Valmeinier
Off season1,800 mVillage altitude
2,750 mTop of the ski area
160 kmLinked pistes · Galibier-Thabor
23Ski lifts
€52.30Adult day pass · Galibier-Thabor
Valmeinier is a ski resort in the Northern Alps (Savoie). The village sits at 1,800 m and the ski area rises to 2,750 m, a skiable vertical of 1,250 m.
Live webcams
All webcams (8) →Moneul — Crey du QuartRoundshot
Front de Neige · PhotoSkaping
SandoniereSkaping
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. 4 more cameras on the webcam page. Checked on 25 September 2026.
Snow, opening and weather
Snow report →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 ST-MICHEL DE MAURIENNE LE THYL station (1,345 m)
Source: Météo-France, ST-MICHEL DE MAURIENNE LE THYL weather station, 4.2 km away. Hourly measurement — not the resort’s own snow report.
Avalanche danger
Good snow from early February to mid-March. 93 days a winter at 30 cm or more on average, and 355 cm of fresh snow, measured over 24 winters at the Météo-France “Les Menuires” station. Fortnight by fortnight, over 24 measured winters →
3-day forecast
Village 1,800 m · top 2,750 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?3.5 / 5
Top of the ski area: 2,750 m · Bottom of the pistes: 1,500 m · Days above 30 cm per winter, measured: 93 days · Days above 30 cm, December to March, model: 82%
- Ski areaIs there enough to ski all week?4 / 5
Km skiable from the resort, linked area included: 160 km · Lifts: 23
- ValueIs the lift pass reasonable for what you get?3 / 5
Adult day pass: €52.30 · Day pass price per km of pistes: €0.33/km · Adult 6-day pass: €265 · Price read at a neighbouring resort of the same area
- Families and beginnersIs it right for children and beginners?3 / 5
Share of green and blue pistes: 68% · Magic carpets: 6 · ESF ski school · Ice rink, pool, rail sledge…: 2
- AccessIs it easy to get to?4 / 5
Average drive time from 20 major cities: 4 hr 37 · Nearest railway station: 16 min · Station-to-resort shuttles per day: 1 · Nearest airport: 1 hr 26
- Atmosphere and après-skiIs there life in the evening and off the slopes?3 / 5
Bars and pubs: 3 · Nightclubs: 0 · Restaurants: 14 · Upcoming events: 0 · Collective tourist beds: 4,143 — 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: €52.30 — 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 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).
Lift passes
All prices (child, family, season) →€265 6 days
Price declared by the resort to ANMSM (the French ski resorts’ mayors association) — not the official price list, which prevails. Galibier-Thabor pass, covering the whole linked area. Season not stated by the resort. ANMSM ↗
- Skiable vertical
- 1,250 m
- Cross-country skiing
- 4 named trails — 16 km of marked loops (5.5 km of distinct track: the loops overlap), 6.6 km from the resort
- Snowpark
- Yes
Ski-area figures — village, bottom, top, km of the linked area: ANMSM — figures declared by the resort (25 Sept); lifts: STRMTG — French national lift register (1 Jan) . In a linked ski area the map cannot tell where the resort ends: its own km stay “n/a” until the resort declares them.
The ski area in figures
Measured on 9 September 20267 kmLongest piste — Selles (blue), 673 m of vertical
849 mBiggest vertical without changing piste — 2,493 → 1,643 m, 5 km
2,741 mHighest lift top — Sandoniere (detachable chairlift), national lift register
23,836Total lift capacity, people per hour — 23 installations: 10 chairlifts, 7 drag lifts, 6 magic carpets
20 yrsAverage age of the lift fleet — oldest 1973, newest 2021
2,800Biggest lift, people per hour — Les Jeux (detachable chairlift, 2011)
30 kmTotal length of lifts — 32 lifts mapped
3,827 haSki area boundary (OSM)
593Inhabitants — Valmeinier (INSEE 73307)
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 Valmeinier only (“VALMEINIER”), magic carpets included.
Staying and hiring gear in Valmeinier
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
4,143 bed spaces in tourist residences, holiday villages and hostels
- 2 hotels · 80 rooms (1 × 3★, 1 × 2★)
- 3 holiday villages and family centres · 840 bed spaces
- 7 tourist residences and apartment hotels · 3,208 bed spaces
- 1 youth hostel or sports centre · 95 bed spaces
Commune: Valmeinier · 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 Planet
Self-catering flats and all-inclusive ski holidays at the foot of the slopes, since 1999.
Montagne Vacances
Flats and chalets in the resort, at direct prices.
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 Valmeinier
Without skis on — 9 km of snowshoe and walking trails · 1 sledging run
Swimming pool
- Piscine de Valloire · Valloire · 4.4 km away
- Espace Aquatique et Piscine · Montricher-Albanne · 7.6 km away
Dog sledding
- MUSHING SPIRIT · Valloire · 4.8 km away
Paragliding
- Envergure - Parapente · Valmeinier · 2 km away
- Lenvair Parapente · Valloire · 2.9 km away
Museum
- Espace Alu · Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne · 3.6 km away
- Ecomusée "Montricher autrefois" · Montricher-Albanne · 7.5 km away
Cinema
- Cinéma de Valmeinier · Valmeinier · 1.6 km away
- Cinéma · Valloire · 4.8 km away
- Cinéma · Montricher-Albanne · 7.5 km away
- Valmeinier 1800 · 1.6 km away · OpenStreetMap
Bowling
- Les Quilles du Tabarnak – PUB & BOWLING · 1.6 km away · OpenStreetMap
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 Valmeinier
90 instructors
🇬🇧 50 English-speaking instructors — lessons in English available
🗓️ This school sells its lessons online — book ↗
Source: esf.net
Resort contacts and documents
- Tourist office
- VALMEINIER · 72 esplanade des Islettes, 73450 · 04 79 59 53 69 · info@valmeinier.com (declared by the resort, ANMSM)
- Resort app
- Android (declared by the resort, ANMSM)
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.
Resort data: declared by VALMEINIER and distributed by ANMSM · read on 25 September
Off the pistes: off-piste and ski touring
The resorts for off-piste skiing → 2 Marked off-piste itineraries · 2 km
2 km Ski touring routes
Named itineraries: Cotérieux · Chamois
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 Valmeinier — up to 14,000 m of climb.
| Summit and route | Ski grade | Climb | Altitude | Aspect | From resort |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Fourchon · Versant S | n/a · PD- | 830 m | 1,670 → 2,540 m | n/a | 3.2 km |
| Pointe de la Sandonière · Versant SW | 2.2 · E1 · F+ | 1,125 m | 1,800 → 2,925 m | SW | 3.4 km |
| Col des Marches · Versant W | n/a · F | 925 m | 1,800 → 2,725 m | NW | 3.7 km |
| Roche du Lac · Traversée SW >> NW | 2.3 · E1 · PD | 1,100 m | 1,700 → 2,789 m | W | 3.9 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 September 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
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 Valmeinier
From Paris: 7 hr 02 (669 km) by road.
By road
- From Chambéry: 1 hr 15 · 100 km
- From Grenoble: 1 hr 31 · 129 km
- From Annecy: 1 hr 44 · 147 km
- From Genève: 2 hr 13 · 185 km
- From Lyon: 2 hr 25 · 198 km
From other major cities (15)
- From Valence: 2 hr 34 · 222 km
- From Saint-Étienne: 2 hr 59 · 247 km
- From Dijon: 4 hr 17 · 399 km
- From Clermont-Ferrand: 4 hr 18 · 367 km
- From Besançon: 4 hr 33 · 357 km
- From Montpellier: 4 hr 41 · 426 km
- From Marseille: 4 hr 42 · 324 km
- From Nice: 5 hr 04 · 406 km
- From Perpignan: 6 hr 03 · 574 km
- From Nancy: 6 hr 24 · 610 km
- From Strasbourg: 6 hr 28 · 574 km
- From Toulouse: 6 hr 59 · 660 km
- From Paris: 7 hr 02 · 669 km
- From Bordeaux: 8 hr 16 · 753 km
- From Pau: 8 hr 53 · 850 km
Excluding traffic and winter conditions; passes closed in winter are avoided.
By train
Saint-Michel - Valloire station
regional station · then 16 min drive (13 km)
Nearest main station: Chambéry - Challes-les-Eaux, 1 hr 13 by road.
- From Saint-Michel - Valloire station (stop “College P.Mougin”): line S41 — ST-MICHEL DE MAURIENNE ↔ VALMEINIER (REGION - cars Région Savoie), 33 min to the “Croisement Arméra” stop — 1 departure a day on weekdays · first 12:10, last 18:15 · timetable from 15 December 2026 to 15 April 2027 · official timetable ↗
Direct journeys read from the official timetable files published on transport.data.gouv.fr — no connections.
By plane
- Chambéry-Savoie (CMF): 1 hr 26 by road · 107 km
- Grenoble-Alpes-Isère (GNB): 2 hr 04 by road · 175 km
Take me there
These links open the app with Valmeinier 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.
The area offers 160 km of alpine pistes across Galibier-Thabor, 23 ski lifts, plus a snowpark.
Valmeinier belongs to the linked Galibier-Thabor area: one lift pass covers the neighbouring resorts.
Measured on the OpenStreetMap map: the longest piste runs 7 km (Selles) and the highest lift tops out at 2,738 m.
The resort holds the Station classée de tourisme label.
Access: 1 h 15 by road from Chambéry and 16 min from Saint-Michel - Valloire railway station.
5 official webcams show the pistes live (on the French page).
Frequently asked questions
How high is Valmeinier?
Valmeinier sits at 1,800 m at village level, and its ski area rises to 2,750 m.
How many kilometres of pistes does Valmeinier have?
From Valmeinier you can ski 160 km of slopes across Galibier-Thabor, 23 lifts.
What is the longest piste in Valmeinier?
The longest piste is Selles: 7 km (blue run), for 673 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 Valmeinier?
The highest lift, Sandoniere (detachable chairlift), tops out at 2,741 m. Source: STRMTG, French national register of mechanical lifts (CAIRN database), file dated 1 January 2025.
How many lifts does Valmeinier have, and what is their capacity?
The French national register of mechanical lifts records 23 installations at Valmeinier (10 chairlifts, 7 drag lifts, 6 magic carpets), for an authorised capacity of 23,836 people per hour, of which 2,800 for Les Jeux alone. The fleet spans 1973 to 2021, an average age of 20 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 Valmeinier?
The adult day pass for the Galibier-Thabor linked area costs €52.30 and the 6-day pass €265 (season not stated by the resort, declared by the resort to ANMSM (the French ski resorts’ mayors association)).
How do I get to Valmeinier?
By road, Valmeinier is 1 hr 15 from Chambéry (100 km), excluding traffic and winter conditions. By train, the nearest station is Saint-Michel - Valloire, 16 min by road from the resort. From Saint-Michel - Valloire station, line S41 — ST-MICHEL DE MAURIENNE ↔ VALMEINIER (REGION - cars Région Savoie) reaches the “Croisement Arméra” stop in 33 min, 1 departure a day on weekdays. The nearest airport is Chambéry-Savoie, 1 hr 26 away.
How long is the drive from Paris to Valmeinier?
7 hr 02 for 669 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 Valmeinier?
Good snow from early February to mid-March. 93 days a winter at 30 cm or more on average, and 355 cm of fresh snow, measured over 24 winters at the Météo-France “Les Menuires” station. This verdict rests on 24 winters of Météo-France measurements (1972-2023); in season the daily report prevails.
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. Valmeinier in French →
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