La Plagne

My partner and I were in Courmayeur a few years ago for a weeks skiing in March. Having flown to Turin we went up the Val d’Aosta on a bus, quite a pretty 3-hour drive with numerous tunnels. Considering recent events on the alternative route (Mont Blanc tunnel) this is the one to opt for. We stayed in the Hotel Berthod, a nice 2 star b & b, courtesy of Thomson’s Holidays. It's a family run place that's been owned by the same people for over a hundred years, and has a nice cosy atmosphere. The rooms are traditional with private balconies and huge baths - always a big bonus when ... more

I went skiing for the first time to the resort of Belle Plagne, La Plagne in the French Alps for a week which started 22nd January 2005. The tour operator for the trip was Neilson and it cost £350 for 7 days self catering in the 'Les Constellations - Themis' apartments, including return flights from Manchester to Lyon, and transfers. As this review is of the resort, I will not babble on with my comments of the tour operator or the accommodation, I will comment on my thoughts of Belle Plagne as a novice skiier. The Belle Plagne Resort sits at 2000m within the La Plagne Resort in the French Alps ... more

My partner and I skied at La Plagne for a week in April 1999. After attempting to fly to Lyon we were diverted to Grenoble due to fog so spent several hours sunbathing on the tarmac while we waited for transport to arrive. The transfer should only have been 2 hours but ended up being something like 4 as a result. This nearly did for us as we had massive hangovers due to spending Bank Holiday Friday in various Horley pubs, before departing from Gatwick. Although we were skiing the La Plagne area we stayed in the satellite village of Les Coches to the west of the ski area at 1400m. Our ... more

Its virtually above the tree line, its quite ugly, but its about the best place in Europe to learn to ski. A great ski school with the most steriotypical Ecole du Ski ESF guys you will ever meet. It could be a wind chill of -50 and they will still be there with just a pair of ray-bans and a ski band. How do they smoke a fag and ski at the same time? Can get very crowded, esp. at the main lift stations. Belle Plagne quite nice, but no night life. For the best bars go to Plagne Centre. If you want to know what altitude sickness feels like, then go up to the glacier and take the chair lift to the ... more

I visited La Plagne in January 2001, what a fantastic ski area! Like a lot of French ski resorts that are popular with Brits La Plagne can be expensive to get to from the UK when using the normal tour operators. Stop! The tourist office is wonderfully helpful, (laplagne.com), and they speak good English if you need to phone them.The best price I was offered came to £340 for two people sharing a studio appartment and two 6day ski passes. Throw in a couple of return flights to St Etienne with Ryanair for only £100 all in, and you've got a holiday in a top ski resort at basement prices. Plus ... more