Paradiski: Les Arcs or La Plagne?
Two large resorts joined by a single cable car across the valley. Both are built around families and both spread across numbered villages, so the choice comes down to which side of the Vanoise Express you want to wake up on — and how much you mind the cable car being the link.
The two resorts are more alike than most neighbouring pairs in Savoie. Both are multi-village, both were largely purpose-built, and both aim squarely at families rather than at the luxury or party markets. Neither has the village character of Méribel or Val d'Isère, and neither charges for it.
Les Arcs makes the altitude explicit by naming its villages after it, running from 1600 up to 2000. La Plagne does not, but the same logic applies across its spread: the higher bases are more snow-sure and less pleasant to spend an evening in, the lower ones the reverse.
The practical caveat is the link itself. A single cable car joins the two halves, which means the full domain is available but only through one crossing point. If your plan depends on skiing the far side daily, factor in that queue and that timetable rather than assuming the two areas behave as one.
The arithmetic is unusually clean here: Les Arcs publishes about 200 km and La Plagne about 225 km, which is where the 425 km headline comes from. That matters because each half is already larger than most standalone French resorts. You are not buying access to a distant other side — you are buying a very large home area with an optional excursion attached.
The Vanoise Express itself is worth understanding rather than assuming. It spans 1,824 metres of cable with no supporting pylon and crosses in about four minutes at 45 km/h. Door to door, counting boarding and the walk at either end, budget seven to ten minutes — and considerably more at 09:30 in February, when everyone has the same idea.
Worth knowing before you book
- 425 km is a real number, and it adds up
- Les Arcs 200 km plus La Plagne 225 km. Unlike most headline domain figures, this one survives being checked against its components.
- One crossing point, and it is a single machine
- Everything east-west depends on the Vanoise Express. When it closes for wind or maintenance, the two halves are separate resorts with a long valley drive between them.
- The village numbers are approximate, not surveyed
- Arc 1600, 1800, 1950 and 2000 are named for roughly where they sit. Useful as a guide to price and snow reliability, not as exact heights.
- Bourg-Saint-Maurice is the arrival point for both
- The funicular reaches Arc 1600 in under 7 minutes from beside the station, which makes Les Arcs one of the few genuinely car-free ski bases in Savoie. La Plagne needs a bus from the same valley.
Who this area is wrong for
If the linked domain is the reason you are booking, be honest about how often you will cross. Most visitors use the Vanoise Express once or twice in a week. Paying a premium for the connection and then skiing your own side all week is the commonest mistake made here.
It is also the weaker choice if you want a village evening. Neither resort has the old-village core of Saint-Martin or Val d'Isère; both are primarily purpose-built and organised around lifts and apartments. That is exactly why they cost less, and it is a fair trade — but it is a trade.
Compare the bases
| Destination | Village altitude | Piste in resort | From Geneva (GVA) | Best for | Check availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Les Arcs | 1200 m | 200 km | 142 min | family, paradiski | Check availability |
| La Plagne | 1250 m | 225 km | 138 min | family, paradiski | Check availability |
Frequently asked questions
Les Arcs or La Plagne for a family?
Both are built for families and it is close. Les Arcs wins if you are arriving by train, because the funicular from Bourg-Saint-Maurice removes the transfer entirely. La Plagne wins on sheer spread of gentle terrain across its lower villages.
Is the Vanoise Express included in the pass?
It is included in the full Paradiski pass, not in a single-resort pass. If you buy the cheaper Les Arcs-only or La Plagne-only pass, the crossing is not yours to make — check which one you are being sold.