French Alps · France
Les Arcs
Les Arcs sits high on the slopes above Bourg-Saint-Maurice in the Tarentaise valley, Savoie, with a ski area stretching from 1,200 metres all the way up to the 3,226-metre summit of the Aiguille Rouge. The resort is actually a family of four purpose-built villages — Arc 1600, Arc 1800, Arc 2000 and the chalet-style Arc 1950 — each perched at a different altitude and connected directly to the slopes.
Les Arcs is one half of Paradiski, a vast linked domain that joins forces with La Plagne via the spectacular Vanoise Express double-decker cable car to create one of the largest ski areas in the world. On the Les Arcs side alone, there is more than enough to fill a week — from long, rolling greens through a superb belt of blues and reds, all the way up to demanding blacks off the Aiguille Rouge summit.
The mountain & the Aiguille Rouge
The defining feature of Les Arcs is its dramatic vertical range. Lifts begin at valley level in Bourg-Saint-Maurice and climb to the Aiguille Rouge at 3,226 metres — one of the highest lift-served points in the entire Alps — giving the resort an extraordinary 2,000-metre vertical drop that few resorts anywhere can match.
From the summit, the views are staggering: Mont Blanc to the north, the Vanoise massif to the south, and on a clear day the Italian peaks beyond. The high-altitude snowfields up top stay powder-fresh long after the lower runs have groomed out, making the Aiguille Rouge a magnet for skiers seeking the best snow of the day.
The terrain & Paradiski
Within the Les Arcs sector there are around 56 marked pistes covering roughly 200 km — a well-balanced spread of greens, blues, reds and blacks that suits mixed-ability groups well. The long greens off Arc 2000 are among the most enjoyable beginner terrain in the French Alps: wide, scenic and genuinely confidence-building rather than just flat cat-tracks.
The Paradiski pass unlocks a connection to La Plagne via the Vanoise Express, whose double-decker gondola cabins carry skiers across the valley in a single dramatic swoop. Between the two sides, Paradiski encompasses around 425 km of piste — enough terrain to explore for several seasons without repeating the same run twice.
For experts, the upper mountain delivers: long blacks from the Aiguille Rouge descend through open snowfields before threading back through the trees to the village stations. The Col des Frettes sector holds particularly good off-piste when conditions are right, and the long Arpette black piste off the ridge is a Les Arcs classic.
Arc 1950 & the resort villages
Arc 1950 is the newest and most polished of the four villages, a pedestrian enclave of stone-clad apartments, boutiques and restaurants built in a Savoyard chalet style that feels a world away from the concrete blocks of Arc 2000 above it. Ski-in/ski-out access, a weekly outdoor ice rink and a compact but lively après scene make it the most popular base for British visitors.
Arc 1800 is the largest of the villages, with the widest choice of shops, bars and restaurants and a direct cable-car link from Bourg-Saint-Maurice in the valley. Arc 1600, tucked into the trees at the foot of the ski area, is the quietest and most traditional. Each village has its own personality, but all share the same spectacular mountain backdrop and the same direct access to the pistes.
Why we put it in the game
Les Arcs arrives in Ready Steady Slope with a pure-green card — four green pistes and nothing else — and that is a knowing nod to one of the resort’s genuine strengths. While experts will head straight to the Aiguille Rouge blacks, Les Arcs is renowned for the quality and length of its beginner and lower-intermediate terrain: wide, high-altitude greens that give first-timers and progressing skiers some of the most rewarding easy runs in the French Alps.
On the table, that all-green profile makes Les Arcs one of the most reliably useful Resort cards in the game — consistent, accessible and never a threat to your hand. It captures the resort’s role as a brilliant place to learn or build confidence, even if in real life there is a whole mountain of reds and blacks waiting above the treeline once you are ready.
Where is Les Arcs?
French Alps, France
How to get there
| Nearest airport | Transfer time (by road) |
|---|---|
| 🇫🇷Chambéry (CMF) | ~1 hr 30 min |
| 🇨🇭Geneva (GVA) | ~2 hr 15 min |
| 🇫🇷Lyon (LYS) | ~2 hr 30 min |
Graded runs at Les Arcs
The in-game Resort card is a stylized approximation — here are Les Arcs's actual marked pistes by grade.
| Grade | Runs |
|---|---|
| Green (beginner) | 16 |
| Blue (easy) | 20 |
| Red (intermediate) | 16 |
| Black (advanced) | 4 |
| Total | 56 |
Quick facts
Ready to hit the slopes?
With our game you can bring Les Arcs to your table. Click below to find out where to buy, or visit the actual resort. Or even better… do both, and pack the cards for the après!