Arrive at the foot of the ski slopes (almost) when you get off the train? Some mountain areas offer this luxury to travelers coming from Paris. Giving priority to public transport to get to the Alps or the Jura is to save yourself the fatigue generated by several hours of driving and possible traffic jams. Motorists must now equip themselves with snow tires in 48 mountain departments from November 1 (and until March 31) in application of the Mountain II law. All the more reason to turn to public transport.
Reservations are already open for this winter 2021/22.
TGV InOui tickets for the Christmas holidays have been on sale since Wednesday, October 6, and should be in November for the winter holidays.
Ouigo, which will provide a seasonal link between Charles-de-Gaulle airport and Bourg-Saint-Maurice, in Savoie, has already opened sales for the February holidays.
In Savoie, Doubs or Hautes-Pyrénées,
Le Figaro
has selected ski areas easily accessible from Paris thanks to the combination of train and bus (regular lines or seasonal shuttles), and for which the plane and the car are less competitive in travel time, or even in price.
Read alsoCovid-19 and skiing: the ski lifts of the resorts will open, the health pass would be conditioned by the epidemic situation
In the northern Alps
Les Arcs 1600 (Savoie): around 5 hours
Renovated in 2019, the Les Arcs funicular connects the Bourg-Saint-Maurice SNCF station to Arc 1600 in just seven minutes.
John beague
From Paris, Les Arcs station is the only one to be fully accessible by rail.
On the menu: a direct TGV to Bourg-Saint-Maurice (Savoie), then a funicular, renovated in 2019, takes you in just seven minutes to Arc 1600 (€ 3 one way at full price).
From there, shuttles serve the three other high-altitude sites (Arc 1850, Arc 1950 and Arc 2000), opening the 425 km of slopes in the Paradiski area.
From the Gare de Lyon in Paris, the inOui TGVs take at least 4:40 to reach Bourg-Saint-Maurice without change. Traditionally, between five and seven round trips are provided each day, including a night trip in the Paris-Alps direction. The frequencies for this winter season 2021-2022 have not yet been communicated by the SNCF. Since last winter, Ouigo has also served the Tarentaise valley with its low prices (from € 16 one way, or fixed price of € 5 for children under 12) from Charles- airport. de-Gaulle and Marne-la-Vallée - Chessy. The low-cost train will serve Lyon Saint-Exupéry, Grenoble, Albertville, Moûtiers Salins Brides-les-Bains and Aime-la-Plagne from December 16 to March 28. Reservations, timetables and prices on oui.sncf and Ouigo.
Read alsoAux Arcs, Club Med reopens its first French village
Villard-de-Lans and Corrençon-en-Vercors (Isère): around 4 hours
The Transaltitude seasonal shuttles serve around fifteen ski resorts from Grenoble.
Transaltitude
Grenoble (Isère), one of the main gateways to the Alps, is linked to the capital in three hours with the TGV inOui.
From there, it takes an hour by bus to reach Villard-de-Lans, the largest alpine ski resort in the Vercors massif with its 120 km of slopes, linked to the neighboring village of Corrençon-en-Vercors.
You have the choice between the regular bus lines of the Transière network (lines T64 and T65) or the seasonal shuttles of the Transaltitude network set up by the department of Isère.
From € 9.50, sales in November for the line to open on December 18.
Read alsoCross-country skiing, snowshoes ... Vercors, our guide to Nordic activities
L'Alpe d'Huez and Les Deux-Alpes (Isère): around 5 hours
Still from Grenoble, Transaltitude also serves the two main areas of the Oisans massif: Les Deux-Alpes and its ski area, the highest in France;
and L'Alpe d'Huez, the main resort of the department.
Allow two hours for the journey.
From € 12.50;
sales in November on Transaltitude for the line to open on December 4,.
Morzine, Les Gets and Avoriaz (Haute-Savoie): from 5.30 am
Located in the Portes du Soleil area and perched at an altitude of 1,800 meters, Avoriaz was designed from the outset as a car-free ski resort.
To get to the avant-garde spot of Haute-Savoie, take the TGV to Thonon-Les-Bains (4:40 from Gare de Lyon, several direct trains in winter).
The buses of line 91 of the regional coach network then allow you to reach Avoriaz 1800 (1h30), but also Morzine (45 minutes) and Les Gets (1h10).
Count 8 € for the bus trip.
Reservations, timetables and prices on SAT Léman and Altibus.
Read alsoSkiing: the top 10 resorts to book with the family
In the southern Alps
Serre Chevalier (Hautes-Alpes): from 5:30 a.m.
With the Paris-Briançon night train, you wake up (almost) at the foot of the Serre Chevalier slopes.
Jonathan Dupieux
From December 12, it will again be possible to fall asleep in Paris and wake up in the Hautes-Alpes, to go skiing in Serre Chevalier and celebrate this winter the 80th anniversary of the inauguration of the cable car and the ski area. . The Paris-Briançon Night Intercity line will resume service after a nine-month interruption due to work on the tracks. Despite a long journey time (12 hours), this link makes it possible to arrive (almost) at the foot of the slopes in the early morning. In Briançon, the Serre Che Bus serves the villages of the Serre Chevalier valley as far as Monêtier-les-Bains every 20 minutes from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Schedules and prices to come on the Resalp and Zou! Sites.
There are several alternatives for getting to Briançon by day.
The fastest is to take the TGV to Oulx (4:40), in Italy, then the line I bus to the Serre Chevalier valley (1 hour, departure after each TGV arrival).
Another solution, go to Grenoble (3h) and take the LER 35 bus (2h) which stops in all the villages of the “Serre Che '” valley (only two to three round trips per day), before the Briançon terminus.
Read alsoSerre Chevalier, it looks like the South
In Auvergne
Super-Besse and Le Mont-Dore: around 5 hours
The Mont-Dore resort and the Sancy ridges.
OT Sancy
From Clermont-Ferrand station (Puy-de-Dôme), served in 3h30 by Intercités from Paris-Bercy, buses take you to the two main ski resorts in Auvergne.
For Le Mont-Dore, count 1h30 by TER coach to the city center (around 7 round trips per day);
some of these buses lead directly to the foot of the slopes.
Reservations and prices on oui.sncf.
For Super-Besse, take the bus line P74 (1h15, 3 € each way, two return trips only on Saturdays during Christmas and winter holidays).
Read alsoDestination Clermont-Ferrand, volcanic by nature
In the Pyrenees
Barèges (Grand Tourmalet), Cauterets and Gavarnie-Gèdre
Barèges, which together with La Mongie forms the Grand Tourmalet estate, is an hour by bus from Lourdes.
Pierre Meyer - Barèges-Tourmalet Tourist Office
Lourdes, accessible in 4:50 by TGV inOui from Paris-Montparnasse, is one of the main gateways to the Hautes-Pyrénées ski resorts.
Line 965 of the Lio network serves three of them all year round: Barèges (1h), which together with Mongie constitutes the Grand Tourmalet area, Cauterets (1h) and Gavarnie-Gèdre (1h30).
Count 2 € for the bus trip.
Information on the n-py.com website.
Read also In the heart of the Pyrenees, five experiences in a grandiose and unspoiled nature
In the Vosges
La Bresse-Hohneck (Vosges): around 3h40
Accessible in 3:40 by public transport from Paris, La Bresse-Hohneck is one of the closest ski resorts to the capital.
La Bresse tourist office
Located in the Ballons des Vosges regional park, the resort of La Bresse is, with Gérardmer, one of the closest to Paris.
From Gare de l'Est, take the TGV to Remiremont (2h40) then an SNCF coach, which leaves ten minutes after the train arrives.
Travel time to La Bresse: 50 minutes.
Note that only a direct TGV connects the capital to Remiremont (departure at 12:23 pm every day except Saturdays, additional departure at 6:10 pm on Fridays and Sundays).
Reservations and prices on oui.sncf and TER Grand Est.
In the Jura
Monts Jura (Ain): around 3h40
The areas of Lélex-Crozet and Mijoux-la Faucille can be reached in one hour by bus from Bellegarde-sur-Valserine.
Pays de Gex tourist office
Very close to the Franco-Swiss border, the Monts Jura (Ain) resort has three alpine ski areas (Lélex-Crozet, Mijoux-la Faucille and Menthières) and one Nordic ski area (La Vattay-Valserine).
The fastest way to get there is to take the TGV from Gare de Lyon to Bellegarde-sur-Valserine (2h40), then line 153 of the regional bus network to Lélex and Mijoux (1h ).
Count 2 € for the bus trip.
Métabief (Doubs): around 3h30
The Métabief ski area extends between 950 and 1430 meters above sea level and has 37 km of slopes.
From the Gare de Lyon station, take the TGV Lyria to Frasne (2h44), then a TER bus in the direction of Jougne which stops at Métabief (45 minutes).
This leaves about ten minutes after the arrival of the train.
Reservations, timetables and prices on oui.sncf and the TER Bourgogne-Franche-Comté site.
