Les Menuires Skiing
Les Menuires sits at the heart of Les 3 Vallées in the French Alps, the world’s largest ski area, providing fast easy access to a ski area with 600 km of slopes and 7 resorts connected by the peaks.
With almost all of the resort’s accommodation ski-in, ski-out and 85% of this vast ski area in a snowsure location above 1800 metres, just like Les Menuires is, it’s a winter playground like no other offering simply the best of the French mountains.
Les Menuires (pronounced “Meunuires,” not “Ménuires”), has been championing the idea of “excellent and accessible” skiing for 60 years. This is why the resort offers a mix of high-end 4-star hotels and budget-friendly tourist residences. This year it has even cut prices for families buying lift passes together and increased the age by which children qualify for child prices. The child rate now applies to all young people aged 5 to 17.
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© Vincent LOTTENBERG
Snow is guaranteed too, as this is not only a high-altitude resort with the slopes climbing to over 3200m above, but 52% of the huge area is covered by snowmaking machines, ensuring optimal snow coverage and frequent powder.
Les Menuires is not only easy on your wallet, but it is also easy on your legs as it’s a fully integrated resort with everything steps away from your accommodation. The resort is also designed so that almost all accommodations are ski-in/ski-out with pedestrian paths or free shuttles linking the different neighbourhoods.
A Future Proof Design
Some ski resorts have had a crisis of identity over the years, with the giant base buildings of the 1960s and 1970s that were created for efficiency and affordability for families becoming unfashionable in the 21st century, preference switching to faux Alpine chalet style buildings – concrete clad in larch and stone. Les Menuires though has remained proud of its architecture and never bothered too much about “rebranding” (the official tagline “Friendly Menuires” sums it up pretty well and is nice and succinct, functional in fact.) What it has done instead is worked to improve what it has. In the meantime, more people have come back round to see the benefits of large, modern base buildings.
© Vincent LOTTENBERG
For one thing, there’s that little thing called climate change posing an essential threat to snow everywhere – Les Menuires’ buildings are way more energy efficient than lots of smaller chalets with far more outside walls. Actually, the environment has always been a big consideration here and as well as green power for all lifts there’s now biofuel powering groomers and 600 square metres of solar panels generating photovoltaic power on site.
Then as resorts have grown, finding convenient slopeside accommodation is increasingly the dream, but with Les Menuires that was obvious from the start and has been designed into the resort.
This year, it’s the famous Croisette, the resort’s bustling hub with its sixty shops, nine services (tourist office, booking centre, piste services, post office, banks, pharmacy, sports club and medical office), and 555 apartments it has been the hub of the resort for almost six decades and it is undergoing a major facelift before the season starts.
© Vincent LOTTENBERG
“I wanted to reveal a very modern identity, as the gallery was in the 70s, but with a contemporary style reflecting that of Les Menuires,” said local architect Emmanuel Ritz, who is the mastermind behind the new look. He adds,
“La Croisette should mirror Les Menuires as a whole: welcoming, sporty, fun, and family-friendly… We are in a space for human passage, for leisurely strolling, which is its primary identity. Therefore, the work on flows (stripes on the floor, stripes on the wooden slats, elongated lights…) was essential and designed with a very dynamic look, reflecting the spirit of Les Menuires.”
Families Ski For Free On One Day a Week!
New for winter 24-25, Les 3 Vallées ski area has rethought its ski offer to make it more affordable for all families, whatever their compositions (traditional, single-parent, blended, large, grandparents and kids, same-sex families etc). With the new Family Flex pass, you get a day of free skiing on the world’s largest ski area with the purchase of a 6 or more consecutive days ski pass. In further good news, the child rate now applies to all young people aged 5 to 17, not just up to the travel and ski industry standard, age 12.
© Sommet masse Vincent LOTTENBERG
The new pass is available for groups of three or more people (with a maximum of two adults) and can include single-parent families with just one adult and two kids. In terms of cost., it means a family should pay less in total for their ski pass compared to last season which is very unusual! The savings depend on individual family make-up but can be as much as approximately 10%.
Events this Season
There’s entertainment running all through the season, which this year begins on December 7th and continues through to April 21st, 2025, after the Easter holidays. But some weeks there are extra special events to look out for.
4 – 11 January 2025: Winemakers’ Week
After the great success of the inaugural event last winter, the Winemakers’ Week is back for its second edition celebrating the diversity of French vineyards with winemakers in the resort to talk about their wines and offer samples. Enjoy it all with a convivial atmosphere at altitude delivering an epicurean and enriching après-ski experience!
29 March 2025: Completely at La Masse
Back for its third incarnation and open to everyone, this full day of laughter, sport, camaraderie, and zany participants gathers competitors – whether sporty types or not – and holidaymakers looking for quirky activities. The morning is dedicated to self-challenge with a solo or duo descent, scattered with obstacles over a 4.3 km run with a 1000 m vertical drop. At the finish: the little racers win their weight in candy and adults in local beer, “Brava Vela.” The afternoon brings still more fun, with a giant barbecue, sledge race, water slide, and concert. Last year 190 people took part.
This winter make your life easier and pay less by booking your holiday in snow-sure, affordable, family-friendly and functionally designed ski-in, ski-out Les Menuires now!
Main Image © Vue Station Marine VERNAZ
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