Les Menuires france
Review of snowboarding and skiing in Les Menuires France.
Les Menuires Ski Holiday Facts
Established in 1964 the French ski resort Les Menuires lies at 2850 metres altitude in the Savoie region of the French Alps / Alpes. With the highest lifts and ski slopes above 2500m Les Menuires ski area is snow sure. Over 418 snow cannons ensure artificial Les Menuires snow making covers 65km of ski trails, which equates to around 40 of the ski slopes. The nearest airport transfer to Les Menuires (France) is Geneva at a distance of 143km or approximately 150 minutes driving time. Les Menuires ski season runs from December to April.
SNO-man says
Purpose-built altitude resort cursed by much disclaimed architecture but nicknamed 'The smile of the French Alps' by its owners. Well positioned on the Trois Vallées and livelier than many similar ski stations.
alpine downhill runs to ski in Les Menuires France
Beginner Trails
 5 runs 9km |
7% |
Intermediate Trails
 33 runs 89km |
46% |
Advanced Trails
 26 runs 50km |
36% |
Expert Trails
 7 runs 7km |
9% |
Les Menuires Resort & Holiday Info
| Beginners learning to ski |  |
| Intermediate Skiers | |
| Expert Skiers | |
| Snowboarders | |
| Apres Ski | |
| Family friendly | |
| Snowsure | |
| Ambience | |
| Value for money | |
| Ski Pass Prices (adult 6 day) | €124 - €177 |
Traditional Ski Village / Purpose Built Ski Resort |
| Ski Resort Opens | Dec 2011 |
| Ski Resort Closes | Apr 2012 |
| (snow conditions often influence resort opening & closing) |
Ski Area Les Menuires Mountain
| Downhill Ski Runs | 160km |
| total length of Les Menuires trails |
| Longest lift serve Run | 8km |
| longest piste or trail reachable by ski lift |
| Ski Slope Orientation | SE E N W |
| direction Les Menuires ski areas face |
| Top Altitude | 2850m |
| top station of highest ski lift |
| Bottom Altitude | 1450m |
| bottom of lowest ski run |
| Resort Altitude | 1850m |
| centre of Les Menuires ski resort |
| Vertical Drop | 1400m |
| total descent from top lift to bottom piste |
| Skiable Vertical | ^v 1400m |
| can include extra hike up which may be possible above top lift - stat used by some resorts to con us about true "vertical drop" which is lift-served |
Skiing in Les Menuires
Skiing Les Menuires you'll enjoy 71 pistes and trails and that means approximately 160km of ski runs. Les Menuires lifts number 33 with the capacity to uplift 57944 skiers up the mountain per hour. The longest ski run in the French ski resort of Les Menuires is over 8km long.
SNO-man says
The hardest part about skiing in Les Menuires is trying to decide which way to go at the start of your day. Les Menuires skiing links directly to Meribel or Val Thorens by means of lifts or down to Saint Martin de Belleville along the pistes. The resort own ski area, the Le Pointe de la Masse, which stands alone away from the Three Valley’s routes, offers north facing slopes with some of the area’s most challenging terrain. Of special note is the off-piste run to Lac de Lou. The ESF at Les Menuires has created an American style beginners village, reserved and designed for those new to the sport, which has an enclosed area near the Preyerand section. There are also 6 free ski lifts around the resort and a special low cost beginner's pass with access to 11 of the key lifts. There are guided half or one day tours of the Three Vallées for experts, to explore the abundant off-piste terrain. Guides and schools also offer off-piste courses and tuition, ski tours and glacier treks.
A number of ski pass options are available. The St Martin and Les Menuires pass covers around 160km of terrain with 33 lifts; the Belleville Valley pass, which adds in Val Thorens, offers 300km of terrain served by 60 lifts but this pass is only fractionally cheaper than the Three Valleys pass which effectively doubles the terrain and gives you access to 600km.
Les Menuires Ski Area
Les Menuires ski area has 7% beginner ski runs or nursery slopes, 46% intermediate, 36% advanced ski slopes and 9% for expert skiers - the most difficult Les Menuires piste is the 2km Leo Lacroix run, with a steepness/slope angle of ?%. You can't ski Les Menuires after dark.
Les Menuires for skiing gets 3 stars out of 5 overall
Snowboarding in Les Menuires
If you snowboard Les Menuires you'll want to know that, of the 33 ski lifts in total, 6 are surface lifts or "drag lifts" - this gives a good indication of how modern the lift system is and well set up Les Menuires snowboarding is - especially for beginners learning to snowboard. Les Menuires snowboard facilities include 1 terrain parks and 0 half pipe (longest half pipe length is 0 metres), 0 quarter pipe and 2 boardercross courses.
SNO-man says
Snowboarders rate Les Menuires highly and is has one of the most beautiful snowparks in the Three Valleys. Beginners can start learning to snowboard in the area above the Aroindaz Gondola. Besides the vast terrain, The Three Valleys ( Les Trois Vallees) offers a number of other parks and natural features, the most scenic being in Meribel and the best SnowPark located in Val Thorens, all easily accessible and lift linked from Les Menuires.
Les Menuires for snowboarding gets 4 stars out of 5 overall
Les Menuires Apres Ski
The apres ski Les Menuires scene and off-slope or "non-skier" activities include:
48 apres ski bars 46 restaurants 0 bowling 2 night club 1 cinema 0 billiards / pool 1 games room 1 concert 1 indoor swimming 1 outdoor heated pools 2 saunas 1 hot tubs 1 solariums 1 masseurs 0 indoor ice skating 0 outdoor ice skating 1 indoor sports centre 0 indoor tennis 1 squash racquetball 0 sleigh rides 0 ballooning 0 horse riding 28 prepare winter walks 0 climbing 0 golf 0 fishing 0 museum 1 library Plus these additional apres ski facilities Californian Baths, Microlights.
SNO-man says
Non skiing attractions are centred on sports or healthy relaxation in les Menuires. There are two health centres, le Capricorne in the quarter of la Croisette has a hamman sauna, regular sauna and sunbeds. Le Capricorne also offers massage and a beauty parlour.
There is a public outdoor heated swimming pool in les Bruyeres. Parascending and microlight flights can be taken above. Other facilities include a cinema in les Bruyères quarter which shows English language as well as French language films sometimes.
A new leisure centre opened for winter 2005-6 with everything from Finnish saunas, jacuzzis, hydro-massage to swimming pool and fun pool and a state-of-the-art gym.
Relatively unique to the Valley are guided winter tours of local Baroque sites, taken by a guide from the French Society of National Historical Monuments. The tours are offered weekly and take up an afternoon.
Les Menuires for apres ski gets 2 stars out of 5 overall
More Les Menuires Snow Ski Area and Resort Information
Les Menuires resort - ski Les Menuires by any other name
The French ski resort of Les Menuires ski resort is also known as Les Menuires and has the following common misspellings: Lesmeniures, Lesmenuies, Lesmenuires
Les Menuires ski area has ski slopes which face SE E N W
The direction which the various Les Menuires ski slopes face can make or break your skiing or snowboarding holiday. If you want to guarantee good snow and ski conditions, you should choose a resort with ski slopes which face the right way for the time of year you're travelling.
- In the coldest winter months of January and February you need a ski resort with some sunny south facing ski 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 ski resort with some cool and shady north facing slopes will ensure you're not skiing on slush, but benefitting from best late season snow. The best ski resorts have ski areas and slopes which face in all directions so that you're guaranteed greating skiing whatever the weather. Les Menuires ski resort has ski slopes facing SE E N W.
Les Menuires for snow gets 4 stars out of 5 overall