Les Arcs is a ski resort in France with 200 km of pistes and 52 lifts. Skiing reaches up to 3,226 m above sea level and the village sits at 1,600 m. Accommodation with lift pass included can be booked directly, you arrange your own travel there.
Cheapest places to stay in Les Arcs
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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Les Arcs is one of the most versatile ski resorts in the French Alps, located in the Tarentaise valley with skiing from 1,200 to 3,226 metres on Aiguille Rouge. The resort is part of the Paradiski system, which together with La Plagne offers 425km of pistes. A ski holiday in Les Arcs suits sporty skiers looking for varied terrain and long descents.
The resort consists of four villages: Arc 1600, Arc 1800 (the largest), Arc 1950 (the newest and most luxurious) and Arc 2000 (the highest situated). Arc 1950 opened in 2003 and is built in traditional Savoyard style with a car-free centre, ski-in/ski-out access and a high standard of service. It's one of the most thoughtfully designed new-build ski villages in the Alps.
The legendary descent from Aiguille Rouge (3,226m) down to Villaroger (1,200m) offers over 2,000 metres of vertical drop and 7km of continuous skiing. It's one of the longest descents in the Alps and an experience every skier should try at least once. Les Arcs is also known as the birthplace of speed skiing.
The terrain in Les Arcs offers excellent freeriding, with wide-open, unmarked slopes above the treeline. The area around Aiguille Rouge and Col de la Chal is popular among off-piste enthusiasts. Snow reliability is good thanks to the north-facing orientation and high peak altitude.
Ready to book a ski holiday in Les Arcs? Find accommodation with lift pass included in the price. You arrange your own travel there.
The lift pass included covers the ski area at Les Arcs. 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 Les Arcs ›Did you know this about Les Arcs?
Les Arcs is known as the birthplace of speed skiing, a discipline in which competitors reach speeds of over 200 km/h down the steep slopes. The 7 km descent from Aiguille Rouge to Villaroger, with its 2,026 vertical metres, is considered one of the most legendary in the Alps and should be tried by every experienced skier.
5 tips about Les Arcs
- Best for beginners Arc 1800 has a wide range of easy pistes and sits centrally within the system, making it a great choice for families and beginners who still want more challenging terrain close at hand.
- Make the most of the Paradiski pass Take the Vanoise Express cable car across to La Plagne to make full use of the 425 km of pistes across the whole Paradiski area, a must for anyone who wants to vary their skiing during the week.
- Ski the big descent Ski all the way from Aiguille Rouge (3,226 m) down to Villaroger (1,200 m), a 7 km journey with over 2,000 metres of vertical that gives you a real sense of the scale of the Alps.
- Avoid peak season Book weeks outside the half-term and Christmas holidays for lower prices and quieter pistes; the same excellent altitude and snow conditions apply then too.
- Seek out off-piste above the tree line The area around Aiguille Rouge and Col de la Chal offers wide-open, unmarked terrain that is perfect for anyone wanting to try freeriding with a guide.
Pistes and lifts in Les Arcs
Les Arcs has 200km of its own pistes and 54 lifts, with access to the Paradiski area's 425km via the Vanoise Express cable car across to La Plagne. The descent from Aiguille Rouge (3,226m) to Villaroger (1,200m) gives a vertical drop of 2,026 metres. The piste profile leans towards red and black runs, making Les Arcs appealing to sporty skiers. Off-piste skiing below the treeline is among the best in the region.
Piste map for Les Arcs
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 Les Arcs
Les Arcs stretches from 1,600 metres in the village all the way up to 3,226 metres at Aiguille Rouge, giving a considerable spread of altitude and access to skiing far above the tree line. The high top station means that snow above 2,000 metres often lasts further into the season than at lower-lying resorts.
Despite the northerly setting and the impressive vertical drop of 2,026 metres down to Villaroger, the resort is not classed as entirely snow-sure, so skiing in the lower sections can be affected during periods with little snowfall. Anyone wanting to be certain of good conditions should stick to the higher pistes around Arc 2000 and Aiguille Rouge.
Best time to travel to Les Arcs
December to April, with the best conditions in January and February. The north-facing slopes hold the snow well. March brings excellent spring skiing at the higher elevations, and the peak of Aiguille Rouge has reliable snow well into the season.
Will there be lift queues in Les Arcs?
The lift system around Les Arcs carries 95,700 people an hour across 52 lifts. 24 of the 52 lifts are gondolas or high-speed chairlifts and 1 are drag lifts, which take longer to get through when it is busy. The fastest lifts carry up to 3,000 people an hour, for example Funiculaire Arc en Ciel (Les Arcs Express). That is roughly the same capacity per kilometre of piste as an average resort on this site, so queues only build when it is really busy. 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 Les Arcs 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 Les Arcs 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 16 October 2026 at 20:24.
The lift pass included. The stay comes with the Les Arcs/Peisey-Vallandry lift pass, which covers 200 km of piste. The pass is worth around €348.
How to get to Les Arcs
You arrange your own travel: we sell the stay, not the transport. Here are the three ways people get to Les Arcs, 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 Les Arcs. 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 1,151 km to Les Arcs, around 11.7 hours of pure driving time through France. Remember that studded tyres are banned in France and Germany.
Last-minute deals in Les Arcs
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.
Les Arcs is suitable for
Suitable to some extent
⭐ Excellent choice
Limited selection
Good snow reliability
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 Les Arcs ›Frequently asked questions about Les Arcs
Arc 1950 is the newest and most luxurious, with a car-free centre and ski-in/ski-out access. Arc 1800 is the largest, with the most amenities and the best value for money. Arc 2000 sits highest, with the best snow reliability and closest access to Aiguille Rouge. Arc 1600 is the quietest and is reached directly by cable car from Bourg-Saint-Maurice.
The descent from Aiguille Rouge (3,226m) to Villaroger (1,200m) is around 7km long, with a vertical drop of 2,026 metres. It's one of the longest continuous descents in the Alps. It's classified as red with black sections and suits intermediate to advanced skiers.
Yes, Les Arcs is one of the best freeriding destinations in the French Alps. The areas around Aiguille Rouge and Col de la Chal offer wide-open slopes above the treeline with reliable snow. Guided freeride tours are available for various skill levels.
Les Arcs and La Plagne are connected by the Vanoise Express cable car. With the Paradiski lift pass, you get access to a total of 425km of pistes across both areas.
