Isola 2000
Isola 2000 is a ski resort in the southern French Alps. It is located on the territory of the commune of Isola, Alpes-Maritimes. It is one of the Stations du Mercantour, along with Auron and St. Dalmas, and is operated by the council of the Alpes-Maritimes. It is located next to the Mercantour National Park, and is about 90 km from Nice, France.
Introduction from the English Wikipedia article (CC BY-SA).
Seven criteria rated from 1 to 5 stars, in half-stars, from this page's sourced data. A rating is a rank among the 322 French resorts we cover — 5 stars means “among the best in France on this point”, not “perfect”. Nobody types these in.
- SnowCan you count on the snow?4 / 5
Top of the ski area: 2,601 m · Bottom of the pistes: 1,827 m · Days above 30 cm per winter, measured: 122 days · Days above 30 cm, December to March, model: 63%
- Ski areaIs there enough to ski all week?3.5 / 5
Km of pistes at the resort: 54 km · Km of pistes across the linked area: 54 km · Lifts: 19 · Balance between piste levels: 88%
- ValueIs the lift pass reasonable for what you get?3 / 5
Adult day pass: €44 · Day pass price per km of pistes: €0.81/km · Adult 6-day pass: €217
- Families and beginnersIs it right for children and beginners?3 / 5
Share of green and blue pistes: 61% · Magic carpets: 2 · Sledging runs: 0 · Special prices out of 4 (beginner, child, family, free age): 2 · ESF ski school · Ice rink, pool, rail sledge…: 1 · Famille Plus label
- AccessIs it easy to get to?1.5 / 5
Average drive time from 20 major cities: 6 hr 38 · Nearest railway station: 1 hr 31 · Station-to-resort shuttles per day: 0 · Nearest airport: 1 hr 26
- Atmosphere and après-skiIs there life in the evening and off the slopes?2.5 / 5
Bars and pubs: 1 · Nightclubs: 0 · Restaurants: 8 · Upcoming events: 0 · Collective tourist beds: 1,407 — index: what the map and the listings publish
- Luxury and comfortHow upmarket is the resort?1.5 / 5
5-star hotels: 0 · 4-star hotels: 0 · Share of hotel rooms in 4 and 5 stars: 14% · Spas and saunas: 0 · Jewellers, watchmakers, fashion boutiques: 0 · Adult day pass: €44 — index: what the map and the listings publish
“Atmosphere” and “Luxury” are indexes: they count what OpenStreetMap and the event listings publish within 2.5 km (bars, nightclubs, rated hotels, spas, upcoming events), not what you experience there. A zero means “nothing mapped”, not “nothing there”. Sources per criterion: snow (altitudes (OpenStreetMap, Wikidata), snow depth observed at the Météo-France station, ERA5-Land model) ; ski area (OpenStreetMap pistes and lifts, linked area (Wikidata)) ; value (the resort’s official price list) ; families and beginners (OpenStreetMap pistes, price list, ESF ski school, Famille Plus label, OpenStreetMap leisure) ; access (OSRM drive times from 20 cities, SNCF stations, GTFS shuttles, airports) ; atmosphere and après-ski (bars, nightclubs and restaurants within 2.5 km (OpenStreetMap), upcoming events (OpenAgenda), collective tourist beds (INSEE)) ; luxury and comfort (rated hotels within 2.5 km (OpenStreetMap) and by category across the commune (INSEE), spas and boutiques (OpenStreetMap), day pass price).
Open pistes and lifts will appear here during the season, as published by the resort. Out of season we show nothing rather than a misleading zero.
Right now at the MILLEFONTS-NIVOSE station (2,430 m)
Avalanche danger
7-day forecast
Village 2,028 m · top 2,601 m
Forecast corrected for altitude; fresh snow = forecast total at the top; UV = peak of the day. Beyond 3 days, check the resort’s own report. Source:Open-Meteo.
Average snow depth by month
Snow cover varies from one winter to the next.
☀️ Average daily sunshine : Nov 7.1 h · Dec 7.2 h · Jan 7.3 h · Feb 8.3 h · Mar 9.5 h · Apr 10.3 h — 25 bright days in April (Open-Meteo estimate, 2015-2025).
- November9 cmInsufficient · 9%
- December32 cmVariable · 51%
- January42 cmVariable · 60%
- February51 cmVariable · 74%
- March52 cmVariable · 66%
- April23 cmInsufficient · 18%
- May2 cmInsufficient · 1%
30 cm on the ground: the benchmark for groomed-piste skiing. Bar = monthly average depth; percentage = share of time above 30 cm.
- Good skiing: 30 cm on more than 8 days in 10
- Variable: 30 cm on 5 to 8 days in 10
- Insufficient: 30 cm less than one day in two
Snow actually measured, winter by winter
17 complete winters measured, from 2008-2009 to 2025-2026 — on average 122 days a winter with at least 30 cm on the ground.
- 1-15 Dec52 cmVariable · 66 %
- 16-31 Dec73 cmGood skiing · 81 %
- 1-15 Jan83 cmGood skiing · 86 %
- 16-31 Jan96 cmGood skiing · 88 %
- 1-15 Feb114 cmGood skiing · 97 %
- 16-29 Feb124 cmGood skiing · 100 %
- 1-15 Mar143 cmGood skiing · 99 %
- 16-31 Mar149 cmGood skiing · 99 %
- 1-15 Apr146 cmGood skiing · 96 %
- Best winter of the series
- 2019-2020 — 137 days at 30 cm or more
- Worst winter of the series
- 2015-2016 — 68 days at 30 cm or more
Snowfall: no long enough record of fresh snow at this station. Rather than an estimate, we show nothing.
The ski area
Compare with another resort →51 pistes, by level — 54 km
- Skiable vertical
- 774 m (1,827 m → 2,601 m)
- Lifts
- 1 funicular, 2 gondolas, 7 chairlifts, 8 drag lifts, 2 magic carpets
- Snowpark
- 4 mapped zones — Boardercross (intermediate) · Snowpark (difficult) · Parkmedium (intermediate) · Jib Zone (intermediate)
OpenStreetMap, surveyed on 18 September 2026. OpenStreetMap does not map individual features (kickers, rails): what is counted here are the named zones. - Piste aspect
- N 45% · E 21% · S 13% · W 21% (descent direction of 59 OSM pistes, terrain model)
- Mountain restaurants
- Le Schuss (2313 m)
- Lift opening hours
- Lifts open from 09:00 to 17:00 (saison 2025-2026 · du 6 décembre jusqu'au 19 avril 2026) (official website, read on 9 September 2026)
- Tourist office
- Office de Tourisme - Espace Mercantour · Galerie marchande - Le Pelevos, 06420 · 04.93.23.15.15 · [email protected] (declared by the resort, ANMSM)
- Piste map (PDF)
- ISOLA 2000 plan des pistes (declared by the resort, ANMSM)
- Shuttle timetable (PDF)
- ligne_92 (declared by the resort, ANMSM)
- Resort app
- Android (declared by the resort, ANMSM)
- Famille Plus
- The resort’s family page (declared by the resort, ANMSM)
Resort data: declared by Office de Tourisme - Espace Mercantour and distributed by ANMSM · read on 18 September
Pistes and lifts surveyed on OpenStreetMap within 4 km of the resort — for a resort in a linked area, the figure may include neighbouring pistes.
Lift passes (2025-2026) detail →
| Adult pass | Price |
|---|---|
| 1 day | €44 |
| 6 days | €217 |
| Child, 1 day | €33.70 |
| Pedestrian, 1 day | €5 |
| Free | Free under 5 · free from 72 years |
Read on the official price list, full price, excluding promotions. Official price list ↗
The ski area in figures
Measured on 9 September 2026Measured on OpenStreetMap (altitudes: IGN RGE ALTI), not taken from the brochure. The vertical above is that of one piste, not of the whole ski area. Population: INSEE municipal population via geo.api.gouv.fr.
Source: national register of mechanical lifts (STRMTG, CAIRN), fleet as of 1 January 2025 — lifts attributed to Isola 2000 only (“ISOLA 2000”), magic carpets included.
Staying and hiring gear in Isola 2000
We compare the partners that cover this resort. Some links earn us a commission — never at the expense of the price or of the data.
Stay & accommodation
Live webcams
All webcams (8) →Official players of the resort, live image. Checked on 18 September 2026.
Piste map
Open on OpenSnowMap ↗Pistes coloured by level, lifts as lines. The resort’s official map is the reference in season.
Base map © OpenTopoMap (CC-BY-SA) · pistes © OpenSnowMap (CC-BY-SA) · data ©OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Getting to Isola 2000
From Paris: 10 hr 27 (828 km) by road.
By road
- From Nice: 1 hr 31 · 90 km
- From Marseille: 3 hr 33 · 274 km
- From Grenoble: 4 hr 38 · 255 km
- From Chambéry: 4 hr 49 · 362 km
- From Montpellier: 4 hr 54 · 403 km
From other major cities (15)
- From Valence: 5 hr 07 · 447 km
- From Annecy: 5 hr 18 · 409 km
- From Genève: 5 hr 39 · 421 km
- From Lyon: 5 hr 50 · 358 km
- From Perpignan: 6 hr 16 · 551 km
- From Saint-Étienne: 6 hr 23 · 406 km
- From Toulouse: 7 hr 12 · 637 km
- From Dijon: 7 hr 42 · 558 km
- From Clermont-Ferrand: 7 hr 42 · 526 km
- From Besançon: 7 hr 52 · 553 km
- From Pau: 9 hr 06 · 827 km
- From Strasbourg: 9 hr 18 · 757 km
- From Bordeaux: 9 hr 35 · 879 km
- From Nancy: 9 hr 49 · 769 km
- From Paris: 10 hr 27 · 828 km
Excluding traffic and winter conditions; passes closed in winter are avoided.
By train
L'Ariane La Trinité station
halt · then 1 hr 31 drive (92 km)
Nearest main station: Nice, 1 hr 33 by road.
No direct bus line from the station to the resort appears in the open-data timetables (checked on 13 September 2026): ask the resort about a private shuttle or a taxi.
Shuttles and buses from the station: see the resort’s official website.
By plane
- Nice-Côte d’Azur (NCE): 1 hr 26 by road · 85 km
- Cuneo (CUF): 1 hr 39 by road · 81 km
Take me there
These links open the app with Isola 2000 as the destination. Your starting point is never sent by us — the app asks you for it, if you agree.
Charging an electric car
2 charging stations within 2 km
8 charging points · up to 22 kW
- isola 2000 - Centre Médical · IZIVIA · 4 points · 22 kW · 0.3 km
- Isola 2000 - Parking P1 · IZIVIA · 4 points · 22 kW · 1.1 km
Freely accessible charge points read from the French national EV charging database (data.gouv.fr ↗, operators’ own declarations), checked on 9 September 2026. Check availability before you leave: the database says what is installed, not what is free tonight.
Road conditions
From 1 November to 31 March, snow chains or winter tyres are compulsory in most mountain areas (French “Loi Montagne II”).
Driving times computed on the OpenStreetMap road network (OSRM), SNCF stations (open data), airports (Wikidata). Indicative, not a timetable: allow extra time in snow.
Off-piste & ski touring
The resorts for off-piste skiing →Itineraries surveyed on OpenStreetMap within a 4 km radius (7 September 2026): “marked” means an itinerary exists on the map, not that it is open or safe on the day.
Ski touring routes described
Resorts for ski touring →12 ski touring routes documented within 10 km of Isola 2000 — up to 1,600 m of climb.
| Summit and route | Ski grade | Climb | Altitude | Aspect | From resort |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tête de Combe Grosse · Tour par le Pas du Loup W | 3.3 · E2 · PD+ | 1,100 m | 2,040 → 2,665 m | n/a | 1.1 km |
| Tête Mercière · Depuis Isola 2000 | n/a · PD | 500 m | 2,000 → 2,491 m | NW | 1.1 km |
| Baisse de Druos · Circuit par le col de Mercière | n/a · PD+ | 628 m | 2,000 → 2,628 m | n/a | 1.4 km |
| Cime de Tavels · Tour Et Sommet | n/a · PD+ | 1,150 m | 2,000 → 2,795 m | n/a | 1.6 km |
| Cime de Tavels · Tour par Lause et Druos | 2.1 · PD+ | 1,100 m | 2,100 → 2,795 m | n/a | 1.6 km |
| Cime de Sistron · Depuis Isola 2000 | n/a · F | 763 m | 1,840 → 2,603 m | N | 1.6 km |
| Cime de la Lombarde · Voie Normale par "Isola 2000" | 3.1 · E1 · PD | 720 m | 2,080 → 2,800 m | SW | 1.6 km |
| Mont Malinvern · Tour par les Cols Orgials, Valscure et Druos | 3.3 · E2 | 1,600 m | 2,080 → 2,628 m | E | 1.7 km |
| Mont Malinvern · Sommet et tour par Baisse de Druos → Baisse Lause → Col Mercière | n/a · AD- | 1,500 m | 2,090 → 2,938 m | W | 1.7 km |
| Serrière de la Lombarde · Crête frontière coté 2722 m | 4.1 · E1 · PD+ | 700 m | 2,722 → 2,722 m | S | 1.8 km |
| Serrière de la Lombarde · Sommet et circuit Colle di Valescura / Baisse de Druos | n/a · AD- | 1,600 m | 2,090 → 2,689 m | S | 2 km |
| Mont Malinvern · Sommet et Tour Horaire | 4.1 · E3 · AD- | 1,600 m | 2,000 → 2,938 m | W | 2.1 km |
Source: Camptocamp.org topo guide (CC BY-SA), routes starting within 10 km, read on 13 September 2026. Descriptions and photos are on Camptocamp; an empty cell is a field nobody has filled in. Camptocamp ski touring routes ↗
Practical information
Collective accommodation
1,407 bed spaces in tourist residences, holiday villages and hostels
- 3 hotels · 180 rooms (1 × 4★, 2 × 3★)
- 1 holiday village or family centre · 140 bed spaces
- 3 tourist residences and apartment hotels · 1,267 bed spaces
Commune: Isola · INSEE tourist accommodation survey, 2026, read on 12 September 2026. Collective accommodation only — privately let flats and second homes are not counted. INSEE dataset ↗
Tourist office
Office de tourisme
Ski school
ESF Isola 2000
109 instructors
🇬🇧 79 English-speaking instructors — lessons in English available
🗓️ This school sells its lessons online — book ↗
Source: esf.net
Days without skiing
- Cinema · Le Club 2000
In case of accident
112 — the European emergency number, free of charge, triggers mountain rescue. On the pistes, the ski patrol number is printed on the piste map and at lift ticket offices. Piste rescue is charged: check your insurance or take the option sold with the lift pass.
Nearby resorts
Frequently asked questions
How high is Isola 2000?
Isola 2000 sits at 2,028 m at village level, and its ski area rises to 2,601 m.
How many kilometres of pistes does Isola 2000 have?
Isola 2000 has 54 km of pistes served by 19 lifts (OpenStreetMap survey).
What is the longest piste in Isola 2000?
The longest piste is Chamois Chapland: 3 km (blue run), for 424 m of vertical. Measured on the OpenStreetMap map, segments of the same name and level joined end to end, altitudes from the IGN RGE ALTI terrain model — a resort sometimes advertises a longer run by chaining several pistes.
How high do the lifts go in Isola 2000?
The highest lift, Sistron (chairlift), tops out at 2,585 m. Source: STRMTG, French national register of mechanical lifts (CAIRN database), file dated 1 January 2025.
How many lifts does Isola 2000 have, and what is their capacity?
The French national register of mechanical lifts records 20 installations at Isola 2000 (2 gondolas, 7 chairlifts, 8 drag lifts, 3 magic carpets), for an authorised capacity of 24,195 people per hour, of which 3,000 for Marmottes dit mercantour alone. The fleet spans 1971 to 2023, an average age of 36 years. This count covers the resort itself, magic carpets included, not the whole linked ski area — a resort brochure often announces a different number. Source: STRMTG, French national register of mechanical lifts (CAIRN database), file dated 1 January 2025.
How much is a lift pass in Isola 2000?
The adult day pass costs €44 and the 6-day pass €217 (2025-2026, read on the official price list).
How do I get to Isola 2000?
By road, Isola 2000 is 1 hr 31 from Nice (90 km), excluding traffic and winter conditions. By train, the nearest station is L'Ariane La Trinité, 1 hr 31 by road from the resort. No direct bus line from the station to the resort appears in the open-data timetables. The nearest airport is Nice-Côte d’Azur, 1 hr 26 away.
How long is the drive from Paris to Isola 2000?
10 hr 27 for 828 km from central Paris, excluding traffic and winter conditions. Computed on the real road network (OpenStreetMap): allow more on a school-holiday Saturday.
What time do the lifts open in Isola 2000?
Lifts are announced open from 09:00 to 17:00 (saison 2025-2026 · du 6 décembre jusqu'au 19 avril 2026), according to the official website (read on 9 September 2026).
Is the snow reliable in Isola 2000?
It varies from one winter to the next according to ten winters of reanalysis (estimate); in season the daily report prevails.
Is Isola 2000 good for beginners and families?
61% of the pistes are green or blue: a rather easy area. The resort holds the Famille Plus family label.
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