Ski holidays in Les Arcs

Les Arcs is an excellent ski resort for eating out with a wide choice of restaurants both on and off the mountain. Up in Arc 2000, Le 2134 has a lovely panoramic terrace with 360-degree views of the mountains. The restaurant focuses on high quality local produce featuring traditional Savoyard dishes and a great selection of Savoie wines, chosen for their environmentally-friendly production, without pesticides or chemicals. Tucked away in a quiet corner of Arc 2000, the delightful Au Refuge Gourmand is as cozy as it is charming. A very small restaurant – what it lacks in size it makes up for in friendly service and delicious food and drink. Finally, if you’re looking for a quick snack in Arc 2000, it’s hard to find many better restaurants than the Bois de L’Ours, which specialises in delicious sandwiches, burgers and cakes. 

Le Vache Rouge in Arc 1950 is also highly recommended. This quirky restaurant greets outside visitors with a large red cow and the cow theme continues inside, both with the funky interior and on the menu. Beef steaks and burgers abound, but again it is the fondue (with meat platter) that makes us want to go back. Wood Bear is a charming family run café in 1950 offering tasty soups, sandwiches and tarts - vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options are available.

Lower down the mountain, in Arc 1800 you'll find a variety of restaurants ready to greet skiers. Le Chic Mama, located near the pistes, is the perfect place for a delicious lunch or dinner. It offers a simple daily menu, along with local Savoyard specialties such as fondue, raclette, and tartiflette, plus a selection of homemade desserts to top it off. If you are looking for a quick lunch spot Miam Corner serves a selection of sandwiches, burgers, soups, crepes and home made cakes in a charming vintage setting.

There are plenty of bars dotted around Les Arcs. The main après scene is in Arc 1800, head to Folie Douce  for authentic French apres or the Bar King Mad (known as BKM) at the end of the ski day.  Later in the evening partygoers head from BKM to Red Hot Saloon. Just a few doors down in the Arc 1800 village, this bar has a large terrace, which is an excellent place for chilling out on a bluebird day. Live music inspires crazy dancing until late into the evening.

At the top of resort, Arc 2000 has a great variety of après destinations. One of our favourites is the Bowling Arc 2000 – a fabulous mixture of bowling lanes, pool tables, arcade machines and, of course, a cocktail bar. The expert mixologists will even deliver your drinks to your bowling game. Chill out at the Village Igloo bar, a bar carved out of ice with an adjoining ice grotto. It is definitely worth going just for the photo opportunities. Clubbers are also welcomed in Arc 2000. Latino Loco is the go to destination for late night dance music and DJ sets.

Arc 1950 has a much quieter après scene, but we’ve had loads of fun at Les Belles Pintes Irish pub, dancing to cheesy eighties pop music until late into the evening. The piste side terrace of Chalet de Luigi Bar is frequently heaving at the end of the ski day.

Shoppers should head to Arc 1950. There is a variety of sports equipment shops – from upmarket boutiques to specialised children’s sports retailers like Les Petits Troubadours.

Amongst the many equipment shops there are also a several places to buy gifts. Cascade Sucre, as the name implies, sells anything sweet, and has an excellent range of chocolates. There is even a little stall where you can buy ice cream.

You can also buy traditional Savoyard products, from ornaments to fine cheeses and liquors, at regional produce shops in both Arc 1950 and 2000. They make an excellent gift for friends and family who sadly couldn’t join you on your holiday.

Supermarkets are easily found across the resort, with one of the largest located in Arc 1950.

Les Arcs has a fabulous range of spas and leisure facilities. The Deep Nature in Arc 1950 is a luxurious swimming pool complex and wellness centre. The indoor swimming pool is particularly impressive with grand chandeliers and rock features.

In Arc 1800 both the Hotel Eden and the Hotel du Golf have their own spa and relaxation facilities. And the state of the art Mille 8 complex has a stunning aquatic centre, just off the slopes and overlooking Mont Blanc. The exciting slides and water features are perfect for children.

Visitors to Arc 2000 have a fine choice of spas too. The Paradiski’s first ever 5 star hotel, the luxury Taj-I Mah has a large spa area and indoor pool complex. Guests have access to saunas, steam baths, sensory showers and a solarium. Massages and beauty treatments are also available to buy locally. It’s the perfect place to unwind after a long day spent skiing.

The winter season begins in Les Arcs with the yearly Les Arcs European Film Festival. Ten feature films go head-to-head to try to win the coveted Crystal Arrow – awarded by a prestigious jury of filmmakers.

Festive celebrations run throughout mid-December into the New Year, including a torch lit descent, fireworks and dancing at the Place Olympique on New Years Eve. 

Freeride Week takes place in Arc 1950 towards the end of January and offers a week of competitions to freeriding skiers and snowboarders from across the globe. The event includes the Freeride World Qualifier and the Freeride Junior Tour as well as talks on skiing safely off-piste.

Finally, Les Arcs turns into a home-away-from-home on the last week of March when The Great British Celebration arrives in resort. The whole resort is decked in Union Jack bunting and a series of events are hosted to celebrate all things British.

Set at the top of the Varet gondola in Arc 2000 you can find the Fresques Lumineuses de l’Aiguille Rouge, a unique passageway in the gondola garage,  with a range of illuminated murals. The theme this year is 'Seasonal Lights' so you can admire a range of different displays - it is included with your ski pass, and is open daily throughout the winter. 

The transfer to Les Arcs will stop as close as possible to your chosen accommodation. In some cases, there may be a couple minutes' walk due to the location of the property not being accessible by coach, particularly in Arc 2000 where access to some accommodation is through the underground car park.

There is a traffic light system in the Tarantaise Valley controlling traffic and stopping cars and coaches sitting in places where rocks could fall, and to make snow clearing easier when snowing.

Transfers may be longer during bad weather conditions or French school holidays. French school holidays span 20 Dec 25-05 Jan 26, 07 Feb-10 Mar 26 and 04-25 Apr 26.