Les Contamines
Les Contamines is a winter sports resort in the massif du Mont-Blanc, located on the commune territory of Les Contamines-Montjoie, in the département of Haute-Savoie in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. The ski area of Les Contamines is associated with that of the resort of Hauteluce - Val Joly. It is part of Évasion Mont-Blanc, without its ski area being linked to it.
Translated from the French Wikipedia article (CC BY-SA), machine translation.
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?3.5 / 5
Top of the ski area: 2,445 m · Bottom of the pistes: 1,104 m · Days above 30 cm per winter, measured: 134 days · Days above 30 cm, December to March, model: 96%
- Ski areaIs there enough to ski all week?4 / 5
Km of pistes at the resort: 76 km · Km of pistes across the linked area: 123 km · Lifts: 24 · Balance between piste levels: 92%
- ValueIs the lift pass reasonable for what you get?4 / 5
Adult day pass: €30 · Day pass price per km of pistes: €0.24/km · Price read at a neighbouring resort of the same area
- Families and beginnersIs it right for children and beginners?1.5 / 5
Share of green and blue pistes: 48% · Magic carpets: 1 · Sledging runs: 0 · Special prices out of 4 (beginner, child, family, free age): 1 · Ice rink, pool, rail sledge…: 0
- AccessIs it easy to get to?2 / 5
Average drive time from 20 major cities: 5 hr 04 · Nearest railway station: 1 hr 27 · Station-to-resort shuttles per day: 0 · Nearest airport: 1 hr 54
- Atmosphere and après-skiIs there life in the evening and off the slopes?2 / 5
Bars and pubs: 0 · Nightclubs: 0 · Restaurants: 7 · Upcoming events: 1 · Collective tourist beds: 970 — 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: 41% · Spas and saunas: 0 · Jewellers, watchmakers, fashion boutiques: 0 · Adult day pass: €30 — 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 MONT ARBOIS station (1,833 m)
Avalanche danger
7-day forecast
Village 1,955 m · top 2,445 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
Good snow from December to March: a long, reliable season.
☀️ Average daily sunshine : Nov 6.3 h · Dec 5.5 h · Jan 5.9 h · Feb 7.1 h · Mar 8.3 h · Apr 10 h — 25 bright days in April (Open-Meteo estimate, 2015-2025).
- November—no record
- December75 cmGood skiing · 89%
- January106 cmGood skiing · 93%
- February135 cmGood skiing · 100%
- March156 cmGood skiing · 100%
- April—no record
- May—no record
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
15 complete winters measured, from 2011-2012 to 2025-2026 — on average 134 days a winter with at least 30 cm on the ground.
- 1-15 Dec72 cmGood skiing · 85 %
- 16-31 Dec108 cmGood skiing · 98 %
- 1-15 Jan141 cmGood skiing · 100 %
- 16-31 Jan172 cmGood skiing · 100 %
- 1-15 Feb197 cmGood skiing · 100 %
- 16-29 Feb208 cmGood skiing · 100 %
- 1-15 Mar216 cmGood skiing · 100 %
- 16-31 Mar214 cmGood skiing · 100 %
- 1-15 Apr202 cmGood skiing · 100 %
- Best winter of the series
- 2015-2016 — 137 days at 30 cm or more
- Worst winter of the series
- 2014-2015 — 117 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 →79 pistes, by level — 76 km
- Skiable vertical
- 1,341 m (1,104 m → 2,445 m)
- Lifts
- 3 gondolas, 10 chairlifts, 10 drag lifts, 1 magic carpet
- Cross-country skiing
- 11 named trails — 43 km of marked loops (32 km of distinct track: the loops overlap) · Megeve Mont Arbois area, 4 km from the resortOpenStreetMap, lengths measured on the geometry, surveyed on 12 September 2026. A trail with no difficulty tag is shown as "n/a" — never guessed.
See the trails(11)
Trail Level Length Megeve-Bettex-St.Nicolas intermediate 20 km Livraz - Cote2000 black 4.5 km Planellet red 3.6 km Javen black 2.5 km Livraz green 2.5 km Planay black 2 km La Croix blue 1.8 km Le Lait blue 1.7 km Odier n/a 1.6 km Le Maz red 1.5 km Petit Vorasset · Megeve Mont Arbois easy 1.3 km - Snowpark
- 1 mapped zone — Ludo Park (intermediate)
OpenStreetMap, surveyed on 12 September 2026. OpenStreetMap does not map individual features (kickers, rails): what is counted here are the named zones. - Piste aspect
- N 36% · E 34% · S 9% · W 22% (descent direction of 73 OSM pistes, terrain model)
- Tourist office
- Les Contamines Tourisme · 18 route de Notre Dame de la Gorge, 74170 · 04 50 47 01 58 · [email protected] (declared by the resort, ANMSM)
- Piste map (PDF)
- Plan des pistes Les Contamines-Montjoie (declared by the resort, ANMSM)
- Famille Plus
- The resort’s family page (declared by the resort, ANMSM)
Resort data: declared by Les Contamines Tourisme 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 (2026-2027) detail →
| Adult pass | Price |
|---|---|
| 1 day | €30 |
| Child, 1 day | €25 |
Read on the official price list, full price, excluding promotions. Price list of the linked area, read on Portes du Mont-Blanc. Official price list ↗
Official piste map
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.
Staying and hiring gear in Les Contamines
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 Les Contamines
From Paris: 7 hr 30 (663 km) by road.
By road
- From Chambéry: 1 hr 42 · 94 km
- From Annecy: 1 hr 54 · 84 km
- From Grenoble: 1 hr 59 · 123 km
- From Genève: 2 hr 11 · 114 km
- From Lyon: 2 hr 53 · 192 km
From other major cities (15)
- From Valence: 3 hr 02 · 216 km
- From Saint-Étienne: 3 hr 26 · 241 km
- From Besançon: 4 hr 39 · 288 km
- From Dijon: 4 hr 45 · 393 km
- From Clermont-Ferrand: 4 hr 46 · 361 km
- From Montpellier: 5 hr 09 · 420 km
- From Marseille: 5 hr 14 · 430 km
- From Perpignan: 6 hr 31 · 568 km
- From Strasbourg: 6 hr 34 · 506 km
- From Nice: 6 hr 35 · 507 km
- From Nancy: 6 hr 49 · 574 km
- From Toulouse: 7 hr 27 · 654 km
- From Paris: 7 hr 30 · 663 km
- From Bordeaux: 8 hr 44 · 748 km
- From Pau: 9 hr 21 · 844 km
Excluding traffic and winter conditions; passes closed in winter are avoided.
By train
Sallanches - Combloux - Megève station
regional station · then 1 hr 27 drive (58 km)
Nearest main station: Chambéry - Challes-les-Eaux, 1 hr 41 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
- Chambéry-Savoie (CMF): 1 hr 54 by road · 101 km
- Grenoble-Alpes-Isère (GNB): 2 hr 32 by road · 169 km
Take me there
These links open the app with Les Contamines 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 September 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 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 →Named itineraries: Croche · Rebans Bas
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 Les Contamines — up to 1,750 m of climb.
| Summit and route | Ski grade | Climb | Altitude | Aspect | From resort |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aiguille de Roselette · Couloir N en Z | 4.1 · E2 · D- | 284 m | 2,000 → 2,384 m | N | 0.9 km |
| Col de la Fenêtre · Versant W | 2.2 · E1 · PD- | 1,025 m | 1,220 → 2,245 m | W | 1.5 km |
| Aiguille de Roselette · Couloir N | 4.2 · E2 · D | 534 m | 1,850 → 2,384 m | N | 1.9 km |
| Aiguille Croche · Face SW | 2.3 | 1,300 m | 1,250 → 2,487 m | S · SW | 2.1 km |
| Aiguille de Roselette · Couloir de la ''banane'' | 4.1 · E2 · D- | 1,106 m | 1,210 → 2,316 m | N | 2.1 km |
| Aiguille de Roselette · Couloir W | 4.1 · E1 · AD+ | n/a | 2,384 m | W | 2.1 km |
| Aiguille de Roselette · Couloir S | 3.2 · E1 · AD | 1,200 m | 1,190 → 2,384 m | S | 2.2 km |
| Col du Joly · Par les pistes des Contamines | n/a · PD- | 810 m | 1,179 → 1,989 m | NE | 2.2 km |
| Col de la Fenêtre · Versant E (voie normale depuis Notre Dame de la Gorge) | 2.3 · E1 · PD+ | 1,045 m | 1,200 → 2,245 m | E | 2.3 km |
| Tête de la Cicle · Couloir W | 4.1 · E2 · D- | 1,330 m | 1,225 → 2,552 m | W | 2.4 km |
| Tête de la Cicle · Tour: Col de la Cicle >> Col de la Fenêtre | n/a · PD | 1,750 m | 1,210 → 2,552 m | S | 2.5 km |
| Col de la Cicle · Variante par le col supérieur de la Cicle (combe N) | 3.2 · E1 · AD | 1,257 m | 1,210 → 2,467 m | N | 2.5 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 ↗
Beyond skiing at Les Contamines
Toboggan runs
- Piste sur neige "La Luge" · Demi-Quartier · 9.8 km away
Ice rink
- Patinoire de plein air · Megève · 9.1 km away
- Patinoire olympique · Megève · 9.4 km away
Swimming pool
- Piscines intérieures · Megève · 9.4 km away
- Piscine olympique extérieure · Megève · 9.4 km away
- Pataugeoire intérieure · Megève · 9.4 km away
Spa and thermal baths
- Pure Altitude Longevity Spa du Lodge Park · Megève · 9.2 km away
- Saunas · Megève · 9.4 km away
- Hammam · Megève · 9.4 km away
Paragliding
- Aire de décollage parapente · Les Contamines-Montjoie · 1.4 km away
- Parapente en biplace · Les Contamines-Montjoie · 5.6 km away
- Megève Parapente · Megève · 9.1 km away
- Megève Aventure Parapente · Praz-sur-Arly · 10 km away
Museum
- Jardin Samivel · Les Contamines-Montjoie · 5.6 km away
- Ecomusée de Hauteluce · Hauteluce · 8 km away
- Musée des Colporteurs · Saint-Gervais-les-Bains · 8.5 km away
- Musée de l'Ermitage du Calvaire · Megève · 8.7 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. Opening times and prices are the operator’s — check before you go.
Practical information
Collective accommodation
970 bed spaces in tourist residences, holiday villages and hostels
- 5 hotels · 98 rooms (1 × 4★, 1 × 3★, 1 × 2★)
- 2 holiday villages and family centres · 232 bed spaces
- 3 tourist residences and apartment hotels · 538 bed spaces
- 1 youth hostel or sports centre · 200 bed spaces
- 1 campsite · 223 pitches
Commune: Les Contamines-Montjoie · INSEE tourist accommodation survey, 2026, read on 12 September 2026. Collective accommodation only — privately let flats and second homes are not counted. INSEE dataset ↗
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.
What's on around Les Contamines
All events →-
17 October 2026 · 10:00
Evolution architecturale de Megève au XXe siècle
Office de tourisme de Megève · Megève
Du paisible village montagnard à la station de ski internationale, le visage de Megève n'a eu de cesse de se transformer depuis le développement du tourisme au début du XXe siècle. Des besoins et de …
Source: OpenAgenda, agenda “Plan Libre, la gazette” · View on OpenAgenda ↗
Also near: Megève (0.1 km), Portes du Mont-Blanc (3.6 km), Domaine de Praz sur Arly (4.3 km), Combloux (4.8 km)
Events published on OpenAgenda by the agendas named above, kept when they take place within 10 km of the resort. We organise nothing: times, prices and cancellations are the organiser's.
Nearby resorts
Frequently asked questions
How high is Les Contamines?
Les Contamines sits at 1,955 m at village level, and its ski area rises to 2,445 m.
How many kilometres of pistes does Les Contamines have?
Les Contamines has 76 km of pistes served by 24 lifts, within the linked Évasion Mont-Blanc area (OpenStreetMap survey).
What is the longest piste in Les Contamines?
The longest piste is Mandarines: 3 km (green run), for 530 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 Les Contamines?
The highest lift, Véleray, tops out at 2,444 m (IGN RGE ALTI terrain model). The 83 lifts mapped on OpenStreetMap total 78 km.
How much is a lift pass in Les Contamines?
The adult day pass costs €30 (2026-2027, read on the official price list, shared with Portes du Mont-Blanc).
How do I get to Les Contamines?
By road, Les Contamines is 1 hr 42 from Chambéry (94 km), excluding traffic and winter conditions. By train, the nearest station is Sallanches - Combloux - Megève, 1 hr 27 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 Chambéry-Savoie, 1 hr 54 away.
How long is the drive from Paris to Les Contamines?
7 hr 30 for 663 km from central Paris, excluding traffic and winter conditions. Computed on the real road network (OpenStreetMap): allow more on a school-holiday Saturday.
Is the snow reliable in Les Contamines?
Yes: good snow through most of the winter according to twenty winters of Météo-France measurements; in season the daily report prevails.
Is Les Contamines good for beginners and families?
48% of the pistes are green or blue: a rather technical area.
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