Les Arcs is a purpose-build ski town, with instant access to a huge ski area called Paradiski.
The 425km of skiing in Paradiski covers every conceivable type of run, but most of it is given over to enjoyable red and blue motorway pistes that are ideal intermediate terrain. Long runs start above the tree-line and descend through the woods to outlying hamlets, and in good mid-winter conditions you can ski all the way down to Bourg-St-Maurice at 850m.
The easy pistes above Arc 1800, served by the Transarc gondola and a whole series of chairs spread across the mountainside, attract the crowds – but more enterprising skiers and riders will explore further afield.
A gondola and a cable-car from Arc 2000 take you up to the 3226m Aiguille Rouge, the highest point in the ski area and the starting point for some classic steep runs including a 7km descent down to Le Planay and/or Le Pré.
The area is so large that even accomplished skiers must work at travelling by lift and piste in a single day from Le Pré, at one end of Paradiski, to Champagny-en-Vanoise, at the other – and back again. Each of the Arc villages has its own dedicated nursery slopes, but the best are found at 1800.
Les Arcs is famous for its speed-skiing track above Arc 2000, the setting over the years for a number of world records. For a modest fee anyone is allowed to have a go from a lower starting point that keeps your speed down to a sensible level. Les Arcs was a pioneer of snowboarding in Europe. The terrain park is situated between Arc 1800 and Arc 1600.
As one reporter summed it up: 'A vast ski area, superb variety of long runs for all levels, great snow. Enjoy'.