All you need to know about La Plagne
La Plagne is actually a collection of high-altitude purpose-built resorts and more traditional villages that together make up the area in the Tarentaise known as La Plagne. Since 2003, the area has been linked to Les Arcs by the impressive Vanoise Express cable car between Montchavin (La Plagne area) and Plan Peisey/Vallandry (Les Arcs) to create Paradiski.
The La Plagne area alone boasts a thigh-burning 225km of pistes, with 18 black runs, 33 red runs, 69 blues and 10 green slopes. There are 359 snow cannons to assure those home runs all season long and the resort altitude ranges from 1250m right up to the glacier at 3250m.
In essence there are six high-altitude resorts in La Plagne, all of which are ski in/ski out:
Aime La Plagne - at 2100m the huge main building looks like a cruise liner perched on the mountain. It's not pretty, but is very functional and linked day and night to Plagne Centre by the Telemetro cable car
Plagne Centre - is the crossroads to all the Plagne resorts. At 1970m, it's still very much a purpose built resort in the 70s style under the watchful eye of the Grande Rochette peak behind
Plagne Bellecote - the hamlet is pretty much made up of one huge, curved building. It's the choice for those wanting to maximise slope time, as offers direct access to the glacier and the snowpark.
Belle Plagne - despite being at 2050m, this part of resort is more relaxed and has a more alpine feel to it. It's still purpose-built though of course!
Plagne 1800 - enjoys a forest setting with the apartment blocks nestled around pine trees. The area was originally settled as a lead mining village
Plagne Village/Plagne Soleil - these two neighbouring hamlets have smaller residences with staggered roofs creating a more alpine feel
Aside from the high altitude resorts, La Plagne also boasts more traditional village resorts such as Plagne Montalbert on the edge of the forest at 1350m with cute stone and wood chalets and direct lifts to the main ski area.
Then there's Montchavin les Coches offering a great view of the Mont Blanc Massif above Chamonix, small pedestrian streets and low-rise alpine chalets, whilst still keeping the essential ski in/ski out going.
Finally there's Champagny en Vanoise which is hidden in a valley of its own at 1250m, leading to the gorgeous Vallon de Champagny le Haut which is a nature reserve area providing cross country skiing and ice climbing in winter.
Wherever you decide to stay you will find La Plagne is vast with skiing and boarding for every ability, excellent ski schools and childcare, interesting activities for non-skiers and some lively apres-ski too. No, it may not be the most charming looking of resorts, but the facilities and easily accessed ski areas make it a perfect choice.
All altitude ski areas we've talked about are linked by pistes and a free shuttle bus service that runs from 8am to midnight everyday during winter, so once in resort you really don't need a car. We advise a private airport transfer straight to your door from Mountain Drop-offs and leave the car at home!
Fun activities on and off the slopes of La Plagne
* Go swimming in the open air pool at 1930m in Plagne Bellecote. And yes, it's heated - to a constant 29 degrees!
* Do the Olympic Bobsleigh run at la Roche near Macot le Plagne village! You can ride in a Mono Bob on your own, take a Bob Raft ride (which steers and brakes itself) for four, or go the whole high-adrenaline hog with a Taxi Bob ride for up to three passengers in a proper bob sleigh driven by a professional driver. 19 corners at speeds of 130km/h!
* Conquer the ice climbing tower - this impressive man-made tower of ice is in Champagny en Vanoise and offers 70 and 90 degree slopes. Every Tues evening there is an intro session with all equipment and instruction included that costs 34€ per person
* Bust some freestyle moves - La Plagne is home to multiple X Games freestyle ski champ Kevin Rolland. Hardly surprising when you see how much there is for freestylers in resort courtesy of the Caradiboi snowpark crew. There are snowparks in Belle Plagne, half pipes in Bellecote, boardercrosses and a Big Air Bag too.
* Have a go at driving a piste basher - this has always been a dream of ours. After the lifts have shut, you meet the team in Plagne Soleil for a briefing, then you're off behind the wheel of your Piston Bully to go piste bashing. Brilliant. 60€ for 20mins for adults and 20€ for 10mins for kids. Book by email at teamvaudey@gmail.com or call +33 6 17 39 51 95/+33 6 11 95 40 72
* Stay in a real snow igloo for a night - Mon Village Igloo is a little hamlet of six igloos above Plagne Village. Meet at 19:30 enjoy a guided mountain walk up to the igloos, sip an aperitif by the camp fire, eat a hearty Savoyard meal inside the igloo, then either head back down the mountain (35€pp) or stay the night in the igloos (65€ in total).
* Take the night time zip wire challenge - hold on tight as you fly along the cable at 25m above the snow in Belle Plagne. You can have two goes for the princely sum of 15€
Useful websites for La Plagne
- ESF Belle Plagne - the official website for the French Ski School (ESF) in Belle Plagne. Each resort has its own ESF base
- Oxygene Ski School - an independent ski school with a base in La Plagne (Plagne Centre) and Val d'Isere who can pick guests up from their accommodation and have English-speaking instructors
- Champagny en Vanoise - official tourist office website for the village on the edge of the nature reserve
- La Plagne - the official tourist office website the whole of the La Plagne area
- La Plagne accommodation - a range of apartments, chalets and hotels in Plagne 1800, Plagne Centre, La Plagne Village, Plagne Soleil, Belle Plagne and Aime La Plagne from specialist operator Neilson
- La Plagne 6 day snow forecast - get the latest predictions for the snow and conditions in La Plagne
