the Aiguille Rouge. The other side is a ridge to Arc 1600, 1800 and Peisey-Vallandry, which hold a wide range of runs. There are also a lot of relatively safe off-piste possibilities available in addition to those where you would require a mountain guide
Mountain guide
Mountain guides are specially trained and experienced mountaineers and professionals who are generally certified by an association. They are considered experts in mountaineering.-Skills:Their skills usually include climbing, skiing and hiking...
.
In Arc 2000 you also find the famous speed skiing
Speed skiing
Speed skiing is the sport of skiing downhill in a straight line as quickly as possible. It is one of the fastest non-motorized sports on land. The current world record for skiing is 251.4 km/h , held by Simone Origone...
course used in the 1992 Olympics (Speed skiing at the 1992 Winter Olympics
Speed skiing at the 1992 Winter Olympics
Speed skiing was a demonstration sport at the 1992 Winter Olympics. The venue was in Les Arcs, about 60 km from the host city Albertville. Michael Prufer, a 31 year old medical doctor from Savoie, improved his own 1988 world record by 5.558 km/h. Philippe Goitschel, the nephew of French ski...
). It is 2000 metres long with an additional 700 metres for stopping. The current world records in speed skiing
Speed skiing
Speed skiing is the sport of skiing downhill in a straight line as quickly as possible. It is one of the fastest non-motorized sports on land. The current world record for skiing is 251.4 km/h , held by Simone Origone...
was set in Les Arcs with Italian Simone Origone at 251.4 km/h (156.2 mph) and Swedish Sanna Tidstrand at 242.59 km/h (150.74 mph), both in April 2006. The course is sometimes open for the public but with restrictions in altitude, snow preparations, equipment, etc., to limit the speed.
History
Creation of les Arcs
- 1968 : Arc 1600 resort opening.
- 1974 : Arc 1800 resort opening with the inauguration of the Hotel du Golf.
- 1979 : Arc 2000 resort opening with the Club Med.
- 2003 : Inauguration of the first tourist residences in Arc 1950. The village was completed 2008.
Thanks to a successful collaboration in the early 60s between Roger Godino, developer and constructor in mountain tourism, and Robert Blanc, born in the area and a ski instructor and high mountain guide, Les Arcs took shape with the help of well-known engineers, architects and town planners sharing the same creative spirit.
Three fundamental rules were followed in order to create a functional and aesthetic construction in keeping with the tourist development of that time:
- Respect for the area and the natural surroundings,
- The conservation of existing old mountain chalets which were not to be copied for more authenticity,
- The use of local material.
Les Arcs is completely integrated into the mountain setting and distinguished by an exterior architecture avoiding buildings overlooking one another and by an interior open-plan concept (open kitchen, large picture windows, and raised balconies) which paved the way for a new style of living.
20th century label
In 1999, the Ministry for the Arts and Communications introduced new policies in favour of the architectural and urban heritage of the 20th century: protection, public awareness and restoration. Living proof of modernity working hand in hand with the mountains and nature, Les Arcs town planning is being studied by the Grenoble School of Architecture.Charlotte Perriand
Charlotte PerriandCharlotte Perriand
Charlotte Perriand , was a French architect and designer. Her work aimed to create functional living spaces in the belief that better design helps in creating a better society...
worked with Le Corbusier
Le Corbusier
Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, better known as Le Corbusier , was a Swiss-born French architect, designer, urbanist, writer and painter, famous for being one of the pioneers of what now is called modern architecture. He was born in Switzerland and became a French citizen in 1930...
for ten years. She worked as part of the Les Arcs design team including Roger Godino, Robert Blanc, Gaston Regairaz, Guy Rey-Millet and Bernard Taillefer. An exhibition will shortly be dedicated to her work at the Beaubourg National Arts and Culture Centre.
Arc 1600 (also Arc Pierre Blanche)
At 1600 metres, this is the lowest of the resort areas and is linked directly to the Bourg Saint Maurice TGVTGV
The TGV is France's high-speed rail service, currently operated by SNCF Voyages, the long-distance rail branch of SNCF, the French national rail operator....
train station by the 'Arc en Ciel' funicular
Funicular
A funicular, also known as an inclined plane or cliff railway, is a cable railway in which a cable attached to a pair of tram-like vehicles on rails moves them up and down a steep slope; the ascending and descending vehicles counterbalance each other.-Operation:The basic principle of funicular...
railway. The journey time is approximately 7 minutes and many trains also call at two intermediate stations, serving the villages of Montrigron and Les Granges. It is connected to the other villages by regular free shuttle buses and ski lifts. Arc 1600 was the first area to be built on and is referred to as "Arc Pierre Blanche." Arc 1600 now has 30 shops, hotels and meeting rooms to offer its guests.
Arc 1800
Electronic dance music
Electronic dance music is electronic music produced primarily for the purposes of use within a nightclub setting, or in an environment that is centered upon dance-based entertainment...
Snowbombing
Snowbombing
Snowbombing is a popular week-long winter sports and music festival held annually in the spring at the Austrian ski resort of Mayrhofen.The event has been run since 2000 when it was first held at the French resort of Risoul as an après-ski nightclub promotional exercise started by English promoters...
event.
The village is at a convenient position on the mountain, just above the resort of Arc 1600, and given its altitude comfortably above the snow line for the entire winter. The "TransArc" gondola reaches the top of the Arc 2000 valley quickly (queues notwithstanding), and there is a good selection of ski lifts, such as the six-seater Vagere, to take you to the various parts of the mountain.
Arc 1800 occasionally has the benefit of better weather conditions, given the topography of the mountain. When heavy snow falls at Arc 2000, it can be closed down and can also be at the mercy of heavy winds funnelling down to the valley. This is not a problem for Arc 1800, which is also west facing and thus benefits from sunshine in the afternoon. Above Arc 1800 are the apartments of Les Alpages du Chantel. The residence houses 182 apartments in two 3–5 storey chalet-style residences that offer a ski-in, ski-out experience. Also on site is a local shop and a locally themed restaurant, Les Alpages.
This area is linked to the La Plagne resort by the Vanoise Express
Vanoise Express
The Vanoise Express is a double-decker cable car that links La Plagne with Les Arcs ski resorts in the Alps, acting as a vital link in the Paradiski area....
cable car, departing from the village of Peisey.
Arc 1950
Intrawest
Intrawest ULC is a developer and operator of destination resorts and a luxury adventure travel company. The company was founded in 1976 as a privately funded real estate development company...
, which also developed such resorts as Whistler
Whistler-Blackcomb
Whistler Blackcomb is a major ski resort located 125 km north of Vancouver, in British Columbia, Canada. By many measures it is the largest ski resort in North America; it is 50% larger than its nearest competitor in terms of size, has the greatest uphill lift capacity, and until 2009, had...
and Mont Tremblant in Canada. It is linked (during the day till late evening) to Arc 2000 by a free pedestrian accessible gondola Cabriolet. The architecture of Arc 1950 is striking as it clearly moves away from the standard concrete blocks of the mega resorts of the period. Instead it is lavishly fitted out and heavily influenced by the local Alpine history and architecture. 1950 has several commercial, apartment and hotel buildings of different sizes, colours and shapes. It has a wide variety of shops and, for a mountain resort, a huge variety of eateries including Italian, Mexican, French, Savoyarde, creperie, American and an Asian crossover restaurant. It also has pubs, wine bars, lounges and a nightclub. The village is completely "ski in–ski out" and the hotels and apartments have by far the highest standard and comfort level in Les Arcs. In fact even compared to the vast majority of the French ski resorts (1950 was voted "the best place to stay in the Alps by Ski Club of Great Britain 2007). Intrawest sold the lodging operation in October 2009 to Pierre & Vacances which is creating a new "Premium" brand with Arc 1950 taking a lead. In addition Radisson Blu have Arc 1950 as their Premium ski resort.
Arc 1950 and 2000 have virtually the same access to the mountain. Given the altitude this is the most snow safe part (also in terms of quality of the snow) of Les Arcs and also presents numerous "powder" opportunities after a snowfall.
Arc 2000
Speed skiing
Speed skiing is the sport of skiing downhill in a straight line as quickly as possible. It is one of the fastest non-motorized sports on land. The current world record for skiing is 251.4 km/h , held by Simone Origone...
(not for the fainthearted) and other events over the course of the season.
Other villages
Vanoise Express
The Vanoise Express is a double-decker cable car that links La Plagne with Les Arcs ski resorts in the Alps, acting as a vital link in the Paradiski area....
cable-car departs (to La Plagne
La Plagne
La Plagne is a French ski area in the alpine valley of the Tarentaise . Since 2003, La Plagne and the neighbouring resort of Les Arcs form Paradiski's ski area...
, the other half of the Paradiski
Paradiski
Paradiski is a ski-area in the Tarentaise Valley offering uninterrupted skiing in between the areas of Les Arcs, Peisey-Vallandry and La Plagne. The area is linked, since December 2003, by the Vanoise Express...
huge ski domain).
At the other end, across the valley from Sainte-Foy-Tarentaise
Sainte-Foy-Tarentaise
Sainte-Foy-Tarentaise is a commune in the Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.Sainte-Foy-Tarentaise is a village in the Tarentaise Valley in Savoie, France. The old village itself lies on the main road between Bourg-Saint-Maurice and Val-d'Isère...
, are the villages of Le Pre and Villaroger. A continuous run with 2100 metres vertical drop links Aiguille Rouge to Villaroger and although rather low at 1200 Villaroger can be reached for most of the season given artificial snow and it is north facing. Administratively these villages are not part of the Les Arcs ski domain, but are seamlessly linked. Their ski area is largely wooded, but with some open slopes above. This can provide especially good skiing when fresh snow has fallen or a welcome relief when the weather is windy or bad.
Tarentaise Valley
Within the Tarentaise ValleyTarentaise Valley
The Tarentaise Valley is a valley of the Isère River in the heart of the French Alps, located in the Savoy region of France. The valley is named for the ancient town of Darantasia, the capital of the pre-Roman Centrones tribe.-Description:...
you find the biggest concentration of world-class ski resorts in the world. Most well known neighbour systems are Espace Killy
Espace Killy
The Espace Killy is a ski area in the Tarentaise Valley, Savoie in the French Alps, named after the skier Jean-Claude Killy. It covers the resorts of Val d'Isère and Tignes In Espace Killy there are 300 km of pistes:...
(Val d'Isère
Val d'Isère
Val d'Isère is a commune of the Tarentaise Valley, in the Savoie department in south-eastern France. It lies from the border with Italy. It is on the border of the Vanoise National Park created in 1963. The Face de Bellevarde was the scene of the men's downhill race as part of the 1992 Winter...
and Tignes
Tignes
Tignes is a commune in the Tarentaise Valley, Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.It is also a ski resort near Val d'Isère, that are linked together as the "Espace Killy" region...
) and Les Trois Vallées
Les Trois Vallées
Les Trois Vallées or The Three Valleys is a ski region in the Tarentaise Valley, Savoie département of France, above the town of Moûtiers and have areas within the Vanoise National Park...
(Courchevel
Courchevel
Courchevel is the name of a ski resort located in the commune of Saint-Bon-Tarentaise in the French Alps, in the Tarentaise Valley, Savoie, Rhône-Alpes region. It is a part of Les Trois Vallées, the largest linked ski area in the world...
, Meribel
Méribel
Méribel is a ski resort in the Tarentaise Valley in the French Alps, situated near the town of Moutiers.Méribel refers to three neighbouring villages in the Les Allues commune of the Savoie département of France, near the town of Moûtiers , called Méribel Centre, Méribel-Mottaret and Méribel Village...
, Val Thorens
Val Thorens
Val Thorens, located in the Tarentaise Valley, Savoie, French Alps, is the highest ski resort in Europe, at 2300 m altitude. It is located in the commune of Saint-Martin-de-Belleville in the Savoie département...
and more). A weekly lift ticket in Les Arcs/Paradiski gives you a choice to ski one day in each of the other two systems mentioned. There were once plans to interlink all systems and resorts to create the—by far—largest ski area in the world. However that vision was ended with the creation of the Vanoise National Park
Vanoise National Park
Vanoise National Park , is a French national park in the Tarentaise Valley in the French Alps, created in 1963 after mobilization from the environmentalist movement against a touristic project. It was the first French national park. This park is in the département of Savoie...
.
Off-piste opportunities
Bellecôte
The Bellecôte is a mountain in the Vanoise Massif in the Graian Alps, lying in the northern part of the Vanoise National Park and dominating the Peisey-Nancroix valley in Savoie. The north face is immense and austere, whereas the south face is more accessible....
glacier
Glacier
A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...
(from La Plagne) down to Nancroix valley, just below Peisey, which is linked by free shuttle bus. It is advised that both routes be only attempted with a guide and appropriate avalanche equipment. Off-piste routes from Tignes
Tignes
Tignes is a commune in the Tarentaise Valley, Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.It is also a ski resort near Val d'Isère, that are linked together as the "Espace Killy" region...
to the Les Arcs area are also possible. You find very good descriptions of the possibilities in the book "Les clés de Paradiski" by Didier Givois (in French but with summaries in English).
Pickup for Heliskiing
Heliskiing
Heliskiing is off-trail, downhill skiing that is accessed by a helicopter, not a ski lift. Heliskiing is essentially about skiing in a natural—albeit highly selected—environment without the effort or gear compromise required for hiking into these areas as in ski touring or ski mountaineering.Most...
by Jet Systems can be arranged between Arc 1950 and Arc 2000. Heliskiing is banned in France, and so the destination will be Italy or Switzerland. The aircraft used is the Eurocopter Ecureuil
Eurocopter Ecureuil
The Eurocopter AS350 Ecureuil is a single-engined light helicopter originally manufactured by Aérospatiale . The AS350 is marketed in North America as the AStar...
.
Mountain biking
Mountain biking is becoming an ever more popular activity in summer with parts of the lift network opening throughout the months of July and August. There are around 10 marked VTT routes detailed on the summer piste map. Several mountain bike holiday companies operate in the area. Arc 1950 has also hosted Tour de FranceTour de France
The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...
.