Planning a ski trip to France
Choosing a resort in France is not choosing the famous one: it is matching three things — your dates, the altitude the snow sits at, and the size of the ski area — to the people you travel with. Below are the 16 resorts in France with those figures side by side, each linking to its own day-planning page.
The resorts of France, with their figures
| Resort | Area | Base altitude | Top altitude | Vertical drop | Km of piste | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chamonix | Alta Saboya | 1035 m | 3842 m | 2807 m | not published | December 6, 2026 – May 3, 2027 |
| Les Arcs | Paradiski | 1200 m | 3226 m | 2026 m | 200 km | December 13, 2026 – April 26, 2027 |
| La Plagne | Paradiski | 1250 m | 3250 m | 2000 m | 225 km | December 13, 2026 – April 26, 2027 |
| Les 2 Alpes | Isère (Oisans) | 1650 m | 3600 m | 1950 m | 220 km | November 29, 2026 – April 26, 2027 |
| Tignes | Espace Killy | 1550 m | 3456 m | 1906 m | 300 km | November 22, 2026 – May 3, 2027 |
| Les Menuires | Saboya (Les 3 Vallées) | 1450 m | 3230 m | 1780 m | 600 km | December 6, 2026 – April 19, 2027 |
| Méribel | Saboya (Les 3 Vallées) | 1450 m | 3230 m | 1780 m | 600 km | December 6, 2026 – April 19, 2027 |
| Val d'Isere | Savoie | 1850 m | 3456 m | 1606 m | 300 km | November 29, 2026 – May 3, 2027 |
| La Clusaz | Alta Saboya (Aravis) | 1000 m | 2600 m | 1600 m | 132 km | December 6, 2026 – April 26, 2027 |
| Serre Chevalier | Altos Alpes | 1200 m | 2800 m | 1600 m | 250 km | December 6, 2026 – April 19, 2027 |
| L'Alpe d'Huez | Isère (Oisans) | 1860 m | 3330 m | 1470 m | 250 km | November 29, 2026 – April 19, 2027 |
| Morzine - Les Gets | Alta Saboya (Portes du Soleil) | 1000 m | 2466 m | 1466 m | 650 km | December 13, 2026 – April 12, 2027 |
| Courchevel | Les 3 Vallees | 1300 m | 2738 m | 1438 m | 600 km | December 6, 2026 – April 19, 2027 |
| Avoriaz | Alta Saboya (Portes du Soleil) | 1100 m | 2466 m | 1366 m | 650 km | December 13, 2026 – April 19, 2027 |
| Megeve | Alta Saboya | 1113 m | 2350 m | 1237 m | 445 km | December 13, 2026 – April 19, 2027 |
| Val Thorens | Les 3 Vallees | 2300 m | 3230 m | 930 m | 600 km | November 22, 2026 – May 3, 2027 |
Altitudes and kilometres are the ones each resort publishes. The season window is the usual one for the country while the resort has not announced its own dates; official dates appear on the opening-dates page as soon as they are published.
How to read this table before booking in France
Base altitude rules December and March
It is the height you start skiing at, and the first snow to go. At the start of the season and in spring, two resorts in France with the same piste kilometres are not in the same situation if one starts at 1,500 m and the other at 2,100 m.
Vertical drop tells you how much you actually ski
Top minus base is the longest possible descent. A big drop means long runs — and that when it is raining at the bottom it may be snowing at the top.
Kilometres are not the only measure of size
They count the length of marked pistes, not how varied the terrain is or how many people fit on it. They are useful for comparing resorts within the same country, which is how they are laid out here.
Your dates matter more than your resort
Christmas, New Year and the February half-term fill every resort in France; the second half of January and of March are the same pistes with half the people. If you can move the dates, move them before you move the resort.
Plan the day at a resort
- Planning your ski day in Chamonix
- Planning your ski day in Les Arcs
- Planning your ski day in La Plagne
- Planning your ski day in Les 2 Alpes
- Planning your ski day in Tignes
- Planning your ski day in Les Menuires
- Planning your ski day in Méribel
- Planning your ski day in Val d'Isere
- Planning your ski day in La Clusaz
- Planning your ski day in Serre Chevalier
- Planning your ski day in L'Alpe d'Huez
- Planning your ski day in Morzine - Les Gets
- Planning your ski day in Courchevel
- Planning your ski day in Avoriaz
- Planning your ski day in Megeve
- Planning your ski day in Val Thorens
FAQ
When does the ski season start in France?
It depends on the resort and the year. This page carries each resort's usual window; the official date, as soon as the resort announces it, goes on the opening-dates page with its source. We do not invent openings the resort has not confirmed.
Which resort in France is best to learn at?
There is no single answer, but there is a checkable criterion: look at the share of green and blue pistes and whether the resort has a snow garden, with its age range. Both are on our skiing-with-kids page for each country.
Is a multi-day lift pass worth it?
From three consecutive days it almost always is, and from five the gap is large. Where we sell lift passes directly you will see the real per-day price on the resort page; where we do not, the link goes to the official ticket office.
Can I book gear before I arrive?
Yes, and it is what saves most time on day one: you collect with your size already set aside instead of queueing. Every resort with a linked shop has its own rental page.
How long does it take to reach the resorts in France?
We do not say, because we have no reliable road times and a made-up figure on a snowy day is dangerous. What we do publish for each resort is the train and bus stops that exist around the base and how far away they are as the crow flies.