Les Arcs / Peisey-Vallandry
Modernist architecture, a speed-skiing shrine, and 2,000 metres of vertical.
Difficulty mix
On the mountain
- Night skiing — 7 floodlit runs
- 7 snowparks / fun zones
- 12 mogul runs
Bonvo Score breakdown
Computed from mapped terrain data — no editorial opinion, no pay-to-rank. How the score works
Skiing Les Arcs, told properly
Les Arcs was an idea before it was a resort: from 1968, developer Roger Godino and a team including the pioneering designer Charlotte Perriand built ski villages unlike anything before — car-free, south-facing terraced buildings that follow the mountain's contours. Arc 1600 and 1800 are now listed as 20th-century architectural heritage, and the resort's design-forward spirit survives, right down to the funicular that links it directly to the mainline railway at Bourg-Saint-Maurice.
The skiing is superbly engineered too. From the 3,226 m Aiguille Rouge the famous run to Villaroger drops around 2,000 vertical metres over 7 km — one of the biggest single descents in the Alps — while Peisey-Vallandry's sheltered forest pistes and the wide-open Arc 2000 bowl cover every mood and weather. Les Arcs is also holy ground for going very, very fast: its Arc 2000 speed-skiing track hosted the flying kilometre as a demonstration event at the 1992 Winter Olympics, and 'ski évolutif' — learning on short skis — was invented here.
Linked by the Vanoise Express to La Plagne in the Paradiski, it's half of one of the largest ski areas anywhere.
Signature runs
Aiguille Rouge – Villaroger
Roughly 7 km and 2,000 vertical metres from summit glacier to forest hamlet — a top-five descent in the Alps.
Malgovert
A long, twisting black through the trees to Arc 1600, magic when the snow is fresh and quiet.
The Peisey-Vallandry forest reds
Perfectly pitched tree-lined cruising — the place to be when the light goes flat up high.
Local tips
- Time the Aiguille Rouge cable car for first thing — the summit run's top pitch is best before it's skied out.
- Arrive by train: the funicular from Bourg-Saint-Maurice puts you on the snow minutes from the TGV platform.
- Arc 1950 is the pretty, newer village; Arc 1800 has the liveliest après; Peisey suits families.
- Watch for the speed-skiing track under the Arc 2000 lifts — when open to the public, clocking your own KL is unforgettable.
Good to know
- Charlotte Perriand, the celebrated modernist designer, shaped Les Arcs' distinctive architecture — now protected heritage.
- The flying-kilometre speed skiing event at the 1992 Albertville Olympics ran on the Arc 2000 track.
- Les Arcs pioneered 'ski évolutif', the short-ski teaching method that got beginners parallel-turning in days.
Slope-by-slope analysis
Every run measured from elevation-aware map geometry: true length, vertical drop, average gradient and a 0–10 slope score that rewards long, sustained descents.
| Run | Difficulty | Length | Vertical | Avg grade | Slope score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belvédère | Easy | 4.5 km | 547 m | 12.2% | 6.4 |
| Bois de Saule | Easy | 4.0 km | 360 m | 8.9% | 5.2 |
| Belvédère | Easy | 3.9 km | 591 m | 15% | 6.4 |
| Arpette | Easy | 3.6 km | 462 m | 12.8% | 5.5 |
| Lys | Easy | 3.6 km | 300 m | 8.3% | 4.6 |
| La Forêt | Easy | 3.0 km | 345 m | 11.4% | 4.5 |
| Vallée de l'Arc | Easy | 2.8 km | 653 m | 23.1% | 6.3 |
| La Forêt | Easy | 2.5 km | 206 m | 8.1% | 3.3 |
| Vallée de l'Arc 1 | Easy | 2.5 km | 358 m | 14.4% | 4.3 |
| Arpette | Easy | 2.4 km | 417 m | 17.3% | 4.6 |
| Mont-Blanc | Easy | 2.3 km | 458 m | 20.2% | 4.9 |
| Grands Mélèzes | Intermediate | 2.3 km | 541 m | 24% | 5.4 |
| Villaroger | Easy | 2.2 km | 126 m | 5.7% | 2.6 |
| Aiguille Rouge | Advanced | 2.1 km | 716 m | 33.5% | 6.6 |
| Aiguille Rouge | Intermediate | 2.1 km | 579 m | 28% | 5.7 |
| Secret | Intermediate | 2.0 km | 488 m | 23.8% | 5.1 |
| Écureuils | Advanced | 2.0 km | 632 m | 31.2% | 6.1 |
| Grands Mélèzes | Intermediate | 2.0 km | 570 m | 28.4% | 5.6 |
| Rêches | Intermediate | 2.0 km | 601 m | 30.1% | 5.9 |
| Lys | Easy | 2.0 km | 217 m | 10.9% | 3.1 |
| Aigle | Intermediate | 2.0 km | 518 m | 26.3% | 5.3 |
| Charmettoger | Easy | 2.0 km | 493 m | 25.1% | 5.1 |
| Renard | Easy | 1.9 km | 389 m | 20.3% | 4.3 |
| Plan des Eaux | Easy | 1.8 km | 292 m | 15.9% | 3.6 |
| Rhonaz | Easy | 1.8 km | 174 m | 9.5% | 2.7 |
| La Forêt | Easy | 1.8 km | 524 m | 28.8% | 5.3 |
| Aigle | Intermediate | 1.8 km | 506 m | 28.9% | 5.2 |
| Mont-Blanc | Easy | 1.7 km | 621 m | 35.7% | 6.1 |
| Arandelières | Intermediate | 1.7 km | 180 m | 10.4% | 2.7 |
| Plan-Vert | Easy | 1.7 km | 228 m | 13.3% | 3.1 |
| Plan des Eaux | Easy | 1.6 km | 219 m | 13.5% | 3.0 |
| Robert Blanc | Expert | 1.6 km | 641 m | 40.3% | 6.4 |
| Aiguille Rouge | Advanced | 1.6 km | 375 m | 24.1% | 4.3 |
| Grand Col | Intermediate | 1.6 km | 342 m | 22% | 4.0 |
| Morey | Intermediate | 1.6 km | 398 m | 25.7% | 4.4 |
| Renard | Easy | 1.5 km | 394 m | 25.5% | 4.4 |
| Ours | Intermediate | 1.5 km | 406 m | 27.3% | 4.5 |
| Gollet | Easy | 1.5 km | 122 m | 8.2% | 2.2 |
| Arolles | Intermediate | 1.5 km | 326 m | 22.1% | 3.9 |
| Edelweiss | Easy | 1.5 km | 366 m | 24.9% | 4.2 |
+ 448 more mapped runs and connectors — all of them in the free 3D map in the Bonvo Ski app.
Lift network
80 mapped lifts, moving up to 71,343 skiers per hour.
| Lift | Type | Capacity/h | Ride time | Length | Vertical |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transarc II | Gondola | 3,600 | 7 min | 1.8 km | 438 m |
| Transarc I | Gondola | 3,600 | 6 min | 1.5 km | 394 m |
| Marmottes | Chairlift | 3,000 | 3 min | 852 m | 177 m |
| Vagère | Chairlift | 3,000 | 7 min | 2.0 km | 561 m |
| Derby | Chairlift | 3,000 | — | 1.4 km | 386 m |
| Vallandry | Gondola | 3,000 | — | 2.0 km | 570 m |
| Peisey | Chairlift | 3,000 | — | 1.6 km | 469 m |
| Bois de l'Ours | Chairlift | 3,000 | 3 min | 966 m | 375 m |
| Arcabulle(bubble) | Chairlift | 3,000 | 7 min | 1.8 km | 360 m |
| Arpette | Chairlift | 3,000 | 5 min | 1.2 km | 363 m |
| Carreley | Chairlift | 3,000 | 6 min | 1.9 km | 590 m |
| Varet(bubble) | Gondola | 2,800 | 5 min | 1.8 km | 553 m |
| Plagnettes | Chairlift | 2,800 | 4 min | 1.3 km | 298 m |
| Pré-Saint-Esprit(bubble)(heated) | Chairlift | 2,700 | 8 min | 2.8 km | 463 m |
| Cachette | Chairlift | 2,500 | 6 min | 1.7 km | 549 m |
| Mont-Blanc | Chairlift | 2,400 | 5 min | 1.6 km | 629 m |
| Grizzly | Chairlift | 2,400 | — | 2.3 km | 665 m |
| Comborcière | Chairlift | 2,400 | 6 min | 1.5 km | 482 m |
| Villards | Gondola | 2,400 | 2 min | 572 m | 115 m |
| 2300 | Chairlift | 1,900 | — | 658 m | 167 m |
| Charmettoger | Chairlift | 1,775 | 11 min | 1.5 km | 377 m |
| Lanchettes(bubble) | Chairlift | 1,620 | 7 min | 870 m | 357 m |
| Parchey | Chairlift | 1,500 | — | 288 m | 105 m |
| Plan Vert | Rope tow | 1,500 | 1 min | 109 m | 7 m |
| Saint-Jacques | Chairlift | 1,200 | 7 min | 720 m | 114 m |
| Aiguille Rouge | Cable car | 1,120 | 2 min | 931 m | 523 m |
| Vanoise Express 1 | Cable car | 1,000 | 4 min | 1.9 km | 64 m |
| Vanoise Express 2 | Cable car | 1,000 | 4 min | 1.9 km | 65 m |
| Cabriolet | Cable car | 800 | 2 min | 218 m | 69 m |
| Jardin Alpin | Chairlift | 800 | 3 min | 392 m | 96 m |
Les Arcs / Peisey-Vallandry — quick answers
How many ski runs does Les Arcs / Peisey-Vallandry have?
Les Arcs / Peisey-Vallandry has 488 mapped downhill runs totalling about 267.7 km of pistes, with the longest single run measuring 4.5 km.
What is the vertical drop at Les Arcs / Peisey-Vallandry?
The mapped skiable terrain spans 2010 m of vertical, from 1199 m at the base to 3209 m at the top.
How many lifts does Les Arcs / Peisey-Vallandry have?
Les Arcs / Peisey-Vallandry operates 80 mapped lifts moving up to 71,343 skiers per hour.
Ski Les Arcs / Peisey-Vallandry with the map in your pocket
Every run and lift on this page, rendered in interactive 3D — and it keeps working in airplane mode at the top of the mountain. Free on the App Store.
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