How to get to Les Arcs

Flying to Geneva is probably the easiest way to get to Les Arcs for most international visitors.

You'll easily pick up a transfer from Geneva. You can also hire a car and be on your way in no time. Journey time is around 2h45.

The only trouble with flying anywhere is the environmental cost. Driving, coming by coach or catching a train are usually better options if you want to reduce CO2 emissions.

Flying to other airports

Lyon or Grenoble are options for Les Arcs if you can’t get a flight to Geneva. Both are around 215km away and transfers take 2h30 hours.

Chambery is actually closer than the three airports already mentioned, but it's a lot smaller and not as many airlines fly there. But if you can get a flight then great. 

We wouldn't recommend flying to Turin or Milan - even if they look close on the map. It usually takes a lot longer to get to the resort, and you'll often have to rely on pricey private transfers.

There are several ways to get from the airport to Les Arcs. If your transfer only takes you as far as Bourg St Maurice, you can hop on the funicular at the train station and be at Arcs 1600 (the lowest of the Les Arcs) resorts in just seven minutes. 

There are free shuttle buses between Les Arcs 1600 and other villages in the resort (including Les Arcs 1800, Les Arcs 1950 and Les Arcs 2000).

Getting to Les Arcs by train may involve a few changes, which can be tricky with baggage or kids. But:

• it's the most environmentally-friendly option
• you get more leg room than on a plane or in a car
• you normally won't have to pay extra for luggage
• journey times can be similar to driving or flying if you're doing a trip like London to Les Arcs

Which train station is closest to Les Arcs

Bourg St Maurice is the closest train station to Les Arcs and it's connected to Arcs 1600 by a funicular that takes seven minutes. 

High speed (TGV) trains from Paris and the Eurostar Snow train stop at Bourg St Maurice. 

If you're coming to Les Arcs from the UK

London to Les Arcs by train takes nine to 12 hours.

Les Arcs is relatively easy to get to by car, but you don't really need your car once you're in resort, thanks to the free shuttle buses.

Read more about parking in Les Arcs

If you're using the French autoroute, the journey as far as Bourg St Maurice is straightforward. The final 35 minutes is a little more arduous as you wind your way up the 17km stretch into Les Arcs.

This road is cleared every day during winter, but it's not a trip for nervous drivers - especially in bad weather. 

Remember too that if you're coming here for a ski holiday, you'll need to fit winter tyres or keep snow chains in the boot of your car.   

Driving to Les Arcs from the UK

It takes about 9h40 to drive from Calais to Les Arcs - a distance of around 930km.

Unless you're driving an electric car to the Alps however, driving isn't very environmentally friendly.

Getting to Les Arcs by coach takes longer than flying. It's usually cheaper though, which makes it a good option if you're on a budget.

It's also a relatively environmentally-friendly way to travel.

International coach companies like FlixBus, Eurolines, BlaBlaBus and RegioJet run services to Lyon, Grenoble and Geneva. From there, you can pick up a bus transfer to Les Arcs.

Coaches from London to Les Arcs

There's a direct overnight coach from London to Les Arcs that runs once a week during the winter. The coach stops in Bourg St Maurice, where you can hop on the funicular for a short ride into the resort.

Total journey time is about 19 hours.

We know flying is often the most convenient way to get to Les Arcs, but we'd encourage you to look at alternatives.

As Bourg St Maurice is so close to the resort, Les Arcs is one of the few ski resorts where it's genuinely possible to do the journey without lots of changes. This means you can minimise your carbon footprint while still getting to the resort in good time.

Source: Carbon footprint of travel per kilometre (ourworldindata.org)