Le Lioran
Off season · opens 19 December 20261,160 mVillage altitude
1,820 mTop of the ski area
39 kmAlpine pistes
20Ski lifts
Not published by any source: adult day pass.
Le Lioran is a small mountain resort in the heart of continental France. It consists of the original settlement of Le Lioran in the valley bottom as well as the settlements of Prairie de Sagnes, Font d'Alagon, Font de Cère, and Prat de Bouc, all of which are geared towards the mountain tourism market. The largest of these is the Prairie de Sagnes, now known as Super-Lioran; most facilities and accommodation are concentrated there. One of the few remaining resorts in central France, it has grown to become one of the biggest and most advanced resorts in the Massif Central. There is a wide range of sporting and leisure activities on offer in addition to the more traditional winter sports and the wealth of lodging and other services available. There is a heavy emphasis on the all year round nature of the resort, although, inevitably, the resort is busiest in the winter season.
Live webcams
All webcams (1) →Each player is the camera operator’s own, loaded only when you ask for it — it may set its own trackers.
Official players of the resort, live image.
Snow, opening and weather
Snow report →The domain is due to open on 19 December 2026 and close on 21 March 2027. Open pistes and lifts will appear here as soon as the resort publishes its daily report.
Right now at the PRAT DE BOUC station (1,405 m)
Source: Météo-France, PRAT DE BOUC weather station, 5.4 km away. Hourly measurement — not the resort’s own snow report.
Snow cover varies from one winter to the next — the best time runs from mid-January to mid-March. 50 days a winter at 30 cm or more on average, measured over 22 winters at the Météo-France “PRAT DE BOUC” station. Fortnight by fortnight, over 22 measured winters →
3-day forecast
Village 1,160 m · top 1,820 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.
Seven criteria rated from 1 to 5 stars, in half-stars, from this page's sourced data. A rating is a rank among the 315 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?2 / 5
Top of the ski area: 1,820 m · Bottom of the pistes: 1,161 m · Days above 30 cm per winter, measured: 50 days · Days above 30 cm, December to March, model: 8%
- Ski areaIs there enough to ski all week?4 / 5
Km of pistes at the resort: 39 km · Lifts: 20 · Balance between piste levels: 96%
- ValueIs the lift pass reasonable for what you get?n/a
Not rated: no official price list could be found.
- Families and beginnersIs it right for children and beginners?2.5 / 5
Share of green and blue pistes: 53% · Magic carpets: 3 · Sledging runs: 0 · ESF ski school · Ice rink, pool, rail sledge…: 2
- AccessIs it easy to get to?3.5 / 5
Average drive time from 20 major cities: 4 hr 46 · Nearest railway station: 1 min · Nearest airport: 1 hr 51
- Atmosphere and après-skiIs there life in the evening and off the slopes?2 / 5
Bars and pubs: 1 · Nightclubs: 0 · Restaurants: 13 · Upcoming events: 0 · Collective tourist beds: 0 — index: what the map and the listings publish
- Luxury and comfortHow upmarket is the resort?1 / 5
5-star hotels: 0 · 4-star hotels: 0 · Share of hotel rooms in 4 and 5 stars: 0% · Spas and saunas: 0 · Jewellers, watchmakers, fashion boutiques: 0 — 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 declared by the resort (ANMSM, official website), STRMTG register, OpenStreetMap; snow depth observed at the Météo-France station, ERA5-Land model) ; ski area (figures declared by the resort (ANMSM, official website), national lift register (STRMTG), OpenStreetMap) ; 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).
51 pistes, by level
11 green16 blue17 red7 black
- Skiable vertical
- 659 m
Ski-area figures — bottom, km of pistes, pistes by level: OpenStreetMap (1 Oct); top, lifts: STRMTG — French national lift register (1 Jan) .
The ski area in figures
Measured on 7 October 20263 kmLongest piste — Prat de Bouc (green), 355 m of vertical
402 mBiggest vertical without changing piste — 1,795 → 1,393 m, 2 km
1,820 mHighest lift top — Plomb du Cantal (detachable chairlift), national lift register
24,695Total lift capacity, people per hour — 20 installations: 1 aerial tramway, 8 chairlifts, 8 drag lifts, 3 magic carpets
28 yrsAverage age of the lift fleet — oldest 1965, newest 2017
2,500Biggest lift, people per hour — Buron du Baguet (detachable chairlift, 2014)
15 kmTotal length of lifts — 16 lifts mapped
919 haSki area boundary (OSM)
537Inhabitants — Laveissière (INSEE 15101)
Measured 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 Le Lioran only (“SUPER LIORAN”), magic carpets included.
Staying and hiring gear in Le Lioran
The partners covering this resort, shown side by side, and the shop to kit out before you leave. Some links earn us a commission — never at the expense of the price or of the data.
Collective accommodation
- 3 hotels · 39 rooms (1 × 2★)
- 1 campsite · 100 pitches
Commune: Laveissière · INSEE tourist accommodation survey, 2026, read on 12 September 2026. Collective accommodation only — privately let flats and second homes are not counted. INSEE dataset ↗
Stay & accommodation
Holidu
Holiday-rental comparison site.
Ski hire
Skiset UK
Skiset’s UK site: ski hire in the resort shops, booked in English, paid in pounds.
Gear & equipment
Absolute Snow
UK ski and snowboard shop — delivers to UK addresses only.
Hardloop
Mountain gear shop: ski touring, avalanche safety, winter clothing.
Beyond skiing at Le Lioran
Toboggan runs
- Déval'luge · Laveissière · 0.8 km away
Ice rink
- Patinoire · Laveissière · 0.9 km away
- Arche des neiges · 0.9 km away · OpenStreetMap
Spa and thermal baths
- Centre de balnéothérapie Kaï-Lan · Laveissière · 0.7 km away
- Sauna, hammam et bain nordique - Alta Terra · Lavigerie · 5.4 km away
Dog sledding
- La crête · Le Claux · 5.7 km away
- Nordicateam Puy Mary · Le Claux · 8.5 km away
Paragliding
- Parapente Puy Mary · Le Claux · 8.4 km away
Museum
- Réseau de chaleur bois · Murat · 8.9 km away
- Mémorial des Déportés de Murat · Murat · 9.8 km away
Cinema
- Cinéma l'Arverne · Murat · 9.6 km away
Source: DATAtourisme (open data), within 10 km of the resort; places in a large town of the valley are left out. Checked on 12 September 2026. Lines marked OpenStreetMap come from the map, within 3 km — opening times on site. Opening times and prices are the operator’s — check before you go.
Ski schools and practical information
Ski school
ESF Le Lioran
61 instructors
🇬🇧 30 English-speaking instructors — lessons in English available
Source: esf.net
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.
Off the pistes: off-piste and ski touring
The resorts for off-piste skiing → 3 Marked off-piste itineraries · 1 km
— Ski touring routes
Named itineraries: Mur des Alpins · La Combe · Hors piste de l'ancienne piste de la Variante
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
12 ski touring routes documented within 10 km of Le Lioran — up to 1,893 m of climb.
| Summit and route | Ski grade | Climb | Altitude | Aspect | From resort |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Puy de Peyre Arse · Le lioran >> vallon de Brezons par les 4 cols. | 3.1 · E1 · PD | 1,893 m | 965 → 1,806 m | n/a | 1.2 km |
| Puy de Peyre Arse · Versant SE depuis Font d'Alagnon | n/a · PD | 760 m | 1,806 m | n/a | 1.6 km |
| Sommet des Roches de Vassivière · versant W depuis la Boudio | n/a · E1 · PD- | 578 m | 1,100 → 1,678 m | NW | 1.6 km |
| Puy du Rocher · Versant NE, Cirque de Chamalière | 3.1 · AD- | n/a | 1,813 m | n/a | 2.7 km |
The other 8 routes, with grades and vertical →
Not a piste. Neither marked, nor patrolled, nor secured: transceiver, shovel, probe, the day’s avalanche bulletin and, better still, a guide. Ski grade (1.1–5.6) = steepness and commitment; exposure (E1–E4) = consequence of a fall.
Source: Camptocamp.org topo guide (CC BY-SA), routes starting within 10 km, read on 13 October 2026. Descriptions and photos are on Camptocamp; an empty cell is a field nobody has filled in. Camptocamp ski touring routes ↗
Piste map
Open on OpenSnowMap ↗Official piste map
Open the piste map (image, 918 KB) ↗
Link to the resort’s own file — a piste map is a copyrighted artwork, we host no copy.
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 Le Lioran
From Paris: 5 hr 55 (535 km) by road.
By road
- From Clermont-Ferrand: 1 hr 42 · 118 km
- From Saint-Étienne: 3 hr 04 · 184 km
- From Montpellier: 3 hr 07 · 272 km
- From Lyon: 3 hr 26 · 277 km
- From Toulouse: 3 hr 43 · 262 km
From other major cities (15)
- From Valence: 3 hr 52 · 234 km
- From Perpignan: 4 hr 02 · 372 km
- From Bordeaux: 4 hr 23 · 341 km
- From Grenoble: 4 hr 35 · 378 km
- From Chambéry: 4 hr 38 · 375 km
- From Annecy: 4 hr 56 · 412 km
- From Dijon: 4 hr 57 · 432 km
- From Marseille: 5 hr 03 · 441 km
- From Genève: 5 hr 04 · 432 km
- From Besançon: 5 hr 33 · 490 km
- From Pau: 5 hr 48 · 463 km
- From Paris: 5 hr 55 · 535 km
- From Nice: 6 hr 40 · 599 km
- From Nancy: 7 hr 04 · 643 km
- From Strasbourg: 7 hr 57 · 728 km
Excluding traffic and winter conditions; passes closed in winter are avoided.
By train
Le Lioran station
halt · then 1 min drive
Nearest main station: Clermont-Ferrand, 1 hr 41 by road.
Shuttles and buses from the station: see the resort’s official website.
By plane
- Clermont-Ferrand Auvergne (CFE): 1 hr 51 by road · 122 km
- Limoges (LIG): 3 hr 10 by road · 217 km
Take me there
These links open the app with Le Lioran as the destination. Your starting point is never sent by us — the app asks you for it, if you agree.
Charging an electric car
No freely accessible charge point is declared within 2 km of the resort (checked on 9 October 2026). Covered car parks in the resort may offer chargers reserved for their customers: those are not listed here.
Freely accessible charge points read from the French national EV charging database (data.gouv.fr ↗, operators’ own declarations), checked on 9 October 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.
Introduction from the English Wikipedia article (CC BY-SA).
Frequently asked questions
How high is Le Lioran?
Le Lioran sits at 1,160 m at village level, and its ski area rises to 1,820 m.
How many kilometres of pistes does Le Lioran have?
Le Lioran has 39 km of slopes, 20 lifts.
What is the longest piste in Le Lioran?
The longest piste is Prat de Bouc: 3 km (green run), for 355 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 Le Lioran?
The highest lift, Plomb du Cantal (detachable chairlift), tops out at 1,820 m. Source: STRMTG, French national register of mechanical lifts (CAIRN database), file dated 1 January 2025.
How many lifts does Le Lioran have, and what is their capacity?
The French national register of mechanical lifts records 20 installations at Le Lioran (1 aerial tramway, 8 chairlifts, 8 drag lifts, 3 magic carpets), for an authorised capacity of 24,695 people per hour, of which 2,500 for Buron du Baguet alone. The fleet spans 1965 to 2017, an average age of 28 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 do I get to Le Lioran?
By road, Le Lioran is 1 hr 42 from Clermont-Ferrand (118 km), excluding traffic and winter conditions. By train, the nearest station is Le Lioran, 1 min by road from the resort. The nearest airport is Clermont-Ferrand Auvergne, 1 hr 51 away.
How long is the drive from Paris to Le Lioran?
5 hr 55 for 535 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 Le Lioran?
Lifts are announced open from 08:45 to 16:40 (Du 7 au 13 septembre), according to the official website (read on 9 September 2026).
When does Le Lioran open?
According to the official website, the resort opens on 19 December 2026 and closes on 21 March 2027 (2026-2027 season).
Is the snow reliable in Le Lioran?
Snow cover varies from one winter to the next — the best time runs from mid-January to mid-March. 50 days a winter at 30 cm or more on average, measured over 22 winters at the Météo-France “PRAT DE BOUC” station. This verdict rests on 22 winters of Météo-France measurements (1997-2025); in season the daily report prevails.
Is Le Lioran good for beginners and families?
53% of the pistes are green or blue: a rather technical area.
Nearby resorts
Full page in French. The French page carries the editorial guides and a few extra readings; every figure, webcam and price on this page is the same one. Le Lioran in French →
Every figure carries its source and date; a missing figure shows as “—”, never estimated. Embed this widget on your site