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Chalet La Grange d'Alice perched above the Tarentaise valley with Bourg-Saint-Maurice and snow-covered peaks beyond

Les Arcs

Chalet La Grange d'Alice from above after fresh snow, its timber gable and stone walls in the hamlet of Les Granges, Les Arcs
Les Arcs · Paradiski

Why Les Arcs, France.

Les Arcs is the big, high, sunny side of the Paradiski: four purpose-built villages strung along the mountain above Bourg-Saint-Maurice, 425km of linked piste with La Plagne, and a free funicular that gets you from the valley to the snow in seven minutes. We are here from winter 2027 with our own catered chalet in the old hamlet of Les Granges.

The BeyondBeach teamSee the holiday

Why you'll love Les Arcs.

  • Paradiski: 425km of piste on one pass
  • Skiing from 1,200m up to 3,226m
  • Ski-in, ski-out at Les Granges
  • Free funicular from the valley
  • Train direct to Bourg-Saint-Maurice
  • Aiguille Rouge 7km black run
  • Tree-lined runs for snowy days
  • Beginner zones at every village
  • Vanoise Express to La Plagne
  • Saturday market in Bourg

Les Arcs is one of the great French ski areas. Its four villages, Arc 1600, 1800, 1950 and 2000, sit between 1,600m and 2,000m on a broad, north-west-facing mountainside above the Tarentaise valley, with around 200km of pistes of their own and lifts up to 3,226m on the Aiguille Rouge. The Vanoise Express cable car links across to La Plagne, and together the two resorts make the Paradiski: 425km of piste on one pass.

The skiing suits everyone. Long, tree-lined blues and reds drop through the forest to the villages and the hamlets below; the high bowls above Arc 2000 and the Aiguille Rouge give strong skiers a 7km, 2,000-vertical-metre black to Villaroger; Peisey-Vallandry on the far side is quieter and sheltered on a snowy day. Snow parks, the speed-skiing track from the 1992 Olympics and plenty of gentle beginner zones fill in the rest.

What makes Les Arcs unusual is how easy it is to reach. Bourg-Saint-Maurice, the market town at the bottom of the valley, has a railway station with direct TGV and Eurostar ski services, and the free Les Arcs Express funicular climbs from the station to Arc 1600 in seven minutes, stopping at the hamlet of Les Granges on the way. No car, no hairpins, no transfer coach.

Les Granges is where we are. It is an old farming hamlet at 1,222m on the mountainside, a cluster of stone-and-timber chalets d'alpage that pre-date the purpose-built resort by a couple of centuries. Two pistes from Arc 1600 finish at the hamlet, so you ski home, and the funicular stop is a couple of minutes' walk. Our catered Chalet La Grange d'Alice is one of those old chalets, restored with its beams, stone and log fire intact.

Off the slopes, Bourg-Saint-Maurice does the real-town things a purpose-built resort cannot: a Saturday market, proper Savoyard restaurants, an aquatic centre and a supermarket. Up the hill, Arc 1800 has the liveliest apres and Arc 1950 the prettiest village. The season runs from mid-December to late April.

Holidays across Les Arcs.

Every BeyondBeach holiday in Les Arcs, pinned on a map so you can see how the line-up sits on the island.

All holidays

Pick your week in Les Arcs.

Call the team on 01548 288459 Mon-Fri 9am-6pm or Sat 9am-1pm, or send an enquiry from any holiday page. We talk you through availability, dates and extras, email a written quote, and you confirm with a deposit. No online cart , every booking has a human on our side of it.

Deposits are typically 25% of the holiday cost at time of booking, with the balance due eight weeks before departure. Flights pay in full at booking. Your written quote spells out the exact figures and dates before you pay anything.

Flights are quoted alongside the holiday rather than bundled, so you only pay for the routing that works for you. We'll match flights to your preferred dates from your preferred UK airport, or if you'd rather book your own flights we can work around your schedule.

Yes. Our weeks run Saturday to Saturday by default but we can extend, combine two weeks back-to-back (flotilla followed by a beach-club week is a favourite), or add a pre- or post-holiday night somewhere. Mention it when you enquire and we will build the itinerary.

UK debit and credit card (no surcharge on debit), bank transfer, or Trust My Travel for protected payments. We do not accept cash. Card payments are processed by Stripe and never stored by us.

Yes, and we rarely charge for it if there is time before departure. Name changes, room upgrades, adding a child, swapping a cabin , tell us what you need. Some supplier charges (flight name changes, for example) are unavoidable but we'll quote those upfront.

Most BeyondBeach guests fly from Gatwick, Heathrow, Stansted, Manchester, Bristol, Birmingham or Edinburgh. We work with British Airways, Jet2, easyJet, Ryanair and Wizz Air across our three countries. Regional options depend on season so ring the team for live availability.

Geneva to Val Thorens is around 3hr 45min, Meribel around 2hr 45min, Vaujany around 2hr 30min door-to-door when roads are clear. Saturday peak-season traffic adds 30 to 60 minutes. We arrange private or shared transfers on request.

Yes. The Eurostar Ski Train runs weekly from London St Pancras to Moûtiers, which is a 55-minute transfer to Meribel or Val Thorens. Eurostar + TGV via Paris to Grenoble covers Vaujany. Rail is slower but a lot more relaxing and greener.

Direct flights to Kefalonia (EFL) run May-October from most UK airports, typically 3hr 45min. Off-season or last-minute you can route via Athens or Preveza and our team handles the transfer up to your bay.

In-resort transfers (airport to beach club, or airport to chalet) are included on the vast majority of our holidays. Some flotilla and yacht charter arrivals self-transfer from the airport to the marina (a 20-minute taxi), and we always note which model applies in your written quote.

Yes, and families are a big part of what we do. Beach clubs have free kids watersports from age six, the Alpine Family Club runs a kids club from 6 months to 16 years, and ski school programmes teach in English from age three. Cots, high chairs and interconnecting rooms are available on request.

Absolutely. Singles Sailing is purpose-built for solo travellers (no single supplement , you'll share a cabin with another solo sailor). On beach club weeks, yoga and BlitzFitness are especially popular with solo bookers, and we waive the single supplement on most weeks outside July and August school holidays.

Yes. Intro to Sailing is designed for complete beginners , no experience needed. Every beach club has coached clinics included daily and RYA-qualified instruction at the watersports centre. Ski school teaches English from Day One green-runs up. We'll match you to the right level on arrival.

Yes. West Coast Flotilla and Yacht Charter are aimed squarely at sailors with miles under the keel. Val Thorens and the Three Valleys cover expert-level off-piste with a guide. We'll discuss your experience at the quote stage so the week matches your expectations.

No. Our clubs are all-inclusive but not all-you-can-eat , a lot of guests use one activity a day and spend the rest of the time reading by the pool. The programme is a menu, not a timetable. You decide what you do.

Yes. All our holidays are ATOL protected (ATOL 6306) and we also hold IPP insolvency insurance as an extra layer of protection. Your booking is financially secure from the moment you pay your deposit.

We strongly recommend travel insurance with cancellation cover, medical cover (including winter sports for ski holidays, and water sports for sailing), and baggage cover. Ring the team and we'll point you at comparison sites that suit your trip type.

Cancellation terms vary by holiday and by how close to departure you cancel. Your written quote spells out the specific policy for your trip at the point of booking , typically the deposit is non-refundable, with increasing charges as departure approaches. This is why we recommend travel insurance with cancellation cover from the day you book.

If we have to cancel for operational reasons (weather, airline failure, supplier issue) we'll offer a full refund, a transfer to a different week, or an alternative holiday at the same price, whichever you prefer.

Val Thorens typically opens in late November and stays open until early May thanks to its altitude (pistes up to 3,230m). Meribel opens early December and runs until late April. Vaujany runs mid-December to mid-April. Snow is reliable from January onwards across all three.

Not by default. Lift passes and equipment hire are bookable alongside the holiday so you only pay for what you need (e.g. small children skip the pass). We get resort-direct rates and pre-book everything so you're ready to ski on arrival.

Yes , it's our summer programme in Vaujany, June to September. Kids club from 6 months, lift-assisted mountain biking, guided walks, canyoning, paragliding, swimming in alpine lakes. No skiing, no snow. Completely different from the winter proposition.

Val Thorens is the highest resort in Europe (2,300m) with guaranteed snow and lively après. Meribel sits at the heart of the Three Valleys with wall-to-wall intermediate terrain and traditional chalet feel. Vaujany is quieter, family-first, on the Grand Domaine (same lifts as Alpe d'Huez) with shorter transfer and lower altitude.

No. Every chalet has English-speaking hosts, ski school teaches in English from age three, and resort staff in all three destinations speak English. A few phrases go a long way for the bakery run but you'll be understood without them.

Fly to Geneva (about 2hr 30min by road), Chambéry (about 1hr 45min) or Lyon, or take the train: TGV and Eurostar ski services run to Bourg-Saint-Maurice, and the free funicular climbs to Les Granges and Arc 1600 from the station. We book flights and transfers for you with ATOL protection.

Yes. There are gentle beginner zones at every village, including one next to the Les Granges funicular station a couple of minutes from our chalet, English-speaking ski schools at Arc 1600 and 1800, and long tree-lined blues to progress onto. Our catered chalet week takes care of every meal, so parents get a proper holiday too.

You get both. The Vanoise Express cable car links Les Arcs to La Plagne in four minutes, and a Paradiski pass covers all 425km. Les Arcs has the steeper, longer runs and the funicular from the valley; La Plagne has the big, gentle high plateau. From Les Granges, most groups spend a day over there mid-week.