Travel to La Plagne with travel insurance from Essential Travel

One of the largest single ski areas in the world, with 212kms of pistes, La Plagne offers skiing for all. With spectacular views, unbeatable facilities and lifts that rate as some of the best in the world, the resort attracts hordes of visitors. La Plagne is linked to Les Arcs by cable car, so now visitors can enjoy both resorts within a four-minute journey.

La Plagne is made up of 10 villages, and in each village, you can find everything you will need for a relaxing and comfortable holiday. The resort caters mostly to families and, as well as fantastic views and skiing, you will find that the villages contain a multitude of other activities.

Some of the facilities and activities offered at the resort include: a bowling alley, fully equipped gym and sports centre, sauna, walking trails, hang-gliding and an ice-skating rink. A superb Olympic bobsleigh run is available to the public for those that dare. Additionally, there are over 200 shops in the resort, as well as plenty of restaurants offering many kinds of cuisine. At night, bars and discos light up La Plagne.

La Plagne resort consists of 212kms of pistes serviced by 144 lifts; additionally, the area stretches for 420kms and contains two skiable glaciers. With 122 runs, skiing for all abilities is on offer, and beginners and intermediates are well taken care of with wide boulevard-style pistes to practise on. Ski instructors are also available. For the more advanced skier, there are lots of off-piste but few testing black runs. The park at Plagne Soleil is available for snow boarders.

The cable car which takes you from La Plagne to Les Arcs offers memorable views 380m above the valley, and the four-minute journey is a breathtaking experience. The lift, which is known as the Vanoise Express, is a must when staying at the resort.

The winter here runs from December through to April; while in the summer, you can ski the glaciers from July to August.

Skiing in La Plagne

From Lyon, you can reach the scenic resort of La Plagne within a couple of hours. The resort has proved to be very popular with families, offering great facilities, including excellent child care services. The highest peak on the resort is the glacier, Bellecote, which can be skied in the summer. The area makes up one of the largest resorts in the world, with over 212kms of pistes.

La Plagne caters mostly to intermediate and novice skiers, although there are some runs for advanced and expert levels. There are 120 runs for 212kms, consisting of 48 per cent intermediate, 33 per cent advanced and 7 per cent expert. The longest run is 15kms long; while the classic runs are in Aguille Rouge in Les Arcs.

The best time to visit La Plagne is between December and April; while the high glaciers are open to skiers in the summer season, which is July and August.

Getting to La Plagne couldnt be easier with the airports of Geneva, Lyon, Grenoble and Chambery being within 40 minutes’ drive. A very regular train service runs from Paris and stops at Aime, which is a 20-minute cab ride from the resort. By car, La Plagne is about 960kms from Calais, most of which is motorway and normally takes about 10 or 11 hours.

Apres-ski in La Plagne

Most visitors tend to stay in Plagne Centre (1970m) and Belle Plagne (2050m); all the villages have superb lift systems linking them together. In the villages themselves, you’ll find a plethora of restaurants, bars, discos and cafés. There are also plenty of outdoor activities to be taken advantage of, including: walking, hiking, swimming and bobsleighing. Accommodation prices vary according to quality and whether or not the visitor requires childcare.

Away from the snow, there are many après-ski activities on offer. Some of these activities and facilities include: bars, discos, cafés, coffee houses, snow motorbiking, cinema, bowling, game rooms, folklore evenings and an Olympic bobsleigh run which is open to the public. There are also some fantastic walking trails, where visitors can take in some of the great scenery.

Transportation to La Plagne

If you are driving to La Plagne, you can take the motorway (A43 and A430) from Lyon/Albertville. Alternatively, from Geneva, take the N201 and then the A43 and A430 to Albertville, then the N90 to Moutiers. If you are driving from the UK, then you must head to Aime-La-Plagne (between Moutiers and Bourg-St Maurice). From Aime-La-Plagne, follow the signs for Plagne Bellecote and Belle Plagne.

The Eurostar train from London Waterloo or Ashford in Kent stops at Aime-La-Plagne, which is a shuttle bus ride or taxi ride away from Plagne Bellecote. The train does not stop at Aime-La-Plagne on the return journey, so you will have to get to Bourg-St Maurice. From London, the Eurostar offers a direct service to Bourge-St Maurice and Aime-La-Plange on Fridays and Saturdays (overnighter), taking about 10 hours.

The easiest way to get to La Plagne would be to take a flight to Geneva or Lyon and then drive or take a train from there. Trains run from Paris to Aime, which is a short drive from the resort. Geneva Airport is also a short drive to La Plagne.

Lyon and Geneva airports are serviced by international carriers, and buses run from both of these airports to the resort. Flights from the UK to Lyon, Chambery and Geneva are available from major airlines, including: British Airways, British Midland, Easyjet and FlyBe.