6 reasons to visit La Plagne in the French Alps (even if there is no snow)
La Plagne in the French Alps is located just southeast of Lyon and on the border with Italy. Eleven small mountain villages at altitude (from 650m to 2000m), all offering something different, perfect for a varied winter sport. One is more welcoming in the evening, while the other allows you to really relax after a day in the snow. All villages are connected by the Paradiski ski slopes, so on the slopes is the ideal way to look everywhere, even if only for lunch or a small génepi (the local schnapps) at the end of the day.
Whatever floats your boat, but La Plagne has something for everyone: the avid snowboarder, the beginner, the families and the folks who prefer to be next to rather than on the slopes. Here it comes: six reasons why everyone should go to La Plagne.
That is of course great fashionable to say that now, and it is certainly not 100% perfect in La Plagne, but more and more good, creative, fun and greener steps are being taken by an increasingly large group of people. From restaurants that only have local ingredients on the menu, more vegetarian offerings (vegan is unfortunately still lagging behind), and even restaurants that go for small and local instead of mass (see below about Le Plan Bois). Certain parts/lifts will also be closed (such as the Bellecote ski lift that goes to the glacier), so that nature is no longer disturbed and can relax. Activities that do not necessarily take place (alone) on the slopes, more awareness of the pressure on nature and more attention to the mental state on holiday instead of filling up on liters of beer (it's all about balance in the end).
It is getting warmer and therefore the winter seasons are getting shorter: a season's worth of powder is no longer guaranteed anywhere. But what do you do when you've spent your hard-earned money on a skiing holiday and there's little snow? Miep in your room? No. Then you visit Antropia, where they organize all kinds of sustainable events, are setting up a second-hand shop and have a book full of other fun things, Or right next to it you will find Heureux les Curieux for a game of table football, really tasty and healthy food from the local caterer and a small selection of local craft beers. Book a snow shoeing session, walk with very sweet sled dogs, go on a sophrology session (can also be done while skiing) where you learn to breathe very consciously and therefore better absorb the nature around you or walk around the neighborhood yourself.
La Plagne as an area is certainly suitable for kids, but some villages and slopes are a little more so. You have two fun parks: Freestyle Zone at Plagne Bellecote and Buffalo Kids just above Plagne Soleil, where the slightly bigger kids can go wild and where you can take your time on a slope or order a glass of wine and cheese board. . The little ones have also been taken into account: you can place them with a babysitter if you want to hit the slopes yourself for a morning. They have a day out, and so do you. Next to Dedicated slopes for the kids, you also have a range of activities that you can do off the slopes (see above) and you can easily map out a route where you take the wide and not the steep slopes, or those very nice forest roads (the so-called Cool Ski slopes).
Yes, okay, ultimately you hope for snow and you also want the ski area to have something to offer. Et voila, La Plagne delivers: no less than 425 km of slopes. Then you have to buy the extra option in terms of a ski card, but hey: you have the option. Many different types of descents (green, blue, red and black), each on a different side of the mountain. Enough kilometers to cover and various villages to discover, but also reasonably clear.
Be sure to stop here for lunch, or if you just don't feel like it anymore (then you can take the Bauches lift back up and you will be back at all the slopes in no time). But actually you should sleep here. Slow winter sports at its best. Here you are in the middle of the slopes (so in the middle, walking through the snow to the nearest village is not an option), so in the middle of nature, and also with roaring fires, authentic French mountain food, good wines and local beers on tap. The rooms are all handsome, warm and have a view of your 'own' slope. How to get there? You park your car at the top in the village of Les Coches and the Friolin piste bully will take you to your snowy hideaway of the week.
Perhaps a bit of a no-brainer, but hello: take a breath of fresh mountain air, spend the whole morning on the road and then join a Le Plan Bois, an Le Forperet, an Chalet du Friolin (the one above, but for lunch): we would do it.
At Du Plan Bois they went from 140 place settings to 20: downsizing in practice. This chalet was there long before there was a slope nearby. Once the track was there in 1988, right next to it, it was a no-brainer:: the family chalet had to become a restaurant. Well, it is, and what a one. The food is comfort food next level: lots of taste, as local as possible and plenty of choice. Vegetarians can also go here, because there are plenty of good cheeses. They have a terrace, an indoor area with cozy seating areas and a 'private' chalet. Here you can go with your own club for a three-course menu and receive slippers for your cold feet.
Le Forperet is a farm restaurant at altitude (1970m) in Montalbert. Authentic French cuisine de montagne, so you can enjoy it another afternoon, because hey: those portions. Do yourself a favor and book the tartiflette. So you really have to reserve it 24 hours in advance, because this tartiflette goes into the oven for hours. A kind of potato pie with reblochon cheese, onion and bacon - but can easily be done without bacon if you wish - with salad and charcuterie. Very nice place to hang out with the kids: they have goats, donkeys, chickens and rabbits.
No more cramming in the trunk, no whining children in the back: you can have a piece of cake with the Thalys to La Plagne. You get on in Amsterdam Central Station, Rotterdam, Brussels or Antwerp and you get off in Aime, at the foot of the ski area. From Amsterdam it is less than nine hours away. Along the way you can read a book, eat something in the restaurant or take a nap in preparation for the first day of winter sports. A lot more relaxing than twelve hours in the car?
