22nd March 2026 | James Cove, Les Menuires, France

The high altitude French resort is a great destination for late season skiing. PlanetSKI is in the resort and reports on its growing popularity and what is on offer.

Resort Details and Ski Conditions

The resort sits at 1,850m with the skiing going up to over 2,800m. It is snow sure in March and into April, with the resort closing on April 17th. One of the highest points of the ski area is La Masse, seen in the distance. It is where we posted a video snow report at the weekend, that explains the current conditions and what to expect from Spring skiing. The ski area of Les Menuires has 160 kms of slopes on two sides of the mountains.

Les Menuires is linked to St Martin de Belleville that sits at 1,450m. There is full snow coverage all the way down, though it obviously gets a bit slushy in the base area at this time of the year.

Les 3 Vallees Connection

Les Menuires and St Martin are in the mighty ski area of Les3Vallees and where, with a full area ski pass, the slopes go up to 3,200m in neighbouring Val Thorens, and there is access to Meribel and Courchevel. There are over 600kms of slopes on offer. One of the advantages of this time of year is it remains light much later and currently gets dark after 6pm. Plus resorts offer a range of events and activities with the longer days and more stable weather.

Events and Architecture

Last weekend the 4th edition of Completely La Masse was held. It has become the main Spring event of the resort with hundreds taking part. It is a slalom race with a difference: a 1,000m vertical drop and packed in are 5kms of challenges including a Giant slalom, Pole forests, Moguls, Boarded cross, Snake run, and a Biathlon stand. It is open to everyone with the course designed to suit all levels. Fancy dress is encouraged.

The Brelin has 3,000 beds in Les Menuires and St Martin de Belleville, France. The Brelin is built in the shape of a boat, and represents a vessel in the middle of a white sea. Many other buildings are also striking. For those who like their numbers, Les Menuires has 27,000 beds in total.

Cuisine and Value

No post about Les3Vallees is complete without a mention of the cuisine. There are some fabulous mountain restaurants. The soup of the day was delightful at Le 2800, and at €15 (£13) it was cheaper than the prices paid in Meribel and Courchevel. If you want to ski Les3Vallees and do not want to pay some of high prices found elsewhere, then Les Menuires is a very good option. The restaurants in town also delivered.

Visitor Demographics

Les Menuires is a firm favourite with the British and us Brits make up the largest number of foreign visitors. Next it is the Belgians and the Dutch. Interestingly there are more and more people coming from the USA. Two years ago there were 1,000 across the season, while this winter that number has trebled to 3,000. It is a significant and somewhat surprising growth market, said the head of the tourist office, Marlene Giaconetti, to me. We are on the Epic Pass offered by Vail Resorts and that attracts the Americans. Details of what we offer is being discovered by US skiers and we have hosted press trips for US writers so we are getting wider coverage in the USA.

This week there are also over 400 Polish university students in town. The resort is trying to grow foreign markets which is necessary as the number of French people skiing or snowboarding is in decline. 16 years ago 12 percent of the French population skied. Now it is down to 7 percent and predicted to shrink further.

Future Improvements and Family Focus

Next winter there are new improvements with the opening of a 4 star hotel in the resort. There is also the construction of a new €55m (£48) gondola lift from the town to the Col de La Chambre at 2,850m. It will replace two old chair lifts, the Doron and Mont de la Chambre.

Les Menuires is very much a family resort and has been awarded the Family Plus. The resorts welcomes babies from 3 months and children of all ages in dedicated facilities. Mini club ski lessons are available from the age of three, and the Piou Piou Village offers a wide range of packages for children to discover skiing and snowboarding. There is also tobogganing at the Boukty Camp, the fun park and the aqua park. With Easter early this year, April 5th, many families will be out in under two weeks to enjoy the late season experience.

Personal Shoutout and Neighbouring Villages

Now, a personal shout out from me needs to go to Intersport. I did not need to hire any of its fine selection of skis. But I did need to get my bindings checked on one of the pairs of skis I am currently travelling with, as I had not skied on my Atomic Redsters for a couple of seasons and have new boots. Sometimes when I pop into a shop in France to ask such a favour I get a Gaelic shrug of the shoulders as it is resentfully done. Or a simple Non. The guys at Intersport did it without question and declined any payment. We put the customer first and you are a potential customer of the future, the guy said to me as he did his stuff.

Earlier I mentioned the village of St Martin de Belleville that is linked to Les Menuires. I have never visited the village, but I have skied on its slopes. I dropped into town to have a look around. It is the polar opposite of Les Menuires with old buildings and alpine charm. Next time I really want to stay in St Martin de Belleville.

At this time of year there remains skiing down to base level. If it has melted there is a gondola and a high speed lift that takes you to the top of the ski area, Tougnete at 2,437m. A perfect base for a Spring ski with some hiking options too. I will be back...

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