Planpraz
Planpraz is a plateau in France located at an altitude of approximately 2,000 metres in the aiguilles Rouges, on the western slope of the vallée de Chamonix, above Chamonix-Mont-Blanc.
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: 2,502 m · Bottom of the pistes: 1,035 m · Days above 30 cm per winter, measured: 102 days · Days above 30 cm, December to March, model: 97%
- Ski areaIs there enough to ski all week?3.5 / 5
Km of pistes at the resort: 51 km · Km of pistes across the linked area: 51 km · Lifts: 17 · Balance between piste levels: 98%
- ValueIs the lift pass reasonable for what you get?n/a
Not rated: “adult day pass” is missing from this page.
- Families and beginnersIs it right for children and beginners?2.5 / 5
Share of green and blue pistes: 58% · Magic carpets: 1 · Sledging runs: 0 · ESF ski school · Ice rink, pool, rail sledge…: 4
- AccessIs it easy to get to?3 / 5
Average drive time from 20 major cities: 4 hr 38 · Nearest railway station: 6 min · Station-to-resort shuttles per day: 0 · Nearest airport: 1 hr 32
- Atmosphere and après-skiIs there life in the evening and off the slopes?4 / 5
Bars and pubs: 26 · Nightclubs: 0 · Restaurants: 63 · Upcoming events: 2 · Collective tourist beds: 2,653 — index: what the map and the listings publish
- Luxury and comfortHow upmarket is the resort?4.5 / 5
5-star hotels: 2 · 4-star hotels: 5 · Share of hotel rooms in 4 and 5 stars: 59% · Spas and saunas: 0 · Jewellers, watchmakers, fashion boutiques: 2 — 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 AIGUILLES ROUGES-NIVOSE station (2,365 m)
Avalanche danger
7-day forecast
Village 2,000 m · top 2,502 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 April: a long, reliable season.
☀️ Average daily sunshine : Nov 6.4 h · Dec 5.7 h · Jan 6 h · Feb 7.3 h · Mar 8.6 h · Apr 10.2 h — 26 bright days in April (Open-Meteo estimate, 2015-2025).
- November—no record
- December72 cmGood skiing · 91%
- January106 cmGood skiing · 96%
- February140 cmGood skiing · 100%
- March163 cmGood skiing · 100%
- April143 cmGood skiing · 100%
- 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
27 complete winters measured, from 1997-1998 to 2025-2026 — on average 102 days a winter with at least 30 cm on the ground.
- 1-15 Dec27 cmInsufficient · 31 %
- 16-31 Dec47 cmInsufficient · 48 %
- 1-15 Jan64 cmVariable · 56 %
- 16-31 Jan91 cmVariable · 69 %
- 1-15 Feb116 cmGood skiing · 85 %
- 16-29 Feb141 cmGood skiing · 94 %
- 1-15 Mar173 cmGood skiing · 100 %
- 16-31 Mar188 cmGood skiing · 100 %
- 1-15 Apr191 cmGood skiing · 98 %
- Best winter of the series
- 2023-2024 — 137 days at 30 cm or more
- Worst winter of the series
- 2001-2002 — 55 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 →50 pistes, by level — 51 km
- Skiable vertical
- 1,467 m (1,035 m → 2,502 m)
- Lifts
- 2 cable cars, 2 gondolas, 7 chairlifts, 5 drag lifts, 1 magic carpet
- Snowpark
- 3 mapped zones — Stade Slalom filmé chronométré · Stade Géant · Stade de slalom (easy)
OpenStreetMap, surveyed on 18 September 2026. OpenStreetMap does not map individual features (kickers, rails): what is counted here are the named zones. - Cross-country skiing
- 5 km of nordic trails
- Without skis
- 1 km of snowshoe and walking trails
- Piste aspect
- N 4% · E 39% · S 48% · W 9% (descent direction of 46 OSM pistes, terrain model)
- Mountain restaurants
- Restaurant Le Panoramic (2474 m)
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 detail →
The price list for this resort is being collected: most resorts publish winter prices between September and November.
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 Planpraz
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 (4) →Official players of the resort, live image. Checked on 18 September 2026.
Webcams provided by windy.com — add a webcam.
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 Planpraz
From Paris: 6 hr 34 (618 km) by road.
By road
- From Genève: 1 hr 07 · 83 km
- From Annecy: 1 hr 20 · 107 km
- From Chambéry: 1 hr 47 · 148 km
- From Grenoble: 2 hr 09 · 150 km
- From Lyon: 2 hr 42 · 226 km
From other major cities (15)
- From Valence: 3 hr 12 · 242 km
- From Saint-Étienne: 3 hr 19 · 284 km
- From Besançon: 3 hr 27 · 235 km
- From Dijon: 3 hr 42 · 339 km
- From Clermont-Ferrand: 4 hr 24 · 396 km
- From Strasbourg: 4 hr 53 · 409 km
- From Montpellier: 5 hr 19 · 447 km
- From Marseille: 5 hr 25 · 456 km
- From Nice: 5 hr 27 · 459 km
- From Nancy: 5 hr 45 · 542 km
- From Paris: 6 hr 34 · 618 km
- From Perpignan: 6 hr 41 · 595 km
- From Toulouse: 7 hr 37 · 681 km
- From Bordeaux: 8 hr 23 · 783 km
- From Pau: 9 hr 31 · 871 km
Excluding traffic and winter conditions; passes closed in winter are avoided.
By train
Chamonix-Mont-Blanc station
regional station · then 6 min drive (2 km)
Nearest main station: Annecy, 1 hr 18 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
- Genève (GVA): 1 hr 32 by road · 91 km
- Chambéry-Savoie (CMF): 1 hr 51 by road · 147 km
Take me there
These links open the app with Planpraz as the destination. Your starting point is never sent by us — the app asks you for it, if you agree.
Charging an electric car
1 charging station within 2 km
9 charging points · up to 7 kW
- CHAMONIX MONT BLANC - Parking Saint Michel · EASYCHARGE · 9 points · 7 kW · 2 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 →Named itineraries: Retour Stade · James Bond Track
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 Planpraz — up to 1,800 m of climb.
| Summit and route | Ski grade | Climb | Altitude | Aspect | From resort |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Le Brévent · couloir Bozon | 3.1 · E1 · PD+ | n/a | 1,030 → 2,000 m | SW | 0.6 km |
| Aiguille de Charlanon · Couloir S | 3.3 · E2 · AD | 1,800 m | 1,087 → 2,549 m | S | 0.7 km |
| Col du Lac Cornu · Par la piste des Nants | 2.3 · E1 · PD | 1,383 m | 1,030 → 2,413 m | S | 0.9 km |
| Aiguille Pourrie · Couloir SE | 3.3 · E1 | 200 m | 2,000 → 2,561 m | SE | 0.9 km |
| Col d'Anterne · Traversée Chamonix - Sixt | n/a · AD | 670 m | 780 → 2,500 m | n/a | 1.2 km |
| Le Brévent · couloir Allais | 3.3 · E2 · AD | n/a | 1,000 → 2,525 m | S | 1.2 km |
| Le Brévent · couloir Bellin | 3.3 · E2 · D- | n/a | 1,050 → 2,525 m | S · SE | 1.2 km |
| Le Brévent · couloir de l'ENSA | 4.1 · E2 · D- | n/a | 1,000 → 2,525 m | SW | 1.2 km |
| Col du Lac Cornu · Lac Cornu | 2.3 · E1 · PD | 220 m | 1,000 → 2,333 m | NW | 1.3 km |
| Lac du Brévent · Depuis le Brévent | 3.1 · E1 | 400 m | 2,159 → 2,525 m | SW | 1.6 km |
| Aiguille de Charlanon · Face E - Couloirs NE | 4.2 · E3 · D | n/a | 2,549 m | NE | 1.8 km |
| Aiguille de Charlanon · Par le col de la Glière | 3.1 · E2 · AD- | 1,260 m | 1,700 → 2,549 m | n/a | 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 Planpraz
Ice rink
- Patinoire R. Bozon · Chamonix-Mont-Blanc · 2.1 km away
- Patinoire des Houches · Les Houches · 6.5 km away
Spa and thermal baths
- QC Terme Spas and Resorts · Chamonix-Mont-Blanc · 2 km away
Dog sledding
- Huskydalen - Chiens de traineaux · Chamonix-Mont-Blanc · 2.1 km away
- Evasion Nordique - Chiens de traineaux · Chamonix-Mont-Blanc · 3 km away
Paragliding
- Chamonix Parapente · Chamonix-Mont-Blanc · 2 km away
- Summits Parapente · Chamonix-Mont-Blanc · 2.1 km away
- Mc Fly école de Parapente & speed riding · Chamonix-Mont-Blanc · 2.1 km away
- Parapente Laurent Nivart · Chamonix-Mont-Blanc · 2.1 km away
Museum
- Musée des Cristaux - Espace Tairraz · Chamonix-Mont-Blanc · 2 km away
- Le Musée du Mont-Blanc · Chamonix-Mont-Blanc · 2.2 km away
- Usine et Espace Héritage de Simond · Chamonix-Mont-Blanc · 3.3 km away
- Maison du Lieutenant · Servoz · 6.5 km away
Cinema
- Cinéma Vox · Chamonix-Mont-Blanc · 2.2 km away
- Cinéma immersif 4D · Chamonix-Mont-Blanc · 2.7 km away
- Espace Animation · Les Houches · 6.8 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
2,653 bed spaces in tourist residences, holiday villages and hostels
- 50 hotels · 2,197 rooms (3 × 5★, 14 × 4★, 18 × 3★, 8 × 2★, 1 × 1★)
- 5 holiday villages and family centres · 658 bed spaces
- 6 tourist residences and apartment hotels · 1,360 bed spaces
- 3 youth hostels and sports centres · 635 bed spaces
- 11 campsites · 907 pitches
Commune: Chamonix-Mont-Blanc · 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
Cabane du Brévent
Ski school
ESF Chamonix
271 instructors
🇬🇧 235 English-speaking instructors — lessons in English available
🗓️ This school sells its lessons online — book ↗
Source: esf.net
Days without skiing
- Ice rink · Patinoire
- Swimming pool · Piscine du centre sportif Richard Bozon
- Cinema · Cinéma Vox
- Swimming pool · Piscine de l'Hotel Oustalet
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 Planpraz
All events →-
17 October 2026 · 14:30
Du Chamonix Palace au musée du Mont-Blanc
Musée du Mont-Blanc · Chamonix-Mont-Blanc
D’hier à aujourd’hui, remontez le fil de l’histoire de l’ancien Chamonix Palace devenu musée Alpin jusqu’à sa rénovation en musée du Mont-Blanc en compagnie de l’architecte Guillaume Girod et de la…
Source: OpenAgenda, agenda “Plan Libre, la gazette” · View on OpenAgenda ↗
Also near: Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (0.3 km), La Flégère (4.3 km), Les Houches (6.8 km), Les Grands Montets (7.5 km)
-
17 October 2026 · 14:30
L’église Saint Jean-Baptiste, un patrimoine à sauvegarder
Eglise Saint-Jean-Baptiste · Les Houches
Découvrez l’église paroissiale Saint Jean-Baptiste des Houches et en particulier les travaux nécessaires à sa restauration future.
Source: OpenAgenda, agenda “Plan Libre, la gazette” · View on OpenAgenda ↗
Also near: Les Houches (0.1 km), Servoz (5.1 km), Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (6.5 km), Saint-Gervais-les-Bains (6.6 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 Planpraz?
Planpraz sits at 2,000 m at village level, and its ski area rises to 2,502 m.
How many kilometres of pistes does Planpraz have?
Planpraz has 51 km of pistes served by 17 lifts (OpenStreetMap survey).
What is the longest piste in Planpraz?
The longest piste is Charles Bozon: 2 km (black run), for 430 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 Planpraz?
The highest lift, Brévent, tops out at 2,458 m (IGN RGE ALTI terrain model). The 7 lifts mapped on OpenStreetMap total 6 km.
How do I get to Planpraz?
By road, Planpraz is 1 hr 07 from Genève (83 km), excluding traffic and winter conditions. By train, the nearest station is Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, 6 min 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 Genève, 1 hr 32 away.
How long is the drive from Paris to Planpraz?
6 hr 34 for 618 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 Planpraz?
Yes: good snow through most of the winter according to twenty winters of Météo-France measurements; in season the daily report prevails.
Is Planpraz good for beginners and families?
58% of the pistes are green or blue: a rather technical area.
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