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3 Vallees
Here 1400 km2 are fitted out for winter sports
activities during the winter months and numerous
other activities in the summer such as hiking,
climbing, fishing and mountain biking. The 3 Valleys
have come a long way since 1925. At that time several
English businessmen and experienced skiers wanted to
create a resort in France like those that already
existed in Austria and the Swiss Grisons. In order to
do so they asked Arnold Lunn, the most senior of the
British skiers and inventor of the slalom, to go and
explore the Saint-Bon valley. He organised a small
expedition to methodically prospect the Dauphinoise
and Savoyard Alps. His verdict of the 3 Valleys was
as follows: "in Savoie there is an exceptional site
that comprises three almost parallel valleys:
Saint-Bon, Les Allues and Belleville. In spite of
their different features, they lend themselves well
to the development of large resorts.
The slopes are magnificent, very well positioned, the
risks of avalanches are minimal, they are easy to
locate and therefore easy to stop. "The legend of the
3 Valleys was born".
Espace Killy
From the 70’s concrete jungle at Tignes Le Lac
to the charming Tignes Les Brévières
(see page 50) there is a resort for everyone but one
common attraction: they all have direct access to the
famous Espace Killy ski area. With some of the
highest runs in Europe Espace Killy brings guaranteed
snow – even in Summer! Well known by experts
skiers from around the World the joint ski area
between Val d’Isère and Tignes is much
sought after.
Paradiski
The well established resorts of La Plagne and Les
Arcs have now become a part of one of the largest ski
areas in the world with the opening of the Vanoise
Express cable car (due to re-open December 2008)
connecting the two areas. The distinctive
double-decker cable car connects the two resorts via
Les
Coches in La Plagne and Plan Peisey in Les Arcs
creating a combined ski area that is known as
Paradiski with a huge 425kms of marked pistes.
Both Les Arcs and La Plagne comprise modern purpose
built winter factories but also a few pretty villages
such as Champagny,
Les Coches-Montchavin or Peisey
Vallandry. Bordered by the scenic Vanoise
National park, the area includes some typically
pretty mountain landscape.
For thrill-seekers, Les Arcs’ famous Flying
Kilometre course is the place for the World’s
speed record on skis with more than 150mph to beat.
Located by the arrival and departure points of the
Vanoise Express cable car, both Peisey (page 45) and
Les Coches (page 48) provide probably the best base
for exploring the combined ski area.
THE VANOISE EXPRESS CABLE CAR IS DUE TO RE-OPEN
DECEMBER 2008.
Sainte-Foy
This off-the-beaten track resort is ideal for those
who want to avoid the crowds of the mega neighbouring
resorts. Its own ski area is small but highly rated
and with easy driving distance to the larger ski
areas listed above it offers a great base to discover
the whole area.
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Brides-les-Bains in the 3 Valleys is a lovely
French Savoyard town created in 1848 and
renowned for its slimming cures and spa. The
high-speed Olympe gondola lift connects
Brides-les-Bains to the bottom of the slopes in
Meribel in 25 mins.
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The old stone farming village of Saint-Martin
de Belleville in the 3 Valleys is full of
character, in complete contrast with
neighbouring Les Menuires, a purpose-built
resort with a somewhat controversial
architecture, and the above-perched snow-sure
resort of Val Thorens.
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The attractive farming village of Champagny is
in a pretty wooded setting where modern
expansion was carried out sensitively. Tucked
away on the sunny south-facing slopes of the
Grande Plagne ski area (Paradiski), it is also
the gateway to the famous and magnificent
Vanoise National Park.
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The small traditional villages of Peisey and
Vallandry are situated halfway between the main
resorts of Les Arcs and La Plagne. In fact
Peisey is right at the departure point for the
Paradiski double-decker cable car linking the
two, making it the most ideal base resort to
explore both massive ski areas.
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The small hamlet of Sainte-Foy Tarentaise has
been described as the "best-kept secret of the
Alps". The new ski station is set on steep
north-west facing slopes with superb views.
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Unspoilt by large-scale modern development,
this is still very much a corner of the real
France, most of the village restaurants and
bars are family run.
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Les Coches (Paradiski) is an intimate, modern
wood and stone village, which, unlike infamous
earlier developments, has been sympathetically
designed, to give the atmosphere of a
traditional alpine ski village.
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Montchavin is a quaint village based on an old
farming hamlet and has the benefits of a
traffic free centre. It's a quieter alternative
to bustling La Plagne yet shares the same
Paradiski ski domain.
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The area is easily accessed via main trunk
Motorway network from Chambery.
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