There were a lot of things that impressed me about Val Cenis on the long weekend I spent there in late March this year. The snow held up extremely well, thanks to Val Cenis' north-facing slopes and high-ish altitude, the runs were varied, the lifts were excellent, crowds were pretty much non-existent, and the place was a steal - about €90 for a two-day weekend lift pass, and €42(!) for a two-day full-set intermediate ski rental. The accommodation we stayed at, a cheap-and-cheerful ski in ski out VVF, was about €320 for three nights for two people in an apartment that could have slept at least four.

I think what impressed me most, however, was how many people I met there - from ski instructors and restauranteurs and shop owners to other skiers - who either came from the area or lived there long-term. Val Cenis is a genuinely great ski area, especially for what you pay for. The 125km of piste is almost always open, and offers everyone from absolute beginners to intermediates a great experience. There's also ample off-piste more towards Termignon if this is your thing. Considering you can easily get a day in at La Norma or Bonneval-sur-Arc if you so wish, it bumps up to world-class. There's also plenty of kid-friendly options, which you find in many family-oriented French resorts. That said, the Mickey Mouse-themed course (how did they manage to licence that..?) was so difficult that when I saw it, I imagined what Donald Duck's reaction would be if he was shooting down a couloir.

But with all of that said, the charm is that it still feels at least partly like a local ski area. Aside from being a resort, the villages that make up Val Cenis are genuine communities, where there's year-round activity in everything from construction and marmot-guiding to cheesemaking. There's also a local economic pull from nearby Modane, a major transit site for freight heading from France to Italy and vice versa. It's nice for people who want to work a season to have the chance to do so. But it's also nice to meet and interact with lots of people from the area or with deep roots who know it intimately and love it. I went because some Maurienne locals I met in nearby Bardonecchia enthusiastically recommended it. I wasn't disappointed.

Modane's proximity also hints at another big advantage of Val Cenis, at least if you're coming from Paris, Lyon, Chambery, Turin, or Milan. It's situated very closely to a major rail link between all of these cities, with trains to Paris, Chambery and Milan usually running about 3-4 times a day, maybe more on weekends. It's a nice option, then, for euro-skiers based in Paris, Milan, or even London with the Eurostar who want a nice low carbon option. For flights, it is a bit inconvenient however versus the many other airport transfer-friendly options in Europe.

This gets at another two potential disadvantages of Val Cenis for the well-heeled destination skier. Because it doesn't see a huge amount of international traffic, it lacks a lot of high-end accommodation, and hardcore apres-ski options are a little thin on the ground. The lifts are excellent and do run pretty late, so a cheeky 4pm drink while you watch golden hour begin over the valley is very possible. The food is also generally excellent, both on-mountain and in the villages. But crazy nightlife is largely out.

In terms of amenities, it probably isn't batting with the big boys in the Tarentaise, Swiss Alps, or Dolomites. But it does deliver an excellent skiing experience, especially for what you're paying. Plus, you get to experience an authentic mountain community, full of locals who will by and large be every bit as crazy about skiing as you are.
See our video here

Just back from a very enjoyable and very snowy week in Val Cenis. Went as two families together, stayed down the valley slightly in picturesque Bramans which meant a 15 min drive up the valley each day, but all very manageable.

It was French School Holidays, so we were struck by lack of crowds on the pistes and in particular in lift queues - we waited for more than 3 minutes maybe 4 times in the week - and two of those were on powder mornings waiting for lifts to open.

With a slightly strung out, almost Canadian/US vibe to the main villages, Val Cenis (Termingon and Lanlesbourg) might not be the most picture perfect, chocolate box setting in the Alps (whilst still being a far cry from, and holding a good bit more charm than the purpose built resorts) but that is more than made up for the genuineness of the people and the experience there - we were so warmly greeted everywhere we went, be it on the mountain or in the excellent village shops - a far cry from the feeling of hardly shaded contempt in the bigger, more overrun French resorts.

It was also marked that we hardly heard a speck of English spoken in our week there, again a nice and refreshing change.

Terrain wise, at very first glance the resort above Lanlesbourg felt slightly limited, but once we got to grips with the further expanses of the resort in Termingon and further up the valley in Haute Val Cenis - then the doors open to a huge variety of runs, and also, given the week in question - a shed load of very easily accessable, enjoyable and not ridiculously quickly tracked out side / off piste terrain.

Again the lack of crowds really added to this factor, we really felt like we had the run of the place a few mornings with so few people on the mountain in first class conditions - super fun had, and despite the avalanche warnings being a mix of 4/5 and 5/5 we managed to get our fill in mostly very fun rolling side piste areas, with obvious potential for much more beyond that in more stable conditions.

Piste wise - there is perhaps a slight lack of lengthy red cruisers, and it does get slightly tedious having to criss cross and follow the long green/blues home at times, but as a group of snowboarders and skiers - there's enough there to keep you moving across the week, and a good mix for a mixed ability group.

The kids (6 - 11) had a great time in ski school, the 10km long Escargot green run made it particularly enjoyable to ski with them after the school each morning, and they happily bounced into the very reasonably priced kids club a few afternoons also. The staff in the ESF office and instructors were excellent to deal with.

Probably the two gripes would be the slightly outdated lift infrastructure, especially to reach the highest and best freeride areas - on all sides of the mountain you needed either a very slow, fairly outdated 2 man trundler, or a fairly lengthy drag (or two) to get to the top - but on the positive this also contributed to things staying fresh a little longer than if it was serviced with very modern lifts.

Also, there is a somewhat notable lack of on mountain restaurants - but we found the ones that are there to be very decent, and relatively reasonable too.

All in all, a wonderful first trip to the Maurienne - as reported here, a genuinely hidden gem - we only explored the tip of the iceberg with Aussois, La Norma, and Bonneval etc. all in play within a 30 min radius - and most of all, a feeling of visiting an still real (and still genuinely French) place with a refreshing lack of mass tourism vibes - hopefully the first of many trips there., many thanks to the Powder Hounds crew for the top tip.
See our video here

If the Haute Maurienne Vanoise encapsulates everything that we love about skiing in Europe, then Val Cenis is the centre of all things good. My second visit to the region in as many months proved to be as good a week of skiing we have had anywhere in the world.

We based ourselves here for a week in March (during French school holidays no less)! at the wonderful Les Alpages De Val Cenis Condo-hotel. Staying in a large self-contained apartment midway along the resort between the towns of Lanslebourg & Lanslevillard reminded us of a Canadian ski resort base. And if one is not in a gorgeous authentic French Alps village like nearby Bonneval sur Arc, that can only be a good thing. With Canada-like architecture, comfortable apartments, undercover parking, spa & pool area, restaurant, plus a nearby ski lift, bakery, bar & ski service/retail shop, the only thing to make it better was to be able to ski directly to the door at the end of the day. And so we could! Magnifique.

The best place to ski during winter storms in the Haute Maurienne, Val Cenis spans a wide part of the valley with north to south-westerly aspected slopes providing sub-alpine and forested freeride terrain that will suit all off-piste ski abilities. The 6-seater Arcellins chair serves a broad scope of mixed alpine, sub-alpine, forest & gullies, whilst avoiding the sometimes painfully long, flat journey all the way to the bottom of the resort. The highest lifts in the eastern sector of the resort [Met (2800m), Solert (2540m) & the old Plan Cardinal 2-seater all have similar alpine/sub-alpine off-piste providing lovely turns on a reasonably mellow pitch when the snow is fresh.

One area easy to overlook, but the best in the resort, is the Termignon sector. All but deserted during a storm, the area has fun piste trails & marvellous freeride terrain. An expansive area of sub-alpine forest can be accessed via the Sources chair & Grand Coin surface lift (teleski). Whilst one needs to know the entry & exit points, it was easy enough for us to do a great run in the zone below Sources chair the first time we tried, even though technically the area is protected and skiing off-piste there is prohibited – whoops! If the snow is deep, the ski under the Turra chair through the trees back to Lanslebourg can be awesome. Otherwise, swallow your pride & download on the Turra chair because the long, flatter than flat trail back into town is just not worth it. Different if heading into Termignon, where the Bois de Coqs piste cuts through the worst of the interminable zig-zags. The Alpen rock restaurant at Termignon’s mid-mountain Replat des Canons, whilst having some deficiencies, is an overall wonderful place to shelter from the storm & enjoy a meal.

For those lovers of groomers, Val Cenis has plenty to like, particularly for novices, beginners & intermediates. Lower tree-lined runs allow for comfortable turns during storms and the snow-covered summer road up to Mont Cenis provides the perfect learning slope for anyone new to sport, as well as a guaranteed easy exit for more adventurous folk like us, smashing through the gullies & trees above the road. Advanced on-piste trails at Val Cenis are light grey at best, so not particularly challenging. The gondolas & modern hooded chairs serving the lower mountain right along the valley make it easy for everyone to get up the hill in comfort.

There is a mass of backcountry at Val Cenis above the lifts & east of the Plan Cardinal chair that we simply did not get a look at. There were two reasons. One was the snow was so good & the resort off-piste so deserted that we simply did not need to go look. Two was we only skied Val Cenis during blizzards, so would not have been able to navigate beyond the resort boundaries even if we’d wanted to!

From our base at Val Cenis, aside from several days in the resort, we made day trips with our rental car to all the fantastic local mountains - Bonneval sur Arc, La Norma & Aussois. The skiing at each of the them was sublime. Powder every day & super-cheap lift passes on big skiable vertical mountains. To top it off, French school holiday crowds were not in evidence anywhere & coming back to our abode in Val Cenis was a pleasure. Val Cenis is indeed the centre of all things good. See you there next season. And the one after that. And the one after that ………… You get the idea.

You can see our thoughts on the pros and cons on the Val Cenis overview page and also see our European ski resort ratings regarding how we score it compared to other skiing areas.

See our video here

Soooo many options and so much fun. Challenging to start with in high altitude due to poor visibility, then we found the meadows into the trees!
Great snow, heaps of options, hardly any people. Lanslebourg is a big interesting village at its base, but we stayed in a ski-in ski-out resort apartment up the valley. Loved the pool & spa area!
See our video here