Flaine ski holidays
Established in 1967 the French ski resort Flaine lies at 1600 metres altitude in the Haute Savoie region of the French Alps / Alpes. With the highest lifts and ski slopes at 2480m the area is not snow sure. Over 100 snow cannons ensure artificial snow making covers 10km of trails, which equates to around 25 of the slopes. The nearest airport transfer to Flaine is Geneva / Geneve at a distance of 90km or approximately 90 minutes driving time. Their season runs from December to April.
SNO-man says
Popularly regarded as an ugly, but functional, purpose built resort, Flaine has infact been designed to the Bauhaus school of architectural design and is the only modern ski resort to be recognised as an architectural treasure . The resort will celebrate its 40th birthday in 2009. Lifts radiate out in a skier-friendly natural basin, extending to Les Carroz, Morillon, Samoëns and Sixt.
Alpine Downhill Runs
Beginner Trails
 7 runs ?km |
12% |
Intermediate Trails
 23 runs ?km |
40% |
Advanced Trails
 23 runs ?km |
40% |
Expert Trails
 4 runs 4km |
7% |
Resort and Holiday Stats
| Beginners |  |
| Intermediate | |
| Advanced/Expert | |
| Snowboarders | |
| Apres Ski | |
| Family/child Friendly | |
| Snow-Sure | |
| Ambience | |
| Value for money | |
| Lift Pass Prices (adult 6 day) | €216 - €216 |
Traditional Ski Village / Purpose Built Ski Resort |
| Resort Opens | Dec 2013 |
| Resort Closes | Apr 2014 |
| (snow conditions often influence opening/closing) |
Mountain and Slopes
| Downhill Runs | 140km |
| total length of Flaine trails |
| Longest Lift-Served Run | 14km |
| longest piste or trail reachable by lift |
| Slope Orientation | N S E W |
| direction Flaine area faces |
| Top Altitude | 2480m |
| top station of highest lift |
| Bottom Altitude | 1600m |
| bottom of lowest run |
| Resort Altitude | 1600m |
| centre of Flaine ski resort |
| Vertical Drop | 1660m |
| total descent from top lift to bottom piste |
| Skiable Vertical | ^v 1660m |
| can include extra hike up above top lift |
Skiing in Flaine
57 pistes and trails means approximately 140km of runs. 29 Flaine lifts have capacity to transport 31290 per hour. The longest run in the French ski resort is over 14km.
SNO-man says
Flaine skiing has a very good snow record because the slopes are mostly north facing and are so close to Mont Blanc. The village is very easy to reach, and its location midway between the slopes is perfect.
Beginners have wide gentle nursery slopes close to the resort and at the highest points of the ski area, which can be access by the Grandes Platières cable car. There is plenty for intermediate skiers to choose from, with all parts of the area open to them on easy or intermediate runs, touring along the tree line, with a variety of pistes, from long cruisers to sharp moguls. For experts there plenty to keep busy, with 12 black trails and off piste opportunities. The long black down to Samoens, the Styx and powder bowl Combe de Gers are popular choices. There is good off-piste riding to be had but local knowledge is essential to avoid a number of hidden dangers.
The Grand Massif is a large ski area - with 265km of terrain between the resorts of Morillon, les Carroz and Samoens to Flaine. Sixt, is also included but isn’t lift linked, a short bus trip away from Samoens, but it does have one of the longest blue runs, the Cascade, at 14km which comes out close to the resort. A lot of the Grand Massif Skiing is below the treeline with pistes cut through the forest.
The mountain has 12% beginner runs or nursery slopes, 40% intermediate, 40% advanced slopes and 7% for experts - the most difficult piste is the ?km Styx run, with a steepness/slope angle of ?%. There is no night skiing.
Rating for skiing gets 4 stars out of 5 overall
Snowboarding in Flaine
Of the 29 ski lifts, 13 are surface lifts or "drag lifts" - this gives an indication of how modern the lift system is and how good Flaine is for snowboarding - especially for beginners learning to board. Facilities include 3 terrain parks and 0 half pipe (longest half pipe length is 0 metres), 0 quarter pipe and 1 boardercross courses.
SNO-man says
Flaine has an especially reserved area for snowboarding called The Jam Park in the Aujon area. Amongst the features is a Boarder Cross. There is snowboarding tuition available for 6-10 year olds, the ski schools providing the essential equipment, i.e. board helmet and pads.
Rating for snowboarding gets 2 stars out of 5 overall
Flaine Apres Ski
Off-Slope activities include:
7 apres ski bars 25 restaurants 0 bowling 1 night club 1 cinema 1 billiards / pool 1 games room 1 concert 0 indoor swimming 0 outdoor heated pools 2 saunas 1 hot tubs 1 solariums 1 masseurs 0 indoor ice skating 1 outdoor ice skating 1 indoor sports centre 0 indoor tennis 0 squash racquetball 0 sleigh rides 0 ballooning 0 horse riding 6.5 prepare winter walks 1 climbing 1 golf 0 fishing 0 museum 1 library Plus these additional apres ski facilities Art Gallery, Body Building, Classical Music Concerts, Firework Displays, Helicopter Tours, Indoor Climbing Wall, Jazz , Ice Driving, Theatre, Torchlit Descent .
SNO-man says
There's a lot to do in Flaine besides skiing and snowboarding. Outdoor sports include snowshoeing, a natural open air ice skating rink, paragliding hang gliding and snowmobiling. Renault's ice driving school is very popular, with a 700 metre (Nearly half a mile) circuit and very experienced instructors offering a variety of classes from 30 minute private lessons to 3 day workshops. Helicopter flights are also available.
Indoor options include a cinema and a climbing wall. More unusual facilities include the Flaine Cultural Centre, open every evening and containing a library (Books in English and German as well as French), audio-visual room and a collection of art including scupltures by Picasso, Dubuffet and Vasarely - tours are organised once a week.
Concerts are staged in the 500 seat auditorium and a full program of events including torchlit descents, national and international ski an snowboarding competitions and a variety of other events are staged through the season. Full details are in the resort's newspaper, Flainescope' available from the tourist office.
Rating for apres ski gets 3 stars out of 5 overall
"Flaine" by any other name
The French resort is also known as Flaine and has common misspellings: Flain, Flane, Flein, Fline
The direction which the various Flaine slopes face can make or break your ski holiday. To guarantee good snow conditions, choose a resort with piste which face the right way for the time of year you're travelling.
- In the coldest winter months of January and February pick a resort with sunny south facing slopes, so your days on the snow doesn't feel like a polar expedition. Conversely, in the warmest spring skiing months of March and especially April, a resort with cool and shady north facing trails will ensure you're not riding on slush, but benefitting from best late season snow. The best destinations have areas which face in all directions so that you're guaranteed greating conditions whatever the weather. Flaine has slopes facing N S E W.
Rating for snow gets 3 stars out of 5 overall
Flaine reviews, 3.5 star rating and information is collated by SNO man from staff experience and customer feedback.