Les Arcs - transfer guide

Taxi transfers - Bourg St Maurice - Les Arcs

Average taxi fare to Arc 1600: 45€; Average journey time: 25 minutes

Average taxi fare to Arc 1800: 51€; Average journey time: 30 minutes

Average taxi fare to Arc 1950 or Arc 2000: 67€; Average journey time: 45 minutes

Funicular transfers - Bourg St Maurice - Les Arcs

photo:Daniel Elkan Funicular to Les Arcs

A funicular train runs between Bourg St Maurice railway station and Arcs 1600, making the 800-metre climb in seven minutes. This is the fastest way to get from or two Arc 1600 and there are great views as you ride.

The funicular costs :

Single ticket : 6,50€/adult – 5€/children (from 6 to 13 years old)

Return ticket : 11,50/adult – 8,50/children (from 6 to 13 years old)

But if you have a ski pass you can ride for free.If you are arriving on a Saturday but your ski pass starts on the Sunday, this won’t give you free access to the funicular. If you are arriving with a voucher for the ski pass, you can give this to the lift pass office at the bottom of the funicular and they will issue your ski pass (so that you can ride for free).

The entrance to the funicular is at the end of the train platforms.  Since these are quite long,  wheeled luggage will help but there are trolleys too (takes a €1 coin to release them). You then need to climb up and down a set of stairs. Every Saturday, from 7.30am until 7.30pm from 15th of December until 27th of April, special staff from the Les Arcs tourist office are there at the station to help travellers up the stairs with their luggage. If you don't want to carry luggage up and down the stairs, you can walk around the front of the station. It is longer but it is flat.

The funicular, which takes seven minutes, departs every 20 minutes, and the first funicular departs at 7:30 AM and the last one departs at 9:00pm on Saturdays (or 8pm other days).

When you arrive at the top of the funicular:

If you are staying in Arc 1600, then all the accommodation is a short walk away.

If you are stying in the villages of Arc 1800, Arc 1950, or Arc 2000, then there is a free shuttle-bus service organised by the tourist office.The buses run every 20 minutes and are timed to meet the arrival of the funicular, so you shouldn’t be waiting at all. There are always enough buses to collect all the people coming by funicular (so there is always space).  It takes about 15 minutes to reach Arc 1800, 20 minutes to reach Arc 1950, and 25 minutes to reach Arc 2000.

Instead of taking the funicular, you can book taxis from the station at Bourg St Maurice. But you can’t book a taxi only from the top of the funicular, because all the taxis are based in Bourg and are only bookable from Bourg (or from the resort to go all the way down to Bourg).

at Arc 1600 , all the accommodation in Arc 1600 is short walk away, and there is a free shuttle-bus service to all the other villages.

There is a bus service to Arc 1800 that runs every 20 minutes and the journey takes from 10 to 20 minutes (depending where you go in Arc 1800).  The first bus departs at 7:40 AM and the last bus departs at 9:15 PM. There is a also bus service to Arc 1950 and Arc 2000 that runs every 20 minutes and the journey takes 20 minutes for Arc 1950 and 25 minutes for Arc 2000

Bus transfers - Bourg St Maurice - Les Arcs

photo:Daniel Elkan Bourg St Maurice station

The one-way price for adults is 10€ and for children 5€.

Buses depart from a bay outside Bourg St Maurice station.

You can buy bus tickets at a counter at the railway station or in advance online at www.altibus.com which shows timetable information too, although the site isn't always that easy to use.

You can also phone Altibus on +(33) 4 79 68 32 96 or email them on altibus@centrecontacts.com.  Booking for the winter season begin in November.

Here is a pdf of the Bourg St Maurice -Les Arcs bus timetable.

Bourg St Maurice station information & restaurants

photo:Daniel Elkan Bazoom pizza bar

Bourg St Maurice station has a waiting room, ticket hall where you can buy tickets for buses

There's a small shop (open from about 6am or 7am) that sells newspapers, magazines and croissants and sandwiches.

The bus station is located right outside the railway station, as is the taxi rank. So you can wait for your transfer bus in the station waiting room or ticket hall.

If you have time while waiting for a bus or a train, there's a bar/restaurant right opposite the station called Bazoom (0033 4 79 00 77 18) which apparently does good pizzas and traditional French dishes, with quick service for those with trains to catch.  For dining on Fridays, it is best to reserve by telephone (English or French).  Wifi access is free.

There are lots of other restaurants located near the station too.