A quiet French resort, this little village oozes calm and is just the ticket for those looking for a ski break with space to spread out on the slopes. Perched on the France-Italian border, La Rosière can is just under two hours drive from Chambéry. If travelling by snow train, regular bus transfers take train travellers from Bourg Saint-Maurice to the resort. Place your bags and luggage down upon arrival and take a second to appreciate the spectacular views over the sweeping Tarentaise Valley below.
Once you’ve stored your things safely in your accommodation, take a twilight walk through the lit up, traffic-free streets of La Rosière 1850. Seek out your local supermarché and dairy stores for all your weekly supplies, including cheese - and lots of it! Sample the finest French mountain cuisine of cheesy tartiflette and fondues at restaurants like Le Genépi and L’Ancolie, followed by the lightest of pizzas over in Italy at the Ristorante Pepita Café and Pizzeria le Dahu in La Thuile.
A forest of wood and stone alpine chalets, ski hotels and apartments open their doors to all ages at La Rosière, inviting couples, families and groups alike to their cosy interiors.
On the slopes, however, it’s quite a different story. Intermediate and advanced skiers and boarders go wild with the ski area’s jungle gym of snow zones. La Rosiere is especially suited to family ski holidays (with the accredited Famille Plus label to recognise it). This is a fantastic place to take little ones to learn to ski. The wide, short beginners’ runs will build debutant skiers and boarder’s confidence: they’ll soon be taking the Roches Noires Express chairlift to try out longer blue runs. The Manessier draglift and the Tapis de Lutins magic carpet are free - perfect for kids and novice skiers to test their ski legs.
Location: France, Alps.
Established: 1961
Open: December - April
Downhill: 160km
View our detailed La Rosiere snow forecast or snow report and see all live webcams, piste maps, road and travel maps and lift pass prices. For a picture of historic snow conditions see the snow depths month by month with our La Rosiere snow history.
Nearest Airport & Transfer Time: | |
Chambéry (CMF) | 128 km, 1 hr 50 |
Geneva (GVA) | 212 km, 2 hrs 45 |
Bourg St Maurice (train) | 20km, 30 mins |
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Top Altitude: | 2650m |
Bottom Altitude: | 1200m |
Resort Altitude: | 1850m |
Longest run: | 11km |
Slope Orientation: | N S |
Vertical Drop: | 1450m |
Skiable Vertical: | 1450m |
Night Skiing: | No |
Glacier: | No |
Downhill Runs: | 160km |
Beginner slopes: | 41% |
Intermediate: | 40% |
Advanced slopes: | 19% |
Lift Pass Price: | 235€ (adult 6 day) |
Nearby resorts: La Thuile, Val d'Isère, Tignes, Les Arcs, La Plagne and Valmorel |
With over 30 green and blue pistes, La Rosiere is ideal for first-time skiers to become familiar with the slopes. From La Rosière 1850m centre, watch time fly as you go up and down the green runs of Clarines, Ecureuil the Forêt and the like. Then it’s all aboard the Roches Noires Express to push yourself to the next level of blue runs. Beginner snowboarders will be grateful for the Roches Noires and Landelieres chairlifts, offering long, sloping blue runs with all the practice space needed for traversing heelside moves.
Intermediates should make use of the San Bernardo lift pass and see La Thuile for some Italian forest runs to put you through your paces - stop by the red San Bernardo leading down to La Thuile for the longest run. Climb up 2188m to the Col du Petit Bernard where the Fourclaz Express and Piccolo San Bernardo Express provide a series of wave-like red runs, riding up and down the zig-zag formation of the pistes of the Secteur Col du Petit Saint Bernard. Crash over the peaks towards Gran Testa for further intermediate runs.
La Rosière knows the kind of challenge advanced snow lovers like and they’ve created a freeride area on Mont-Valaisan which covers around 242 hectares. Originally accessible just to ski-tourers, this area can be accessed by 2 new chairlifts.
Add one snow park, one boardercross, one snowcross and one snow kite area, and you have La Rosière’s magical potion of ski fun! The snow park, La Poletta, is a rainbow of blues, greens and reds including boxes, rails and big air. The boardercross offers raised curves and slalom gates to keep you on the ball. Above La Rosière 1850m, snow kite departures require a fast track gear change that’ll have you flying down the slopes.
The hustle and bustle of après ski will be mostly coming from this family-friendly resort's restaurants and bars. Le Relais du Petit Saint-Bernard's hotel holds a classic family restaurant, where talented chefs serve up Savoyard family favourites with heart. Its impressive bay windows offer views over the sunny eastern and southern slopes, and there's plenty of space for more tables to accommodate groups, great if you've got a large gang! On a romantic ski getaway and fancy a cosier location? Le Genepi restaurant offers a cosy wooden Alpine interior, with crafted chairs for two. A little higher up on the price scale, this is worth the money for the fine French cuisine on offer.
If you like to party, a livelier atmosphere can be found at La Taverne du McKinley at the foot of the slopes, Bar H40 in the Hyatt Centric hotel, Le Comptoir in La Rosiere Centre and Moo Barr, above the Burger Bar.
Away from the ski slopes, La Rosière is a big fan of snowshoe walking. Walk through enchanting forest trails as you revel in the sheltered quiet. But baby, it's cold outside, so when you feel like you need a little rise in temperature, the Ô des Cimes and Chalet Matsuzaka spas are ready and waiting for you to slip into a warm pool and relax those aching joints. Other exciting activities in La Rosiere include snowkiting, paragliding, Yooner sledging, bowling, watch the latest films at the cinema and ice skating
Top slope heights of 2650m and 398 snow cannons provide the San Bernardo ski domain with snow-sure conditions throughout the season. The resort itself catches a good amount of sun with its south facing position. Later on, when the ski season is coming into the Spring, the La Thuile area of the ski domain is perfectly placed on a North facing mountain where you’re likely to find better-preserved snow. As a resort that’s more on the petite side compared to its neighbours of Les Arcs and Tignes, visitors are in for a quieter ski experience on the slopes, with plenty of space to ski or snowboard to your heart’s content on wide, gentle runs. You can usually ski La Rosière from mid-December up until late April.
Take a festive walk with a reindeer sized Saint Bernard dog this Christmas at La Rosière. A sack full of goodies for kids and adults alike will leave skiers with a warm, yuletide glow. La Rosiere Christmas ski holidays ‣
Celebrate with loved ones under a firework lit sky this New Year at La Rosière. Choose between a festive Savoyard meal in one of the restaurants or party in the local pub for a night to remember. La Rosiere New Year ski holidays ‣
It’s usually slopestyle competition time at half term at La Rosière. Teens bring their best material and move to win their place on the resort’s snow park, boardercross and snowcross. La Rosiere Half Term ski holidays ‣
Ski the sunny south facing La Rosière domain in the morning, heading on over to the north-facing La Thuile area for the fresh afternoon snow this Easter at La Rosière. Sledges, slalom and snow park competitions are great fun for kids this Spring. La Rosiere Easter ski holidays ‣
For a direct journey to La Rosière, take a look at our flight, transfer and accommodation packages. We find the closest serving airport for your departure date, to keep travel time to a minimum, so your little monkeys won't be cooped up for long. Self-drive holidays with channel crossings are a great idea for kids who don't mind a lengthy drive- the countryside views are certainly worth it.
Stay in a catered chalet such as Chalet Papillon 4 (which sleeps 8-10) for a family holiday with a dreamy short walk to Les Eucherts ski school meeting place. Some of our chalets offer their own nanny services for younger children. Please enquire with us for chalet childcare options when making your booking. Hotels often offer childcare facilities too, we recommend the all-inclusive package at Club Med La Rosiere for the easiest family ski holiday.
Apartments often make the cheapest option for family holidays and with properties like Les Cimes Blanches being perfectly positioned on the slope side for ski in ski out opportunities, kids will enjoy the trip home as they scoot to the front door.
Awarded the esteemed 'Famille Plus' label for its top-notch family facilities, you can be sure that you're onto a winner with this resort. The two kids' clubs of Les Galopins can be found in Les Chavonnes Hautes and L'Averne, accepting toddlers from eighteen months to twelve-year-olds for all their sledging, arts and crafts and siesta needs. Qualified instructors will take those old enough to ski up and around the beginners' runs, so they'll soon be able to give you a run for your money on the slopes. Beginners' areas come with magic carpet and rope tow, so little ones won't tire themselves out walking up the slope or on difficult ski lifts.
Continue the family competition of an evening doing some bowling at the Kitzbühel to see who's the master of the clan. Other non-ski entertainment includes a cinema showing movies in French and English and an ice rink, so kids will never get bored.
Apartments are an affordable option for large groups of people, and ideally located for daytime skiing and après ski activities set at the bottom of the pistes with a few minutes’ walk to the heart of town. Keep sole occupancy chalets in mind for luxury and a space all of your own in addition to a chalet host preparing your week’s meals. Enjoy a bird’s eye view over France with Sno’s flight and transfer deals to La Rosière, departing from your most convenient airport. For groups that like to bond on a road trip through some spectacular French landscapes, book one of our self-drive holidays, with channel crossings included in the price. If your friends live all over the country, then an accommodation only holiday may work out better for you, as each member of the party makes their own way over to la France.
This resort is perfect for groups of advanced skiers, as you put squabbles over who’s the best skier to the test. Race down the mountains with the aid of a kite propeller and dip in and out of Alpine trees on the off-piste snowcross. For groups of varying abilities, a mixed selection of thirty-three beginners’ runs, thirty-two intermediate runs and fifteen blacks means all the gang can come along! From Le Belvédère 2641, find runs to sort all abilities. And if friends aren’t all that keen on the idea of skiing or boarding, but still wish to come along for some snowy fun, La Rosière offers its second pastime of snowshoeing, where all ages can enjoy enchanting views at an easier pace. Beat other non-skiers to the bottom of the sledging slopes to see who travels the fastest on their derrière.
And that’s not even talking about La Rosière’s group-friendly après ski. Warm-up your vocal cords in preparation for karaoke at BarH40. After a round of Chartreuse shooters and singing, move onto Le Blue Bar, for some late-night dancing.
Accommodation | Number of nights | Price (per person) from |
---|---|---|
Residence Alpen Lodge Apartments | 7 | £ 599 |
Alpen Lodge Hotel & Spa | 7 | £ 982 |
Les Cimes Blanches | 7 | £ 396 |
Les Marmottons | 7 | £ 370 |
Le Lodge Hemera | 7 | £ 484 |
Les Cimes Blanches Apartments | 7 | £ 509 |
Lodge Hemera Apartments | 7 | £ 549 |
Club Med La Rosiere | 5 | £ 1241 |
Hotel Ily | 7 | £ 1308 |
Hotel Alparena | 7 | £ 1509 |