If you're concerned at all about the vastness of La Plagne as a beginner, the well-known mantra is: La Plagne is big enough to cope and small enough to care!
After all, the resort’s logo features a smiley, happy face, bedecked with a scarlet bobble hat (see the heart above), and sunglasses reflecting the bright sunshine, which perfectly represents the cheerful, relaxed and family-friendly vibe here in La Plagne.
Visitors to this Tarentaise Valley resort can choose from a total of no less than 11 villages, higher or lower, modern or traditional, yet in each, there is a warm welcome for beginners, looking for a safe and straightforward way into the sport.
In the following beginner's guide to La Plagne, we use our expert knowledge of the resort to answer any questions, queries or concerns you may have and identify the best spots in the area for you as you learn or introduce others to skiing and boarding.
In summary, don’t worry, La Plagne is a great choice for newcomers, and you and your friends and family will soon be falling in love with skiing.
Oh, and first-timers might like to know that you pronounce La Plagne, ‘La Planya’.
In this beginner's guide, we answer:
Let’s dive into the details of your first trip to La Plagne.
Is La Plagne a good resort for beginners?
La Plagne is an excellent choice for first-time skiers.
Whilst La Plagne is in the mighty Tarentaise Valley, along with the lively and very popular 3 Valleys and Espace Killy resorts, you’ll find a calmer feel here. La Plagne is one half of the Paradiski ski area, with its neighbour, Les Arcs. But beginners need not concern themselves yet with the surrounding ski areas, let’s start at the beginning.
Check out our beginner's guide to skiing in Val Thorens if you're looking for somewhere more lively for your beginner ski holiday.
A purpose-built resort, La Plagne was established to make skiing easy and enjoyable, with many accommodations on or close to the slopes, meaning no lugging kit around and waiting in bus queues - but it also has regular and fast buses connecting different villages if you do wish to explore the different areas.
Beginners who are Barbie-fans or lovers of the colour pink will be happy to be here, as the zones for newcomers (called CoolSki zones) are not only very cheap to access, but are also signposted with bright pink colours. You can pick up a CoolSki lift pass and a pink bib to identify yourself as a newbie for just €40/day. More on the CoolSki zones later.
Thanks to La Plagne's 18 free magic carpets, beginners will not be faced with payable lift passes for their first few days as they learn, and in the resort, once confident, they can look forward to tackling the 9 greens and 67 blues locally. Don’t be afraid of graduating from green to blue, the runs are wide, well-groomed and found on a rolling plateau, so nothing to be feared, once you are ready.
Whilst La Plagne is large and welcoming, it doesn’t have such a party reputation as other resorts, and is a little lower, so makes for the perfect setting for a family trip and can easily accommodate mixed-ability groups too.
The pièce de resistance here is the Olympic Bobsleigh run, just one of the many brilliant non-skiing activities to look forward to.
Fun Fact:
La Plagne is one of France's most snow sure ski resorts, making it ideal for beginners concerned about learning conditions. Discover more of France's most snow sure resorts in our dedicated guide.
Where to stay in La Plagne in if you’re a beginner
La Plagne has seven modern villages and four traditional villages. In most, there is a free lift for beginners and a ski school. There are special beginner areas in the villages of:
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Aime la Plagne
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Belle Plagne
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Les Côches
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Montchavin
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Plagne Bellecôte
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Plagne Centre
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Plagne Soleil
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Plagne Montalbert
The dedicated beginner zones at Plagne Bellecôte, Belle Plagne and Plagne Centre are recommended. Here, you will find nursery slopes with magic carpets and no pass is needed.
In fact, thanks to their magic carpets (the easiest lift to master for beginners), the top La Plagne villages for beginners are:
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Plagne Bellecôte
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Belle Plagne
You may also consider the lower areas of Montchavin and Les Coches. Montchavin is an old farming hamlet with an attractive, traffic-free centre. There’s a nursery and a ski school. The local slopes have quite a bit to offer - pretty, sheltered runs, good snow conditions, with nursery slopes at village level, attractively surrounded by chalets and restaurants. There are five free lifts in Montchavin/Les Coches.
Plagne Soleil is also excellent if you're looking for a quieter, cheaper location with a free beginner area.
Is La Plagne suitable for a first time family ski holiday?
There are so many reasons to choose La Plagne for a first time family ski trip. Not only are the hotels, apartments, and chalets close to the slopes, the snow is reliable and the choice of ski schools and nurseries is excellent. There are also family-friendly snow parks such as the Buffalo fun park and fun slopes.
Families will enjoy the indoor shopping malls; tobogganing; snowmobiles; ice climbing; the ice rink; ice karting; snow quad biking, dog sledding and zip slides. It offers an all-round winter family holiday to treasure forever, and to Instagram immediately!
Read more:
Another great beginner resort is Meribel. It's livelier than La Plagne with a traditional resort centre playing host to plenty of bars, restaurants and shops - ideal for families.
Beginner skiing in La Plagne
CoolSki is the pink brand to look out for on your piste map. It identifies the protected beginner zones. You’ll be able to pick up a tabard, and a lift pass for limited access to lifts for €35 per adult per day so you can pick and choose the days you feel ready to use it. Take a look at the CoolSki maps below for more insight into the beginner skiing in each of La Plagne's areas.
| Coolski Plagne Montalbert |
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| Coolski Montchavin Les Coches |
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Where to head when you’re ready to explore La Plagne
Once you've conquered the CoolSki zones, a good run for beginners is the Arpette run from the top of the Arpette lift near Plagne Bellecote. In fact, you can ski throughout the entire ski resort on easy slopes.
From the top of Grand Rochette and from Les Verdons, ski down blues to Plagne Centre and feel on top of the world. Plagne Villages and Plagne Aime 2000 have seven rolling easy blues between them. Check out Aime’s incredible architecture.
At the end of the week, don’t miss the short blue on the glacier, Levasset, at the top of Roche de Mio cable car - you can ski all the way back down to Belle Plagne from the glacier peak.
Top Tip
The brilliant Yuge app puts you in control and shows you the best runs based on your level, snow conditions and real-time lift-queue information.
How much do lift passes cost in La Plagne?
Total beginners don't need a lift pass to access the dedicated free lifts (listed below).
Once you've mastered the basics, you can get a CoolSki pass for €35/per day (€40/per day if you'd like the pink CoolSki bib).
When you're ready to advance off the CoolSki slopes, you can purchase a local lift pass for €65/day for an adult and €52/day for children aged 5-12 (23/24 season). If you know you'll want the local lift pass for more than a day, it's more cost-effective to buy a 2 or 3 day pass.
If you're a confident beginner ready to explore the area from the get-go, it costs €330 for an adult's local pass for 6 days for 2023/2024.
Is there a free lift pass for La Plagne?
There are 18 free ski lifts in the area. Take your pick of these as you gain confidence. There are so many free lifts, you won’t get bored here. Try these suggestions:
Bellecôte Area
Tapis Belle Plagne (magic carpet)
Tapis l’Ourson (magic carpet)
Montchavin Area
Patinoire drag lift
Petit Sauget drag lift
Sucette de Montchavin drag lift
Télébufette Gondola
Champagny Area
Aiglon drag lift
Eterlou drag lift
Bécoin Area
Praconduit drag lift
Stade drag lift
Telebaby drag lift
Montalbert Area
Praconduit drag lift
Stade drag lift
Telebaby drag lift
Grande Rochette Area
Solu drag lift
Biquet drag lift
Is there a discounted lift pass for beginners?
Grab a CoolSki pass for €35 per day, or upgrade to €40 and get a pink bib included to flag you’re a newbie, to alert others to give you space on the mountain.
Can you access après bars and restaurants from the beginner slopes?
If you're looking for après (or a good lunch time fuel up) head for La Bergerie Restaurant, which is on a blue run via the Colosses chair lift from Belle Plagne or the Bergerie chairlift from Plagne Centre. It’s easily accessible for all levels of skiers and is the perfect après-ski party hot spot on the slopes. Don’t overdo it though, as you ski home from here. If you're just stopping for lunch, the restaurant is charming and rustic.
Alternative resort-based bars include Scotty’s in Plagne Centre and La Tête Inn in Belle Plagne for live music.
For those who prefer to keep an eye on costs, there’s a picnic room at Plagne Centre.
How much do ski lessons cost in La Plagne?
There is a good range of ski schools in La Plagne, so you choose the one that suits you. Beginners usually start in a small group doing drills to raise confidence with their equipment and on very gentle slopes. A group lesson starts at €30 per person per session, rising to €80 per hour for a private teacher. Private classes do get booked up early, especially for school holiday dates, so get ahead to confirm your choice. Here are ‘from’ prices, indicative for the 23/24 season.
| Ski School |
Group lesson per adult per session |
Group lesson per child per session |
Private lesson per adult per hour |
Private lesson per child per hour |
| ESF |
Peak: €30 Non peak: €30 |
Peak: €28 Non peak: €28 |
Peak: n/a Non peak: n/a |
Peak: n/a Non peak: n/a |
| Evolution 2 |
Peak: €47 Non peak: €47 |
Peak: €38 Non peak: €32 |
Peak: €89 Non peak: €80 |
Peak: €80 Non peak: €80 |
| ELPRO |
Peak: n/a Non peak: n/a |
Peak: n/a Non peak: n/a |
Peak: €63 Non peak: €58 |
Peak: €63 Non peak: €58 |
| Oxygene |
From €245 per week |
From €245 per week |
From €275 per 4 hours |
From €135 for 2 hours |
Is there a beginner-friendly snow park in La Plagne?
For adventurous children, The Buffalo Fun Park at the top of the Bergerie chairlift is one not to be missed.
One of the four snow parks is small, with beginner and progression obstacles in Montalbert.
7 Cube Fun Park has a one kilometre fun run with different-sized jumps graded green, blue, red and black.
There’s a fun slope zone - similar to boarder cross and the longest of its type in Europe with jumps, rails, rollers and a spiral turn into a tunnel.
Overall, is La Plagne a good choice for beginners?
La Plagne is a stand out choice for beginners, with varied easy slopes across the area, numerous ski schools, and a calmer atmosphere than other resorts. There are so many free lifts to save you money as you learn, and families will find not only the beginners’ areas and nurseries welcoming, they’ll love the huge host of non-ski fun for every age. Put La Plagne on the shortlist for your ski trip for sure.
