Les Menuires Ski Resort Guide
Les Menuires is often overshadowed by its neighbours within the Three Valleys. With nearby Val Thorens being the highest ski resort in Europe, Courchevel being the playground of the rich and famous, and Meribel being the centre of the world’s largest combined ski area, Les Menuires can often be an afterthought. Honestly, that is a MASSIVE mistake and overlooking Les Menuires could just hurt your experience and your wallet.
Les Menuires is a fantastic family ski holiday destination with affordable ski-in-ski-out accommodation in a major ski area. Locally the 150km of local pistes combine with some excellent off-piste snowboarding to ensure Les Menuires has enough to entice visitors on its own. Les Menuires combines a great local ski area with excellent connections to Val Thorens, Meribel and St Martin de Belleville that help it pack a punch for skiable terrain and value.
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LES MENUIRES FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Driving to Val Thorens I passed through Les Menuires and was impressed by what I could see of La Masse from the road. This was reason enough to make Les Menuires one of my first stops on my most recent trip to the Three Valleys ski area.
LES MENUIRES SKI AREA
The ski area of Les Menuires is split across both sides of the Valley de Belleville with the village at 1850m. This lower base makes for a shorter season than nearby Val Thorens but there are plenty of areas in the resort that have great snow throughout the season with skiing possible to above 2800m.
The layout of Les Menuires offers a good variety of skiing and scenery with everything from wide-open pistes, to freeride zones, and high alpine skiing at Pointe de la Masse.
The area between the village at 1850m and the Col de la Chambre at 2850m offers 1000m of decent via mostly mellow beginner and intermediate terrain. The runs on this side were really fun, however the closer to the village you got crowds formed, especially close to the Sunny Express lift.
On Pointe de la Masse, you will find the more challenging terrain, including the Liberty Ride Zone and Dame Blanche. The terrain on both the La Masse side and closer to the village offers 1000m of vertical drop so Les Menuires is fantastic for long descents.
Within Les Menuires, there are 150km of pistes locally that combine with Val Thorens and St Martin de Belleville to form 300km of pistes within the Valley de Belleville. Further aside, the Les Menuires ski area also combines with Meribel, Courchevel, and Orelle to form the world’s largest combined ski area Les Trois Valley (3 Valleys).
LES MENUIRES FOR BEGINNERS
Les Menuires caters really well for beginners with a number of magic carpet learning areas dotted around the village. Dedicated beginner’s pistes help to make the process of learning easier for first-time skiers and snowboarders in Les Menuires, but beware these can be busy during peak weeks. Beginners in Les Menuires will appreciate the mellow green trails around the village, as well as the opportunity to progress onto the wide blues that spread across the eastern side of the Valley de Belleville.
LES MENUIRES FOR INTERMEDIATES
Les Menuires comes into its own for intermediates, especially those who have either the Valley de Belleville lift pass or the Three Valleys lift pass. Both locally and throughout the Three Valleys there is an extensive selection of blue and red terrain for intermediate skiers and snowboarders to explore. I particularly enjoyed the runs beneath the Bruyeres 1 and Bruyeres 2 gondolas that link together forming 1000m of vertical drop towards the village.
LES MENUIRES FOR ADVANCED
More experienced skiers and snowboarders visiting Les Menuires should head straight for La Masse. Pointe de la Masse, offers some of the best and most challenging terrain in Les Menuires and if you avoid the blues on La Masse you should also avoid the crowds.
View from Pointe De La Masse
FREESTYLE LES MENUIRES
In Les Menuires, there are a few freestyle areas. The Pixel Area Snowpark is the most traditional style terrain park in Les Menuires with features sized XS to L. Snowboarders and skiers can choose features in this area to suit their ability and progress accordingly. Les Menuires also has a boardercross track which can be found at the top of the Becca Chairlift. Finally, the Friendly Natural Park on La Masse offers a slalom alongside ski games.
OFF-PISTE LES MENUIRES
In Les Menuires, the off-piste snowboarding is a real draw to the area. The freeride areas known as the Liberty Ride Zones are perfect for finding untracked snow. There are two of these within Les Menuires, La Masse and Les Pylônes. La Masse is accessed via the Pointe de al Masse gondola and can be seen in my Les Menuires Ski Resort Review here (2.25). Les Pylônes Liberty ride zone is accessed from the Sunny Express chairlift.
If venturing off-piste in Les Menuires, the Park des Menuires AVD gives you the opportunity to practice search and rescue and check that your beacons are working. This can be found via the Roc 1 gondola.
LIFTS LES MENUIRES
Les Menuires lift infrastructure blends modern gondolas and fast chairlifts with some older installations like Croisette that serve their purpose. The new gondola to Pointe de la Masse is fast and quick rising 1000m in around 8 minutes. Similarly, the Bruyeres two-stage gondola is modern but can have serious queues during peak times at Bruyeres 1.
The lifts at Les Menuires ensure swift connections to the rest of the Three Valleys meaning skiers and snowboarders can be in Val Thorens or Meribel within a couple of lifts.
Network of Ski Lifts in Val Thorens.
WHERE TO SKI IN BAD WEATHER LES MENUIRES
The majority of the skiing in the Belleville valley is treeless due the high altitude of Val Thorens and Les Menuires. In whiteout conditions, consider skiing down into St Martin de Belleville or taking the links to Meribel where the trees will provide greater context.
LES MENUIRES PISTE MAP
LES MENUIRES GALLERY
LES MENUIRES VILLAGE
The villages in Les Menuires are renowned for being unattractive eyesores that blight it as one of the ugliest ski resort villages. What the village at Les Menuires 1850 lacks in looks it makes up in convenience with ski-in-ski-out accommodation throughout the village.
Photo Credit @yannallegre
Les Menuires has 5 districts or villages that are served by free shuttle buses allowing easy travel between the villages. La Croisette is as described, the ugly purpose-built village that is the centre of Les Menuires. Below Croisette is Preyerand, which is a good shout for finding affordable accommodation. If you are looking for some charm then the Grand Reberty area has nice accommodation on the slopes with good access to the pistes of Les Menuires. Bruyères has good access to Val Thorens via its gondola that departs from the village.
LES MENUIRES SEASON DATES
Les Menuires opens in December and closes in April but that shouldn’t limit your visit to these months only. Val Thorens is open for longer and can be accessed by bus or self-drive when Les Menuires is closed for the winter. This can make Les Menuires an affordable base for a Nov or May trip to Val Thorens.
TRAVEL TO LES MENUIRES
WHERE IS LES MENUIRES SKI RESORT?
Les Menuires is in the Vallèe de Bellevilles in the Savoie region of France. Located between the villages of Val Thorens and St Martin, Les Menuires is a central location to explore the Vallee de Belleville.
Les Menuires is easy to access within France’s Savoie region which is cluttered with world-class ski areas. The high proximity of ski resorts in the Savoie ensures that many facilities and businesses are geared around travel to the ski areas.
GETTING TO LES MENUIRES BY AIR
Flying to Les Menuires is the fastest and easiest way to get to Les Menuires from the UK. Flying into Geneva airport represents your best bet with regular flights and many transfer operators in the terminal building. Alternative routes into Lyon are also possible.
From both Geneva and Lyon airports you can then either self-drive, take a transfer or continue your route by train towards Moutiers.
Flying is and will remain the easiest and quickest way to reach a ski resort however, it also has the largest impact on your Carbon footprint.
GETTING TO LES MENUIRES BY TRAIN
Taking the train to Les Menuires is possible with trains from London via Paris arriving at Moutiers which is within an hour from Les Menuires. Arriving in Moutiers by train you can connect to Les Menuires via local bus services. Train and bus journeys to Les Menuires are great for minimizing your carbon footprint.
GETTING TO LES MENUIRES BY CAR
Although a longer journey, I have always appreciated the freedom that can come from driving your car to the ski resort. Driving to Les Menuires is straightforward although cumbersome driving long distances down motorways. Having driven to nearby Val Thorens when travelling with my dog, I found the journey really simple. The car journey to Les Menuires will be slightly shorter than the journey to Val Thorens.
Driving to Les Menuires will involve taking either a ferry or Le Shuttle to Calais before starting your drive to the southeast of France. The easiest route is to stick to the French toll-roads which are well-maintained and easy to navigate, although this does come at a further cost.
If you intend to drive to Les Menuires, remember it is essential to have winter tyres and snow chains.
GETTING TO LES MENUIRES BY COACH
Travelling from London to Les Menuires by coach is an affordable option but is probably most people’s least favourite method of transport. Operating from London Victoria Coach Station Snow Express operates weekly departures to Les Menuires throughout the winter season.
The coach to Les Menuires travels through the night until arriving in Moutiers where you will change onto a public bus service (included in your ticket) to arrive into the resort.
LES MENUIRES LIFT PASSES
There are multiple ski pass options for Les Menuires and choosing the right one for you and your group can be confusing. Let’s take a look at the best options below.
LOCAL AREA PASS - LES MENUIRES/ST MARTIN DE BELLEVILLE
The local area pass for Les Menuires and St Martin de Belleville allows access to the 150km of runs within these ski areas. Purchasing the local pass will save you around €10 each day when compared to the Three Valleys Pass. I would recommend this lift pass if you are a beginner or early intermediate, as 150km is plenty of terrain to get started with.
VALLEE DES BELLEVILLES PASS
This pass similar to the above does not offer full Three Valleys ski area access but it is a good medium point. This pass includes 300km of terrain shared between; Val Thorens, Orelle, Les Menuires, & St Martin de Belleville. With 300km of pistes, this pass covers 50% of the available pistes in the Three Valleys ski area. This is a great option for those looking to explore further than Les Menuires but without the need to ski in every Three Valleys ski area.
Purchasing the Vallee des Bellevilles pass will save around €5 per day.
THREE VALLEYS LIFT PASS
Those looking to explore the full ski area should look to purchase the full Three Valleys ski pass. This pass covers the 600km of pistes across all Three Valleys ski areas. Although €10 per day more expensive than a local Les Menuires lift pass, this extensive pass is a great option for the more able who may wish to explore the entirety of the combined ski area.
EPIC PASS HOLDERS
If like me you visited the Three Valleys using an Epic Pass then you are entitled to a 7-day Three Valley ski pass which covers the entire 600km and all resorts in the Three Valleys. Epic Pass holders will need to take their Epic Pass and photo ID to La Croisette (under Roc 1 gondola) to collect there free 7-day Three Valleys lift pass.
ABILITY
Beginners and early intermediates visiting Les Menuires should consider purchasing the local pass. The local area is more than big enough for beginners and early intermediates.
The more able will want to escape Les Menuires and explore the rest of the Three Valleys as it has so much to offer.
BUDGET
If budget is a consideration then meeting midway and getting the Vallee des Bellevilles pass could be your best option. 300km of pistes within this area should be enough to satisfy even the most ardent skiers and snowboarders on a week’s trip to the Three Valleys.
RETURNING VISITOR
If you are returning to Les Menuires and want to escape the local area then having the Three Valleys lift pass is ideal. You can still ski within the local area but the Three Valleys pass allows you to make the most of the connections to the nearby ski areas. The connections between Les Menuires and the resorts of Meribel and Val Thorens are fantastic, this makes the Three Valleys pass worth having.
LES MENUIRES PROS
Les Menuires has skiing above the village at 1800m-2850m making it a snow-sure ski area.
The new Pointe de la Masse gondola gives fantastic access to high-altitude skiing with a quick ride (8 mins) to 2800m.
As with the whole Three Valleys, Les Menuires is continuing to invest in its lift infrastructure ensuring that connections within Les Menuires and between the resorts of the Three Valleys remain excellent.
The area around the village of Les Menuires is great for learning to ski and snowboard with wide trails and mellow gradients.
The village of Les Menuires is perfect for ski-in-ski-out accommodation… even if it is a bit ugly.
The area at the top of La Masse in Les Menuires has some great off-piste.
LES MENUIRES CONS
The area around the village can be busy with lift queues at key times of day. The slopes around the village can feel overcrowded. Once away from the village this is less of an issue.
The pistes around the village can have much different conditions to those at the top of the resort. The higher traffic and lower elevations can make village runs slushy and bumpy.
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LES MENUIRES FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
IS LES MENUIRES FOR BEGINNERS?
Les Menuires is perfect for beginner skiers and snowboarders. The slopes close to the village are mellow and there are a number of beginner areas with magic carpets to help you learn. The majority of the terrain on the village side of Les Menuires is suitable for beginner skiers and snowboarders with plenty of long blues and some green runs close to the village.
IS LES MENUIRES EXPENSIVE?
Les Menuires is one of the more affordable places to stay within the Three Valleys. The village of Les Menuires offers ski-in-ski-out apartment-style accommodation within easy access to the rest of the Three Valleys making it a great base for those on a budget.
WHAT IS THE CLOSEST AIRPORT TO LES MENUIRES?
The closest airport to Les Menuires is Chambery but it is more likely that you will fly to Geneva airport which has a more regular flight schedule than Chambery. Chambery Airport however offers the closest access and, therefore the shortest transfer journey to Les Menuires.
HOW LONG TO SKI FROM LES MENUIRES TO COURCHEVEL?
Skiing between Les Menuires and Courchevel is possible although it is the longest commute from Les Menuires. Expect to spend a couple of hours skiing between the resorts depending on your ability level.
IS LES MENUIRES CONNECTED TO VAL THORENS?
You can ski between Les Menuires and Val Thorens via Mont de la Chambre. From Val Thorens, it is possible to ski back into Les Menuires, simply continue to head down the valley.
LES MENUIRES FINAL THOUGHTS
Les Menuires remains a fantastic base for your Three Valleys ski holiday. As someone who always has an eye on the budget staying in Les Menuires appeals for good value accommodation without sacrificing access to the Three Valleys ski area. I enjoyed the skiing on La Masse and would opt to spend the majority of my time in La Masse when returning to Les Menuires.
