Discover Les Arcs

In this series, we take you along of the most favourite and exciting moments and destinations of our colleagues. These Wintersport fanatics will give you an inside in their holidays with their friends, families and partners. They tell you about the best period to go, the most beautiful si resorts, the best restaurants in the villages and more things that you only know if you have experienced it. We give you the inside tips that you cannot find on the internet.

Our first Holiday memories story is by Jack. A frequent skier who loves to be the first one on the slopes, or off-piste, whichever is the best way to start the morning.

Having been to most of the countries in the Alps I have seen a lot of different ski areas in Europe. But like most people, I have my favourite. I ski in Les Arcs every year with a group of friends, but whether you are with family, friends or just a couple, it’s a fantastic resort for every level of skier. We always stay in 1950, the newest village in the resort. Although the village is quite small, it’s very cosy with everything you need. I like to stay at the Pierre & Vacances premium apartments which is a little bit of luxury at an affordable price. The best thing being the wellness with a sauna and a steam room to ease your aching muscles after a hard day on the slopes. It is also ski in ski out accommodation, like most of the accommodation in Les Arcs 1950, so you can step straight out of the back door on the piste. Once you have clipped into your skis or snowboard you have two valleys to choose from, both with extensive skiing (Les Arcs has over 400km of pistes). If you want to stay on the 1950 side of the valley then you can head right up to the top of the Aiguille Rouge cable car, Above Les Arcs 2000, with breathtaking, vertigo-inducing views from over 3200 metres and an 8km run back down to the bottom. If you head to the other valley, where the villages of Les Arcs 1800 and 1600 are, you have lots of nice wide pisted blue and red runs you can spend all day carving up and down without getting bored. There are also plenty of spots to stop for lunch or a drink. Last year we discovered the altiport bar situated just below the snow park. On sunny days they pull out an airbag next to a big jump so after a couple of beers you can pretend you’re in the x-games without hurting yourself). On your way back to Les Arcs 1950 you will go past the luge run at the top of the Transarcs bubble. This is absolutely unmissable. One of the most hilarious, albeit quite painful, experiences you will ever have in ski boots. A 4km toboggan run down an improbably steep and sharp cornered track. If you make it down with less than 10 crashes you’re doing well. You then take the chairlift back up in just your boots which is a surprisingly daunting proposition. Whilst you can’t have the best party in 1950 you can just hop on the free bubble which goes up to Les Arcs 2000. Here you will find a larger selection of pubs and the infamous club Latino Loco. There is also a great and very plush bowling alley where the bartenders make great cocktails, a great way to start the evening out or spend a snowed in afternoon as we did during a 3-day blizzard we were confronted with this year. My top tip if you’re feeling adventurous (and enjoyed the luge run earlier) is to take a bum board up with you for a very fast return journey via the empty pistes.