Les Saisies, France
The nordic ski area of Les Saisies is in the Savoie (Savoy) region of France, and was the host of the 1992 Olympics. It is one of the highest and most extensive cross country ski areas in Europe. The 120 kms of trails are located on a plateau at 1,600 - 1,750 metres and venture through forests and clearings. Known as Little Norway, Les Saisies boasts a northern atmosphere, but with sunshine, daylight and views of Mont Blanc, as it literally sits at its feet. If you tire of skiing you have 45 km of snowshoe tracks as well as other options. There is also an excellent biathlon stadium.
Getting to Les Saisies by Air
Nearest airport is Geneva - 1.5 hours and 91 km north
Chambéry - 1 hour 20 mins and 93 km away
Grenoble - 1 hour 20 mins and 114 km away
Lyon - 1 hours 10 mins and 171 km away
Turin - 3 hours and 237 km away
Helpful transfer links are here.
Train Connections to Les Saisies
Albertville Railway Station (train line to BOURG ST MAURICE) has direct trains from Paris, as well as the Eurostar direct train.
The shuttle between Albertville and Les Saisies is about 1.5 hours.
Bus timetables for the transfer and the free ski bus shuttle.
You can find the best combination of transport to Les Saisies according to your preference: time, price, carbon footprint, dates, times etc. A service, developed by Antidots, in partnership with Altibus, aims to revolutionise route planning. An example from Paris: metro, TGV, bus and free shuttle bus service in 4.5 hours.
Map of Cross Country routes in Les Saisies
Cross Country Ski Tracks and Routes
Tracks at Les Saisies are open from the second week of November through to late April thanks to a unique and eco-friendly snow storage process developed in Scandinavia, enabling the storage of 12,000 m3 of snow well before the arrival of winter. Surplus snow, harvested at the end of the previous season, is covered with a clever mixture of sawdust to preserve it from the elements. The aim of the game is to enable the opening of a 3 km cross-country ski trail in the Nordic ski area, from 11th November onwards.
The entrance to the cross-country ski area is located on the Beaufortain side:
- at the pass, with parking, bag storage and a waxing room for free and a ski pass purchase point.
And on the Val d'Arly side, either:
- the entrance through the Lachat, with a parking lot and point of sale with several accessible tracks of all levels, or
- towards Les Saisies, at the Col.
Two of the tracks bear the names of Justine Braisaz and Julia Simon, French medalist at the 1992 Albertville Olympics
More than a dozen trails of varying difficulty levels stretch through the forest on the snow reliable high plateau (1550-1750 m) of Les Saisies. Purchase a ticket to use the trails (with the exception of the two practice routes in Les Saisies and Le Lachat). The area offers excellently prepared trails and the possibility of using the Gentianes ski lift in order to reach the highest point in the trail network. A tow rope ensures transportation back to the parking lot on the northern edge of Les Saisies.
There are various picnic zones, a Salle Hors-sac (you can enjoy the food you've brought with you here when the weather is bad) and a quiz circuit course for children. The route named after the biathlon world champion, Raphaël Poirée, has time measurement equipment. and you can test yourself against the champion.
Additional cross-country trails are found in Notre Dame de Bellecombe 1350 (circuit trail) as well as in Praz sur Arly (connection to Megève).