La Plagne is the world’s most visited ski resort for good reason. The family winter sports area and summer resort lies in the alpine valley of the Tarentaise in the Savoy region of France. La Plagne is home to 11 villages with an extensive network of 140 miles of ski slopes and a large off-piste area.
Each village – seven at high altitude and four below the tree line – is its own self contained resort with individual characteristics and charm.
La Plagne links to Les Arcs via the impressive Vanoise Express cable car that stretches over a mile high above the Peisey-Nancroix valley.
Skiing La Plagne – the pistes
La Plagne offers some 15 black runs, 30 red, over 70 blue and 10 green pistes across its 100 square kilometre skiable areas. Check out the piste map from pistepro.com here.
La Plagne offers superb beginner facilities with wide well-tended pistes. There are six designated nursery and beginner areas. The bulk of the open green and blue slopes are situated on a rolling plateau with gentle gradients.
There are a dozen fun zones dotted across the resort. The 1.6 km fun slope starting at the top of the Arpette chairlift is the longest of its kind in Europe.
For those moving through the weeks in their skiing advancement, the higher up villages of Belle Plagne, Plagne Bellecote, and Plagne Centre make for a fabulous base. Here the slopes level out with steeper drops to the north and south.
More adventurous intermediates and experts are well catered for at La Plagne with extensive and varied pistes. The flanks of the Bellecôte mountain provide some jaw-dropping off-piste terrain, much of which can only be navigated with a guide.
Where to stay at La Plagne
With so many centres and accommodation types to choose from at the vast resort, the answer to where should you stay at Plagne depends as much on the type of holiday you would like as it does your budget and preferred accommodation type.
La Plagne centre is the liveliest of the 11 villages, purpose-built for ski holidays and vastly refurbished in recent years. Neighbouring hamlets Montchavin and Les Coches are easy to ski between, each with a traditional feel. Champagny is a charming mountain settlement, known as the gateway to the Parc national de la Vanoise (the oldest of France’s national parks).
The small size of the settlements that make up the resort means that nightlife is never on the rowdy side which makes it the perfect ski holiday destination for those with children and couples alike.
La Plagne really is a ski paradise for winter sports enthusiasts and families venturing out on to the slopes for the first time alike.