Semnoz
Semnoz is a ski resort in the Northern Alps (Haute-Savoie), in the commune of Viuz-la-Chiésaz. The village sits at 1,475 m and the ski area rises to 1,666 m, a skiable vertical of 256 m.
The area offers 16 km of alpine pistes, 21 marked pistes (11 green, 4 blue, 5 red, 1 black), 9 ski lifts, plus a snowpark. Green and blue runs dominate: terrain suited to beginners and families.
Measured on the OpenStreetMap map: the longest piste runs 2 km (Gentianes) and the highest lift tops out at 1,693 m.
Access: 22 min by road from Annecy and 24 min from Annecy railway station.
1 official webcam shows the pistes live (on the French page).
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?2.5 / 5
Top of the ski area: 1,666 m · Bottom of the pistes: 1,410 m · Days above 30 cm per winter, measured: 105 days · Days above 30 cm, December to March, model: 28%
- Ski areaIs there enough to ski all week?2.5 / 5
Km of pistes at the resort: 16 km · Km of pistes across the linked area: 16 km · Lifts: 9 · Balance between piste levels: 82%
- ValueIs the lift pass reasonable for what you get?3.5 / 5
Adult day pass: €18.5 · Day pass price per km of pistes: €1.16/km · Adult 6-day pass: €93
- Families and beginnersIs it right for children and beginners?2.5 / 5
Share of green and blue pistes: 71% · Magic carpets: 0 · Sledging runs: 1 · Special prices out of 4 (beginner, child, family, free age): 1 · ESF ski school · Ice rink, pool, rail sledge…: 1
- AccessIs it easy to get to?3.5 / 5
Average drive time from 20 major cities: 4 hr 09 · Nearest railway station: 24 min · Station-to-resort shuttles per day: 0 · Nearest airport: 58 min
- Atmosphere and après-skiIs there life in the evening and off the slopes?1 / 5
Bars and pubs: 0 · Nightclubs: 0 · Restaurants: 3 · 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 · Adult day pass: €18.5 — 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.
Avalanche danger
7-day forecast
Village 1,475 m · top 1,666 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.
Snow actually measured, winter by winter
18 complete winters measured, from 2008-2009 to 2025-2026 — on average 105 days a winter with at least 30 cm on the ground.
- 1-15 Dec31 cmInsufficient · 40 %
- 16-31 Dec42 cmVariable · 59 %
- 1-15 Jan53 cmVariable · 75 %
- 16-31 Jan75 cmGood skiing · 96 %
- 1-15 Feb92 cmGood skiing · 97 %
- 16-29 Feb95 cmGood skiing · 93 %
- 1-15 Mar94 cmGood skiing · 92 %
- 16-31 Mar80 cmGood skiing · 80 %
- 1-15 Apr57 cmVariable · 67 %
- Best winter of the series
- 2008-2009 — 134 days at 30 cm or more
- Worst winter of the series
- 2022-2023 — 44 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 →21 pistes, by level — 16 km
- Skiable vertical
- 256 m (1,410 m → 1,666 m)
- Lifts
- 1 gondola, 1 chairlift, 7 drag lifts
- Cross-country skiing
- 5 named trails — 24 km of marked loops (12 km of distinct track: the loops overlap), right by 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(5)
Trail Level Length Panthère Noire difficult 8.1 km Les Alouettes (bleu) easy 7.7 km Puma (Bleu) easy 4.1 km Le Lynx (verte) very easy 2.3 km Le Djinn very easy 2.1 km - Snowpark
- 1 mapped zone — Slopestyle (difficult)
OpenStreetMap, surveyed on 12 September 2026. OpenStreetMap does not map individual features (kickers, rails): what is counted here are the named zones. - Without skis
- 1 sledging run
- Piste aspect
- N 33% · E 28% · S 24% · W 15% (descent direction of 23 OSM pistes, terrain model)
- Mountain restaurants
- Les Rochers Blancs (1655 m) · Le Courant d'Ere (1642 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 →
| Adult pass | Price |
|---|---|
| 1 day | €18.50 |
| 6 days | €93 |
| Season | €200 |
| Child, 1 day | €14 |
| Pedestrian, 1 day | €4 |
| Free | Free under 3 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 Semnoz only (“SEMNOZ (LE)”), magic carpets included.
Staying and hiring gear in Semnoz
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 (1) →Semnoz broadcasts its images on its own page: the link takes you there. Checked on 12 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 Semnoz
From Paris: 6 hr 17 (559 km) by road.
By road
- From Annecy: 22 min · 16 km
- From Chambéry: 55 min · 55 km
- From Genève: 1 hr 03 · 62 km
- From Grenoble: 1 hr 29 · 110 km
- From Lyon: 1 hr 54 · 142 km
From other major cities (15)
- From Saint-Étienne: 2 hr 27 · 191 km
- From Valence: 2 hr 27 · 212 km
- From Besançon: 3 hr 23 · 234 km
- From Dijon: 3 hr 25 · 281 km
- From Clermont-Ferrand: 3 hr 46 · 311 km
- From Montpellier: 4 hr 34 · 417 km
- From Marseille: 4 hr 39 · 426 km
- From Strasbourg: 5 hr 18 · 452 km
- From Nancy: 5 hr 28 · 484 km
- From Perpignan: 5 hr 56 · 565 km
- From Paris: 6 hr 17 · 559 km
- From Nice: 6 hr 17 · 584 km
- From Toulouse: 6 hr 52 · 651 km
- From Bordeaux: 7 hr 45 · 697 km
- From Pau: 8 hr 46 · 841 km
Excluding traffic and winter conditions; passes closed in winter are avoided.
By train
Annecy station
main station, high-speed trains · then 24 min drive (18 km)
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): 58 min by road · 54 km
- Genève (GVA): 1 hr 17 by road · 67 km
Take me there
These links open the app with Semnoz 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.
Ski touring routes described
Resorts for ski touring →7 ski touring routes documented within 10 km of Semnoz — up to 1,000 m of climb.
| Summit and route | Ski grade | Climb | Altitude | Aspect | From resort |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Semnoz - Crêt de Chatillon · Versant W | 1.2 · E1 · F | 230 m | 1,470 → 1,699 m | W | 0.4 km |
| Semnoz - Crêt de Chatillon · Crêt de l'Aigle boucle depuis la Maison du Semnoz | 1.2 · E1 · PD- | 600 m | 1,440 → 1,699 m | n/a | 1.2 km |
| Le Semnoz · Couloir du Maquis | 4.3 · E2 · TD- | 1,000 m | 700 → 1,699 m | W | 2.4 km |
| Crêt de l'Aigle · Versant SW | 2.2 · E1 · PD- | 1,000 m | 675 → 1,646 m | SW | 4.4 km |
| Roc des Bœufs · Versant W par la Belle Combe | n/a · PD | 750 m | 1,020 → 1,774 m | W | 8.1 km |
| Pointe de Banc Plat (Montagne du Charbon) · Grotte sous la Pointe de Banc Plat | 2.2 · PD- | n/a | 1,085 → 1,700 m | W | 9.5 km |
| Montagne de Bange · Circuit des Trois Bornes | 2.1 · E1 · PD- | 680 m | 690 → 1,370 m | NW | 9.9 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 Semnoz
Toboggan runs
- Luge d'été · Viuz-la-Chiésaz · 0.3 km away
Paragliding
- F.B.I parapente Tandem · Doussard · 8.4 km away
- My Playground Parapente · Doussard · 9.2 km away
- Bauges Parapente · Lescheraines · 9.4 km away
- Wefly Parapente · Doussard · 9.5 km away
Museum
- Musée de la Cordonnerie · Alby-sur-Chéran · 6.1 km away
- Musée Paccard · Sevrier · 6.1 km away
- Maison de Pays du Laudon · Saint-Jorioz · 6.2 km away
- Ecomusée du Lac d'Annecy · Sevrier · 7.5 km away
Cinema
- Cinéma "Ciné Laudon" · Saint-Jorioz · 5.9 km away
- Ciné Villages · Doussard · 9.8 km away
- Cinéma "Ciné-Talloires" · Talloires-Montmin · 9.9 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
- 1 hotel · 15 rooms
Commune: Viuz-la-Chiésaz · INSEE tourist accommodation survey, 2026, read on 12 September 2026. Collective accommodation only — privately let flats and second homes are not counted. INSEE dataset ↗
Days without skiing
- Alpine coaster · Piste de luge d'été
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 Semnoz?
Semnoz sits at 1,475 m at village level, and its ski area rises to 1,666 m.
How many kilometres of pistes does Semnoz have?
Semnoz has 16 km of pistes served by 9 lifts (OpenStreetMap survey).
What is the longest piste in Semnoz?
The longest piste is Gentianes: 2 km (green run), for 168 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 Semnoz?
The highest lift, TSCD du Belvédère (chair-and-gondola lift), tops out at 1,699 m. Source: STRMTG, French national register of mechanical lifts (CAIRN database), file dated 1 January 2025.
How many lifts does Semnoz have, and what is their capacity?
The French national register of mechanical lifts records 12 installations at Semnoz (2 chairlifts, 8 drag lifts, 2 magic carpets), for an authorised capacity of 11,380 people per hour, of which 2,600 for TSCD du Belvédère alone. The fleet spans 1968 to 2018, an average age of 19 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 Semnoz?
The adult day pass costs €18.50 and the 6-day pass €93 (current season, read on the official price list).
How do I get to Semnoz?
By road, Semnoz is 22 min from Annecy (16 km), excluding traffic and winter conditions. By train, the nearest station is Annecy (main station, high-speed trains), 24 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 Chambéry-Savoie, 58 min away.
How long is the drive from Paris to Semnoz?
6 hr 17 for 559 km from central Paris, excluding traffic and winter conditions. Computed on the real road network (OpenStreetMap): allow more on a school-holiday Saturday.
Is Semnoz good for beginners and families?
71% of the pistes are green or blue: a rather easy area.
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