La Plagne (Centre)
Purposeful, modern ski resort with easy access to huge Paradiski ski region
Plagne Centre resort guide - a general overview
This is the original La Plagne resort and still suffers from the brutal use of concrete and block architecture common to the purpose built French ski resorts of the 60's. The main hub has been refurbished over the last 2 years, resulting in a smart and well-connected shopping centre through the main part of Plagne Centre, connected by covered walkways to some of the accommodation and ski hire shops. However, there is a surprisingly varied array of shops, restaurants and bars and the apres ski scene is fairly lively. None of the other La Plagne resorts can compete with Plagne Centre in terms of facilities.
There are some stylish modern developments of recent years that have helped to 'soften' Plagne Centre such as Summit View which is situated right at the foot of the home pistes on the 'front de neige'. Five chalet apartments have a cool, boutique hotel vibe and others with a more traditional look and feel. We feature these in our chalet selection.
Resort stats
425km
1,970m - 3,250m
Level of skiing
- Beginners
- Intermediates
- Experts
- Snow sure
- Off-piste
- Ski area
Qualities
- Charm factor
- Non-skiers
- Nightlife
- Resort layout
- Fine dining
- Short transfer
- Resort value
Airports
- Chambery
- 2hrs 15mins
- Lyon
- 3hrs
- Geneva
- 3hrs
3 ski chalets in La Plagne (Centre) View All
La Plagne (Centre), France
Chalet Lucerne
Average Price
£428 ppLa Plagne (Centre), France
Chalet Como
Average Price
£636 ppLa Plagne (Centre), France
Chalet Garda
Average Price
£0 pp1 hotels in La Plagne (Centre), France View All
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Slopes to please skiers & snowboarders from complete beginners through to offpiste experts
- Very family friendly - good ski schools & lots of apres ski activities!
- Mountain restaurants with great views and reasonable prices
- High in altitude and snow sure, especially the Bellecote Glacier
- Linked to Les Arcs by the fantastic Vanoise Express cable car that crosses the valley
Cons
- Not the prettiest looking in the higher parts of resort! The lower villages are more traditional
- There are some flat spots for Snowboarders but route planning means these can be avoided.
- Not a huge variety of nightlife
- Resort buses that are reliable but don't run often or late, miss the last one & you need a taxi
Restaurants
La Plagne (Centre) Resort Restaurants
Le Refuge has been recently modernised and is part of the newly-linked 'tunnels'; there is a fantastic set lunch and dinner menu which is very well-priced as well as good steaks and a large selection of wines. La Metearie is a more traditionally Savoyarde restaurant in both decor and cuisine, with the best Steak Tartare in La Plagne and a very good raclette - this is highly recommended for families. La Grolle is very convenient for lunches, being right on the front de neige opposite the ski school meeting point, and has well-priced soups, pizzas and huge mountain salads served inside and out on the terrace.
La Plagne (Centre) Mountain Restaurants
Mountain Restaurants in La Plagne are generally good value for money and many have fantastic views of the Vanoise National Park or the Tarentaise Valley, and only get really busy during Peak weeks. For stunning views across the valley to Courchevel, the restaurant at the bottom of the Borseliers lift (of the same name) serves delicious croziflette and stews on it's large, self-service terrace - perfect for a sunny day! In bad weather head for the lower tree lined runs that lead down to Les Coches & Montchavin, and try the Chez Pat du Sauget. The Arpette is a good value restaurant in the main part of the piste and is easy to get to for most levels of skiers.
La Plagne (Centre) Apres Ski
Scotty's bar is the main spot in Plagne Centre for après, with live music every Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoon and band night on a Tuesday from 10pm. There are many drinks deals on throughout the week and regular beer pong competitions. The Mouth is the late night bar in Centre, with djs and drinks offers on daily. Igloo Igloo and Le Switch are good French-run bars with busy nights advertised and relatively late opening hours. The Rhumerie in Aime 2000 is a tiny and unique bar reached via the free telemetro from Plagne Centre; sample their fiery chilli rum and deliciously inventive cocktails.
La Plagne (Centre) Nightlife
Nightlife is limited in Plagne Centre, although the après bars tend to stay open until around 1am. For night owls looking for something a bit more exciting there are a couple of club-style bars in the other villages, notably Cosy Bar in Plagne Bellecote which is open until 6am.
Funicular
Cable Car
Gondola
Chair lift
Drag lift
Property
