Location and travel

Our chalets La Grange d'Alice and Les Deux Tetês are situated a few minutes from Arc 1600, close together in the small village of Les Granges. The chalets are at the foot of the Bois de Saule (blue), Granges (red) and Violettes (red) pistes, next to the Les Granges funiculaire station and La Millerette lift and beginner's ski area.

Click here for general location map

Travelling by train

Travelling by train is a comfortable and convenient option. The direct Eurostar service from London St Pancras takes just over 7 hours, leaving on Friday night (allowing you to start skiing on Saturday morning) or Saturday morning. You will also avoid the road congestion that can sometimes delay airport transfers.

There are various other special winter services that link up with Eurostar services to Lille and Paris, and the classic 'Ski Train' runs overnight from Calais on Fridays (complete with bar and disco carriage). See Rail Europe for details.

We arrange free transfers from the Eurostar/TGV station at Bourg St Maurice. Guests arriving early on Saturday morning may have a light breakfast, wash and change before going skiing, but access to rooms will not normally be possible.

Guests departing late on Saturday may store their baggage at the chalet (having vacated rooms by 9.00am) for collection later, but dinner will not normally be available in the evening. There are plenty of restaurants and bars around Bourg Station.

Travelling by plane
Several airports are within reach of the chalets, but our prefered choice is Chambery (airport code: CMF) for short transfer times (1 1/2 hours) and choice of UK departures. We can arrange transfers from/to Chambery. Transfers to from/other airports may be possible, or we can put you in touch with a specialist local transfer company.

Saturday is our changeover day.

SPECIAL FLIGHT OFFER

Skipower have spare seats on their Saturday Gatwick-Chambery-Gatwick service, from £24.99! See http://www.skipower.co.uk/FlightOnly.asp for details

Station and Airport transfers We offer free transfers from Bourg St Maurice station, and we may be able to offer transfers from/to Chambery airport (only). Please use the form below to book: Click here for transfer booking form For all other transfers we are delighted to recommend our preferred transfer partners, ALPLINE. They have a large comfortable fleet of new minibuses, smart knowledgeable drivers and a superb reputation for reliability. Please contact ALPLINE directly by clicking on their logo below:

Driving from the UK

Our chalets are located in the village of Les Granges, accessible from the main Bourg St Maurice - Les Arcs road. We have covered parking for up to 4 vehicles which is available free of charge, subject to availability.

Improved ferry services and the Channel Tunnel make driving from the UK convenient and relatively quick. The is 974km and takes just over 9 hours (excluding breaks). Count on using about 85 litres of petrol in a standard saloon car (petrol costs about €1.40 euros per litre in France, journey total about €120 euros) and €71.20 euros in autoroute tolls. These accept euros or sterling cash (but you'll get your change in euros), and all credit and payment cards EXCEPT Switch. Use the AA or Autoroutes de France route planner to determine your exact route. Click here for local route map. Route from Moutiers is given below.

Most of the major car hire firms have desks at all these airports, and a week's hire of an 'economy' car starts from around €200

Tips for self drivers

• If you are driving to Les Granges from the UK (or in an airport hire car) you can find directions below.
• We have 4 covered parking spaces outside the chalets which you are welcome to use free of charge (first come first served!).
• We strongly advise, especially during the peak school holiday weeks, that you aim to arrive in the Tarentaise valley (i.e. beyond Chambery) by mid-day if at all possible. It might therefore be worth leaving on Friday and stopping overnight before an early start - Reims, Chalon-sur-Soane and Tournus are popular and have plenty of hotels of all types. This will avoid the long queues that can form later in the afternoon. You might even get here early enough to get on the snow in the afternoon!
• A refelective jacket and warning triangle must be carried in France by law. The refelective jacket must be worn anytime you get out of the vehicle on or beside a main road or motorway.
• There have been a number of major improvements made to the local roads, notably the impressive new viaduct between Moutiers and Aime.
• Please remember to carry snow chains - these are a legal requirement at certain times, and every year we see people getting into trouble (legal and safety) through not having them (or having the wrong ones!) Snow chains (or bags) can be hired from UK motoring organisations, but it is cheaper to buy a set in a supermarket at Chambery, Albertville or Moutiers. Carry a good torch and reflective safety jacket, as otherwise putting on chains on a dark, snowy night by a busy road can be very dangerous. And, remember to put then on the DRIVING wheels - check now if you are not sure.
• The winter is hard on cars, so make sure your battery is in good condition and all your lights work properly (French police are hot on this, so carry at least one spare set).
• Every season we see diesel-powered cars breaking down as their fuel freezes, so buy some additive and put it in before you get to the resort - it has to be added while the fuel is above 5c. We recommend Wynn's Ice Proof for Diesel or equivalent.

Route to Les Granges

Follow the N90 from Moutiers to Bourg St Maurice. Do NOT be tempted by a sign to Les Granges before Bourg; you must go through the town and take the road to Les Arcs (right at the last roundabout).

On the way up the hill there is a sign to La Grange which should be ignored. ('Grange' means barn in French, hence there are numerous villages called 'Les Granges' and 'La Grange' all over France!)

After the second 'hairpin bend' you will see a sign for 'Le Replatet'. Shortly afterwards is the funiculaire bridge over the road, a car park with bottle banks on the left and a sign for 'La Millerette'. Take the turning on the left (signposted to Les Granges) after the bottle banks and before the bend. You will pass under the funiculaire again, and La Grange d'Alice is the first building on the right hand side about 150m further on, and Les Deux Tetês chalets are another 50m further on, also on the right.

Les Granges phone number: 04 79 07 97 15
(from UK: 00 33 4 79 07 97 15).

Last updated: 19 November, 2008

Travel Links

Travel Insurance: we have negotiated special rates with Travel Insurance Plus, backed by Europ Assistance. Click here for online quote and purchase

Rail:
Eurostar
SNCF (French railways)
Rail Europe
DB european timetable

Road:
Autoroutes Rhone-Alpes
(regional weather & traffic conditions)
AA route planner
Autoroutes de France (for routes from UK - continent)
European motoring advice (AA)

Ferries:
P & O Ferries
Eurotunnel
Speedferries (Dover-Boulogne)
Norfolk Lines
Sea France

Car Hire
Holiday Cars Direct
Avis
Budget
Europacar
Hertz
Sixt

Airports (distance):
Geneva Cointrin (GVA)(150km)
Lyon St. Exupéry(LYS) (187km)
Chambery (CMF) (110km)
Grenoble (GNB)(183km)

Heathrow
Gatwick
Luton
Stansted
Birmingham
Manchester
Coventry
Bristol
Southampton
Bournemouth
Newcastle

UK Airport car parking

Airlines:
Snowjet
FlyBE
EasyJet
RyanAir
British Airways
Air France
BMIBaby
Swiss
Thomsonfly
Firstchoice
Jet2
Astraeus
Globespan
SkiFlights.com
Satellite travel

Local Transport:
SAT bus services from Lyon airport
Altibus from Geneva airport
Geneva bus station

Click here for more links