Here’s a round up of some of the new developments around our resort for the coming ski season
New gondola at La Plagne Bellecote Glacier
Over the summer, the old vintage bubbles from the Bellecote gondola, dating back to the 1970s, were sold off. With a starting price of 500€, apparently the sale took just 90 minutes and most of the bubbles sold for over 2000€. (No, we didn’t buy one!) This December sees the inauguration of a brand new gondola to the glacier. It still departs from Roche de Mio but takes a new trajectory to reach an altitude of 3080m, taking 10 minutes in total. At the top of the Glacier, in the area called Live 3000, there’ll be a new café ‘Le Sixieme Ciel’ with a terrace for breath-taking views – and open during the winter and summer.
(Photos courtesy of SAP)
New Eurostar ski train launched!
A new Eurostar ski train line will be running in December and January 2024. It’s not a direct train as before, but it leaves London St Pancras and stops at Lille, where you will need to change platforms, and then get the next Eurostar to LANDRY (the stop between Aime and Bourg St Maurice), which is just a 10 minute journey from our chalets. If we have availability, we will pick you up from Landry station; if we can’t, we’ll book you a taxi. The only catch is that the train leaves London on a Saturday and returns on a Sunday. If this is of interest, get in touch as we may be able to find you a night’s accommodation in Landry or Bourg St Maurice for that first Saturday night, meaning you would be get 7 days skiing in! And if not, there is always the train from London to Paris, a change in Paris, and then the SNCF train to Landry. Easy!
We have some more info on our own blog, or see https://www.eurostar.com/rw-en/train/france/ski-train
Paradiski is 20 years old!
2003 saw the launch of the infamous double-decker cable car, the Vanoise Express, linking La Plagne and Les Arcs and creating the super-resort Paradiski. With 425kms of piste and 2 glaciers, it can take around 3 – 4 hours to ski from the far end of La Plagne to the far end of Les Arcs, so what better place to stay than right in the middle? (Hint – Alpine365 chalets are right in the middle, making them a great base for exploring the area!) Paradiski has created a brand new logo to celebrate.
Snowshoes – smaller, lighter, easier to use!
During Covid when the lifts were shut, a lot of locals turned to snow-shoe walking. Traditionally snowshoes are quite cumbersome and a pain to carry around as they are so large. Now, a French company has come up with a compact, ergonomic version of the snowshoe. Called Evvo Snowshoes, they are lightweight and much easier to use – we’re excited to try them out! https://www.evvo-snow.com/
Beaufort Cheese vending machine!
During a week at our chalets, our guests will definitely be offered the local Beaufort on our cheeseboard. Produced in the Tarentaise, it’s a hard cheese and tastes slightly different when produced in the winter (when the cows are inside eating hay) than in the summer (when the cows are outside in the alpine meadows, eating grass). If you’re travelling by bus or train, you will often leave from Aime – and the local Beaufort cooperative has just installed a Beaufort cheese vending machine at the train station! So you can get your last fill of cheese before heading home!
Arcs 1600 – the Malgovert Giants
From the Mont Blanc chairlift or piste, you will come across the Malgovert Giants, the guardians of the forest! At 7m tall, these wooden structures have walkways, platforms, climbing walls and games and will make a fun stop for kids and adults alike.
Check out 5 great reasons to ski and stay in Montchavin Les Coches