La Plagne is a ski resort in France with 225 km of pistes and 72 lifts. Skiing reaches up to 3,250 m above sea level and the village sits at 1,970 m. Accommodation with lift pass included can be booked directly, you arrange your own travel there.
Cheapest places to stay in La Plagne
Lift pass options
Prices above include the resort's default lift pass. Here is how the price per person changes if you pick another one when booking:
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La Plagne is one of France's largest and most family-friendly ski resorts, located in the Tarentaise valley in Savoie. The resort consists of ten interlinked villages at altitudes between 1,250 and 2,100 metres, offering 225 km of its own pistes with direct access to the Paradiski system's total of 425 km via the spectacular Vanoise Express gondola across to Les Arcs.
The ski area stretches up to the Bellecôte glacier at 3,250 metres and offers fantastic variety in the terrain. The higher villages such as Plagne Centre, Plagne Bellecôte and Aime 2000 sit at around 2,000 metres with ski-in/ski-out access, while the lower and more traditional villages of Champagny-en-Vanoise and Montchavin have a charming character.
La Plagne is particularly known as one of the best family destinations in the French Alps. There are plenty of wide, well-groomed pistes with gentle slopes, and the ski schools welcome children from the age of three. Several of the villages have earned the French Famille Plus quality label for their family-friendly facilities.
A truly special attraction in La Plagne is the Olympic bobsleigh track from 1992, where visitors can ride down alongside professional drivers at speeds of up to 120 km/h. The resort also offers paragliding, snowmobile safaris and dog sledding as an addition to the skiing.
Ready to book a ski holiday in La Plagne? Find accommodation with lift pass included in the price. You arrange your own travel there.
The lift pass included covers the ski area at La Plagne. The offer at the tour operator states which pass is included. Regional passes covering several ski areas are bought locally.
Accommodation with lift pass in La Plagne ›Did you know this about La Plagne?
La Plagne was one of the venues for the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, and the Olympic bobsleigh track is still there, where visitors can hurtle down at speeds of up to 120 km/h with a professional driver at the controls. The resort is also known for the Vanoise Express, a double-decker cable car that carries skiers across the valley to Les Arcs in just a few minutes and links up the 425 kilometres of pistes that make up Paradiski.
5 tips about La Plagne
- Beginner-friendly villages Choose the lower, more sheltered villages with gentle gradients to find your feet at a relaxed pace before heading up towards the higher sectors.
- Made for families Several of the villages hold the French Famille Plus quality label, and the ski schools take children from as young as three, which makes La Plagne a reassuring choice for families.
- Make the most of Paradiski Take the Vanoise Express cable car across to Les Arcs and you can ski the whole Paradiski area's 425 km of pistes rather than sticking to La Plagne's own 225 km.
- Travel in low season Accommodation and lift passes are considerably cheaper in the weeks outside the French school holidays, and the pistes are far less crowded too.
- Go high for the snow Stay in one of the higher villages close to 2,000 metres, or head up to the Bellecôte glacier at 3,250 metres, to be sure of good snow conditions even late in the season.
Pistes and lifts in La Plagne
La Plagne offers 225 km of its own pistes and 72 lifts, with access to Paradiski's 425 km via the Vanoise Express over to Les Arcs. The mix of runs is ideal for families, with 55% green and blue descents. The Bellecôte glacier (3,250 m) provides high snow reliability. The ten interlinked villages offer huge variety, and you can ski long circuits through the whole system without repeating the same run.
Piste map for La Plagne
The map downloads as an image file. On your iPhone it lands in the Files app. Tap the icon at the bottom of the address bar to open the map straight away.On your iPad it lands in the Files app. Tap the icon at the top right of the address bar to open the map straight away.On your phone it lands in the Downloads folder. Tap the download notification that appears to open the map straight away.The file lands in the Downloads folder. You can also look for the icon at the top right of the screen and open the map from there.
Snow reliability in La Plagne
La Plagne is considered a snow-sure destination thanks to the considerable range of altitudes across the ski area. The village itself sits at 1,970 metres, while the pistes climb all the way to 3,250 metres on the Bellecôte glacier, giving good snow conditions well into the spring even when lower-lying resorts are struggling for cover.
With 225 km of its own pistes served by 72 lifts, plus access to the full 425 km of Paradiski via the Vanoise Express, there is plenty of scope to move around depending on the snow and the weather. The higher parts of the area act as a dependable fallback whenever conditions are thinner further down the valley.
Best time to travel to La Plagne
December to April, with the best snow in January and February. The high altitude means reliable conditions. March and April bring spring skiing with sunshine and good snow higher up. The February half-term weeks are the most popular among families.
Will there be lift queues in La Plagne?
The lift system in La Plagne carries 139,367 people an hour across 74 lifts. 32 of the 74 lifts are gondolas or high-speed chairlifts and 5 are drag lifts, which take longer to get through when it is busy. The fastest lifts carry up to 4,400 people an hour, for example Les Colosses. Per kilometre of piste there is more lift capacity than at an average resort on this site, and you notice it: queues clear quickly. The queue you actually notice is almost always down in the valley between eight and half past nine. If you are on the lift before eight you avoid it.
When is La Plagne busiest?
How busy the slopes get is not decided by the English half term but by when the local families and the neighbouring countries are on holiday. These are the weeks that fill La Plagne in the 2026/2027 season.
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France: The French winter holidays roll through three zones and together cover 6 February to 8 March. All three zones head for the same valleys, so the whole period is busy.
6 to 22 February: zone C, including Paris and Toulouse
13 February to 1 March: zone A, including Lyon and Bordeaux
20 February to 8 March: zone B, including Marseille and Strasbourg - England: The English February half term is 15 to 19 February 2027 for most councils, with a few areas breaking up a week earlier. The Easter holidays run from 26 March to 9 April.
8 to 12 February: half term in a few council areas, for example Hull
15 to 19 February: half term in most of England, including London, the Midlands and the North
26 March to 9 April: Easter holidays for most English schools - Easter holidays: Easter 2027 is early, on 28 March. Austria and Germany take their holidays around the weekend, while the French holidays fall after Easter, in April.
20 to 29 March: the whole of Austria, all states at the same time
22 March to 3 April: most German states, including Bavaria, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia
3 April to 3 May: the French zones, which fall after Easter 2027 and only affect the highest resorts - Long weekends: Long weekends fill the slopes with day visitors from the nearest cities, even when no schools are on holiday.
26 December to 3 January: Christmas and New Year, the most expensive period of the year
6 January: Epiphany, a public holiday in Austria, Italy and parts of Switzerland
27 to 29 March: the Easter weekend. Easter Monday is a public holiday across the Alps, but Good Friday is a working day in Austria, Italy and France
1 to 2 May: May Day, a public holiday across the Alps
The weeks before 6 February and after 8 March are noticeably quieter and cheaper. January is the best time for anyone who wants the pistes to themselves.
Opening and closing dates are typical values derived from altitude, not confirmed dates for this season. Check the resort's own website before booking.
Who skis in France?
54,800,000 skier days in the 2024/25 winter season. Tap a country or a segment of the circle to highlight it.
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1
French
71.0%
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2
British
11.0%
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3
Belgians
5.0%
- 4 Other Europe 4.0%
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5
Dutch
3.0%
- 6 Rest of the world 3.0%
- 7 Scandinavians 2.0%
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8
Germans
2.0%
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9
Spaniards
1.0%
Source: Domaines Skiables de France. France publishes no breakdown by resort, so the figure covers all French ski resorts together. The measure is skier days in the lifts, not overnight stays.
Snow right now. There is no snow cover in the valley or at the top right now. The figures are modelled by Open-Meteo, not measured by the lift company, and were fetched 15 October 2026 at 20:24.
The lift pass included. The stay comes with the Domaine La Plagne lift pass, which covers 225 km of piste. The pass is worth around €359.
How to get to La Plagne
You arrange your own travel: we sell the stay, not the transport. Here are the three ways people get to La Plagne, so you can pick the one that suits you.
By air. The nearest airport is Geneva (GVA). Pure flying time from London is around 1,5 hours, and from there it is 2.5 hours on to La Plagne. You can cover the last stretch in one of two ways:
- Private transfer. A private driver meets you in the arrivals hall and drives straight to your accommodation with no stops. The price is per car, not per person, ski boxes can be booked in advance, and the driver waits even if the flight is late.
- Hire car at the airport. With SmartCarRental you collect the car in the arrivals hall. That gets you to the neighbouring villages on the same lift pass, lets you shop at valley prices rather than resort prices, and frees you from transfer timetables. Winter tyres are standard at Alpine desks.
By car. Many drive. Taking the Eurotunnel from Folkestone and arriving at Calais, it's roughly 979 km to La Plagne, around 10.1 hours of pure driving time through France. Remember that studded tyres are banned in France and Germany.
Last-minute deals in La Plagne
Last-minute offers, that is late dates the operator still wants to fill, appear from January onwards. Once the season is under way we will show them here on this page.
La Plagne is suitable for
⭐ Excellent choice
Suitable to some extent
Limited selection
⭐ Very snow-reliable
Read more about ski holidays
Ready to book? Choose from accommodation in different price ranges. Lift pass is included in the price, and you arrange your own travel there.
Accommodation with lift pass in La Plagne ›Frequently asked questions about La Plagne
It depends on your priorities. Plagne Centre and Plagne Bellecôte (2,000 m) have the best ski-in/ski-out access and the most services. Champagny-en-Vanoise has the most charm with traditional Savoyard architecture. Belle Plagne is popular with families. The higher villages have the best snow reliability.
Yes, the Olympic bobsleigh track from 1992 is open to the public. You ride in a genuine bobsleigh with a professional driver at speeds of up to 120 km/h through 19 bends. It's a unique experience not found at many other ski resorts.
Paradiski links La Plagne and Les Arcs via the Vanoise Express, a double-decker gondola that spans the Ponturin valley. With the Paradiski lift pass, you get access to a total of 425 km of pistes across both areas. The gondola journey takes just a few minutes.
