Ski holidays in Val Cenis, France

Val Cenis in the Haute Maurienne lies close to the Mont Cenis pass and is made up of two villages, Lanslebourg and Lanslevillard, which have grown together over time into one ski resort. What you find here is not a big, anonymous purpose-built resort but a genuine French mountain community, with stone houses, narrow lanes and local shops that change character from season to season.

The village sits at 1,400 metres and has a relaxed rhythm where life revolves around cafes, boulangeries and the daily stroll between the two village centres. There are no huge lift complexes or pulsing après-ski strips here, but rather the feeling of arriving in a real French Alpine community where skiing is part of everyday life, not the whole show.

That makes Val Cenis a natural choice for families and groups who want to be close to the slopes without compromising on the atmosphere of the village. Children can make their own way from the accommodation to the nursery slopes while the parents enjoy the relaxed mood on the cafe terraces. The summit rises to 2,800 metres, giving fine views over the Vanoise massif for anyone who wants to head up high.

If you want to experience this twin village and its quiet character, book accommodation with lift pass included through us, with a quick overview of which apartments and chalets lie close to the pistes.

5 tips about Val Cenis

1. Perfect for beginners With 73 km of blue runs out of a total of 125 km of pistes, and wide open slopes, Val Cenis is a safe and relaxed choice if you have only just started skiing.
2. Stay close to the slopes Choose accommodation in one of the two village centres and the children can get themselves to the nursery slopes, which makes the mornings a great deal easier for the whole family.
3. Travel outside the holiday weeks Book the weeks just before or after February half-term for lower prices on accommodation with lift pass, while the pistes are noticeably quieter too.
4. Head up high for the views Make your way up towards 2,800 metres where the view over the Vanoise massif opens out, a natural goal if you want to combine skiing with spectacular scenery.
5. Enjoy the pace of the twin village The stroll between Lanslebourg and Lanslevillard, with its cafes and boulangeries, is a pleasant break from skiing and gives a real French mountain feel.

Pistes and lifts in Val Cenis

The Val Cenis Vanoise ski area offers 125 km of pistes made up of 73 km of blue, 42 km of red and 10 km of black, with a total of 29 lifts carrying skiers between 1,400 and 2,800 metres. The wide, open slopes and the large choice of blue runs suit families and beginners perfectly, while the steeper sections higher up attract more experienced skiers looking for a challenge in alpine terrain.

Piste map for Val Cenis

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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 Val Cenis

The ski area in Val Cenis stretches from the village at 1,400 metres up to 2,800 metres, which gives good conditions for stable snow for most of the season. The winter months are distinctly cold, with night-time temperatures down to -12 degrees in January and -10 degrees in December, which is good for the quality and durability of the snow on the pistes.

Temperatures stay low in the later part of the season too, with night frosts of -9 degrees in February and March while daytime temperatures hover just below zero. Only in April does the daytime temperature rise to a few degrees above freezing, while the nights still drop to around -6 degrees, which helps the area count as snow-sure.

Best time to travel to Val Cenis

The best time for a ski holiday in Val Cenis is from January to March, when night-time temperatures often sit between minus nine and minus twelve degrees and give stable snow conditions.

Thanks to the top altitude of 2,800 metres the snow holds well late into the season, and in April the weather is often sunnier with daytime temperatures around one degree.

Will there be lift queues in Val Cenis?

The lift system in Val Cenis carries 42,586 people an hour across 28 lifts. 11 of the 28 lifts belong to the faster class. The fastest lifts carry up to 2,700 people an hour, for example La Turra. Per kilometre of piste there is less lift capacity than at an average resort on this site, so a busy week is felt more clearly here. 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 nine you avoid it.

When is Val Cenis 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 Val Cenis in the 2026/2027 season.

• 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.

Val Cenis is suitable for

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Frequently asked questions about Val Cenis