France · up to 2738 m

Val Cenis

The Maurienne's best-kept secret, where the pistes end at a national park.

Bonvo Score

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136

Marked runs

83 named

90.3 km

Total slopes

Lifts

1437 m

Vertical drop

2738 m

Top elevation

1301 m

Base elevation

Green 21.8 kmBlue 39.8 kmRed 24.5 kmBlack 3.7 km

The story of Val Cenis

Val Cenis is what the French Alps felt like before the mega-resorts arrived. Strung along the old villages of Lanslebourg and Lanslevillard in the Haute Maurienne, it climbs from larch forest to the open bowls beneath the Col du Mont Cenis — the pass Hannibal is said to have crossed with his elephants. Stone barns, baroque chapels and a genuine year-round community give the place a texture that purpose-built stations can't imitate.

The skiing runs from around 1,300 m to 2,800 m, with the Vanoise National Park brushing the area's edge, and it stays refreshingly uncrowded even in French school holidays. This is a mountain for families and skiers who measure a day in long, flowing descents rather than lift-line sprints. The signature Escargot run coils gently down the closed pass road for kilometre after kilometre — beginners can ski a proper top-to-bottom mountain journey on their very first week.

Great for familiesGreat for beginnersGreat for relaxed cruisers

Signature runs

L'Escargot

A roughly 10 km green that snakes down the Mont Cenis pass road — often billed as Europe's longest green run, and a rite of passage for first-week skiers.

La Met

The area's high point serves up wide red cruising with views across to the Vanoise glaciers and the Italian border ridge.

Solert

Rolling terrain above Lanslevillard that catches morning sun and grooms beautifully — classic warm-up territory.

Local tips

◆Ski the Escargot early on a quiet morning; by afternoon it doubles as the resort's main homebound artery.
◆The Terres Froides sector holds cold, chalky snow long after sunny slopes have softened.
◆Lanslevillard's fromageries sell Beaufort made in the valley — bring some home instead of resort-shop souvenirs.
◆Clear day? Ride to the top just for the view over the frozen Mont Cenis lake plateau.

Did you know?

The Col du Mont Cenis road beneath the pistes was for centuries a principal route between France and Italy — Napoleon had it upgraded into a carriage road.

Val Cenis borders the Vanoise, France's first national park, created in 1963 largely to protect the Alpine ibex.

Mountain records

Longest run

Escargot

8.8 km · 632 m vertical · Green (beginner)

Steepest sustained pitch

Tomba

max 70.3% gradient · 856 m · Red (intermediate)

The 10 best runs at Val Cenis, scored

Every run is scored 0–100 from its real shape — vertical drop, length, how well its steepness fits its difficulty class, and flow (flats and uphill sections cost points). How the Bonvo Score works →

177
L'Arcelle
2.5 km · 694 m drop · avg 27.5% · Outstanding
Red
271
Escargot
8.8 km · 632 m drop · avg 7.1% · Outstanding
Green
368
Chamois
1.9 km · 402 m drop · avg 20.9% · Excellent
Blue
466
Flambeau
2.5 km · 375 m drop · avg 14.7% · Excellent
Blue
564
Bois des coqs
1.3 km · 373 m drop · avg 27.6% · Excellent
Red
663
Familiale
2.2 km · 564 m drop · avg 25.6% · Excellent
Blue
763
Petite combe
1.4 km · 343 m drop · avg 24.9% · Excellent
Red
862
Michèle Jacot de la Met
1.1 km · 358 m drop · avg 33.3% · Excellent
Black
960
MJ St.Genix
1.1 km · 340 m drop · avg 30.9% · Excellent
Red
1060
Ramasse
1.3 km · 408 m drop · avg 30.7% · Excellent
Red

All 83 named slopes

Slope	Difficulty	Length	Vertical	Avg gradient	Score
L'Arcelle	Red	2.5 km	694 m	27.5%	77
Escargot	Green	8.8 km	632 m	7.1%	71
Chamois	Blue	1.9 km	402 m	20.9%	68
Flambeau	Blue	2.5 km	375 m	14.7%	66
Bois des coqs	Red	1.3 km	373 m	27.6%	64
Familiale	Blue	2.2 km	564 m	25.6%	63
Petite combe	Red	1.4 km	343 m	24.9%	63
Michèle Jacot de la Met	Black	1.1 km	358 m	33.3%	62
MJ St.Genix	Red	1.1 km	340 m	30.9%	60
Ramasse	Red	1.3 km	408 m	30.7%	60
Traverse	Blue	4.1 km	404 m	9.8%	59
Girarde	Blue	1.2 km	210 m	17.9%	58
Miaille	Blue	1.1 km	212 m	18.9%	58
Cembros	Red	1.0 km	232 m	22.7%	58
Tetras	Blue	2.3 km	258 m	11.1%	57
Mont Cenis	Blue	1.3 km	279 m	20.6%	57
Grande Combe	Red	889 m	239 m	26.6%	57
Bec rouge	Red	873 m	267 m	30.5%	57
Madeleine	Blue	1.6 km	364 m	22.4%	56
Fort	Red	813 m	194 m	23.6%	56
Le Mollard	Green	1.2 km	157 m	13.4%	56
Arcelle	Red	1.1 km	240 m	20.8%	55
Arcellins	Red	850 m	276 m	31.5%	55
Relais	Red	912 m	154 m	16.6%	55
La Moraine	Black	557 m	174 m	30.2%	54
Bois des coqs	Red	741 m	167 m	22.2%	54
Bleue du Lac	Blue	2.6 km	355 m	13.7%	54
Met	Red	857 m	255 m	29.1%	54
Féma	Black	494 m	182 m	36.4%	54
Rhodos	Blue	1.8 km	193 m	10.3%	53
Les Cupules	Blue	1.7 km	408 m	23.1%	53
Le Goulet	Red	796 m	228 m	28.4%	53
M. Jacot Solert	Red	820 m	270 m	32.7%	52
Essarts	Red	524 m	141 m	26.9%	52
Solert	Red	531 m	172 m	31.3%	51
Sablons	Red	423 m	112 m	26.4%	51
Nunda	Blue	964 m	230 m	23%	51
Clot	Green	636 m	52 m	7.9%	50
Petits Loups	Green	864 m	153 m	17.1%	50
Sablons	Red	394 m	102 m	25.6%	50
Madeleine	Blue	465 m	107 m	22.5%	50
Ancolie	Green	483 m	64 m	12.8%	50
M.J. Berche	Black	477 m	162 m	32.5%	49
Aiglon	Green	786 m	134 m	16.8%	49
Pré Novel	Green	398 m	59 m	14.7%	49
Le Mollard	Green	387 m	48 m	11.8%	49
Le Mollard	Green	426 m	55 m	12.1%	49
Les Terres Grasses	Green	1.1 km	148 m	12.8%	48
Féma	Red	193 m	56 m	27.9%	48
Tomba	Red	856 m	275 m	31.4%	48
Québecoise	Blue	685 m	116 m	16.1%	48
La Forestière	Blue	2.4 km	294 m	11.9%	47
Les Terres Grasses	Green	200 m	20 m	9.7%	47
Le Mollard	Green	282 m	31 m	10.4%	47
Les Terres Grasses	Green	81 m	10 m	10.1%	46
Ouillon	Red	306 m	104 m	31.9%	46
Le Mollard	Green	107 m	21 m	17%	46
La Forestière	Blue	1.0 km	125 m	12.2%	46
Liaison Michèle Jacot	Black	278 m	78 m	26.1%	45
Québecoise	Blue	801 m	231 m	28%	44
Sangliers	Red	502 m	51 m	9.6%	44
D 1006	Green	245 m	18 m	6.4%	43
Le Mollard	Green	120 m	25 m	19.9%	43
Nunda	Blue	874 m	127 m	14.3%	42
M.J. Berche	Red	211 m	74 m	33%	42
Madeleine	Blue	137 m	16 m	10.1%	42
Familiale	Blue	1.2 km	215 m	17.5%	42
La Forestière	Blue	996 m	113 m	11.3%	42
Nunda	Blue	163 m	13 m	7.4%	41
Forestière	Blue	116 m	11 m	7%	40
Alpages	Blue	320 m	44 m	12.2%	40
M.J. Solert	Red	427 m	161 m	35.8%	40
vers la berche	Red	999 m	111 m	10.6%	39
Côte Essasarts	Blue	427 m	128 m	28.4%	38
L'Écureuil	Red	790 m	89 m	10.7%	37
Termignon	Green	1.2 km	117 m	8.9%	35
Le Petit Bonheur	Blue	1.5 km	97 m	6.4%	32
Villeneuve	Green	338 m	12 m	2.6%	30
Vers le Mont Cenis	Black	823 m	107 m	12.9%	26
Familiale	Blue	240 m	87 m	34.6%	24
Tetras, Québecoise	Blue	14 m	3 m	11.5%
Bois des coqs, La Forestière	Blue	7 m	2 m	7.5%
Flambeau	Blue	12 m	3 m	11.4%

Lifts at Val Cenis

2× gondola13× chair lift14× platter4× magic carpet

Lift	Type	Length	Rise	Seats	Ride time
Ramasse	Chairlift	2.2 km	631 m	6	—
Vieux Moulin	Gondola (bubble) · heated	2.1 km	635 m	10	6 min
Arcellins	Chairlift	1.8 km	636 m	6	6 min
Arcelle	Chairlift	1.8 km	694 m	6	—
Turra	Chairlift	1.6 km	506 m	6	—
Grand Coin	Platter lift	1.5 km	359 m	—	8 min
Lac	Platter lift	1.4 km	359 m	—	7 min
Roches Blanches	Chairlift	1.4 km	536 m	4	—
Girarde	Chairlift	1.3 km	258 m	4	—
Solert	Chairlift	1.2 km	475 m	6	—
Mont Cenis	Platter lift	1.2 km	278 m	1	—
Met	Chairlift	1.1 km	394 m	4	9 min
Colomba	Chairlift	1.1 km	155 m	6	4 min
Plan Cardinal	Chairlift	1.0 km	406 m	2	7 min
Pont des Chèvres	Chairlift	981 m	244 m	3	—
Sources	Chairlift	890 m	382 m	4	—
Tannes	Platter lift	880 m	167 m	1	—
Féma	Platter lift	683 m	242 m	—	4 min
Val Cenis le Haut	Gondola	645 m	145 m	10	3 min
Pré Novel	Chairlift	498 m	127 m	4	4 min
Essarts	Platter lift	453 m	132 m	—	—
Plan des Champs	Platter lift	446 m	64 m	—	3 min
Saint-Pierre	Platter lift	362 m	54 m	—	—
Buffa	Platter lift	263 m	19 m	1	—
Marmottons	Platter lift	190 m	13 m	1	—
Pont Noir	Platter lift	181 m	38 m	—	1 min
Madeleine	Platter lift	166 m	2 m	—	—
Terres Grasses	Platter lift	150 m	16 m	—	—
Sablons	Platter lift	91 m	9 m	—	—
Marmotte	Magic carpet	43 m	7 m	—	—
École	Magic carpet	32 m	1 m	—	—
Piou Piou	Magic carpet	26 m	3 m	—	—
Plan des Champs	Magic carpet	23 m	2 m	—	—