Alpe d'Huez is better known for a road than for its pistes. The 21 numbered hairpins up from Le Bourg-d'Oisans were first used by the Tour de France in 1952, and on a summer afternoon the resort is full of cyclists. In winter it is a different place: a resort at 1,860 m where Jean Pomagalski, founder of the Poma lift company, opened an early drag lift in 1936, and which hosted the bobsleigh events of the 1968 Winter Olympics. The track faced south, the ice kept melting, and the races had to be run before sunrise. Sun is still the resort's calling card: the tourist office calls it the Island in the Sun and claims around 300 days of sunshine a year.
The area is called the Alpe d'Huez Grand Domaine, 250 km of pistes joining five resorts: Alpe d'Huez, Oz-en-Oisans, Vaujany, Auris-en-Oisans and Villard-Reculas. Five days is a good length because it gives each sector a day without rushing: Alpe d'Huez and its beginner slopes, the Pic Blanc and Sarenne day, Oz and Vaujany, the sunny side, and one day to come down the mountain. The honest verdict is that this is a place for mixed groups. Beginners have a large learning zone beside the village and experts have the Tunnel, the Sarenne and a lot of off-piste. Intermediates are well served too, but the headline attractions sit at the two ends of the scale.
The plan assumes you sleep in Alpe d'Huez and ski Monday to Thursday, with Friday as the day off the mountain, in Le Bourg-d'Oisans and Grenoble. Start on Monday 11 January 2027: it is after the holiday weeks and before the Film Festival and the February crowds, and Friday suits the Grenoble museums. The Bastille cable car has no published January hours, so Day 5 keeps a fallback. For the country around it, see France.
Every stop from the plan below, colored by day. Pick a day to see its route.
A gentle first day on the village slopes, lunch at Signal or by a frozen lake, and a fondue to finish.
Up to 3,330 m for the view, down 16 km of black run, and a lunch in the gorge.
A 1,350 m drop through the mountain to the forests of the other side, then Vaujany and an evening in Oz.
The two sun-facing villages and the sector that suits families and a late lunch.
Down the Tour de France road, a hot chocolate in the valley and two museums in Grenoble.
The Alpe d'Huez Grand Domaine is a south-facing area built around one big idea: the higher you go, the harder it gets. The operator counts 65 green and blue runs against 16 black ones, with a beginner zone you reach on foot from the village and a summit at 3,330 m that holds the 16 km Sarenne. It suits mixed groups, because everyone can start from the same lift and split up at the top. The trade-off is distance: the steep terrain is around Pic Blanc, the forest skiing is in Oz and Vaujany, and the sunny family slopes are in Auris and Villard-Reculas. For a bigger linked area, see Les 3 Vallées.
| 1 day, adult 13-64, 19 Dec - 9 Apr | 68 EUR |
|---|---|
| 4 days, adult, 19 Dec - 9 Apr (this plan skis four days) | 243 EUR |
| 5 days, adult, 19 Dec - 9 Apr | 301.50 EUR |
| 6 days, adult, 19 Dec - 9 Apr | 336.50 EUR |
| 1 day, child 5-12, 19 Dec - 9 Apr | 56.50 EUR |
| 1 day, adult, 5-18 Dec (15% off) | 58 EUR |
| 1 day, adult, 10-25 Apr | 54.50 EUR |
| From 3 pm, adult, 19 Dec - 9 Apr | 42.50 EUR |
One pass covers the whole area. Prices fall by period: 5-18 December is 15% cheaper and 10-25 April cheaper still. Seniors 65-71 pay 62 EUR for a day, students 13-25 62 EUR. Sector passes for Oz-Vaujany, Auris and Villard-Reculas cost less, but the full pass suits this plan. Web-only deals include a Saturday pass from 35.50 EUR (buy by Thursday midnight). The skipass card costs 2 EUR and Assur'Glisse rescue insurance 3.50 EUR a day.
Source: Area figures (250 km, 111 marked runs: 34 green, 31 blue, 30 red, 16 black; 1,250 to 3,330 m; 2,000 m of vertical drop), season dates and all 2026/27 prices are from the operator, Alpe d'Huez ski area, checked 2026-10-16. The operator gives run counts by colour, not kilometres, so the difficulty split is those counts: easy is 34 green plus 31 blue (65), intermediate 30 red, advanced 16 black. The 67 lifts and 1,053 snow cannons are the figures of the tourist office; the operator publishes no lift total. French school dates are from the education ministry's open data (the holidays end the day before classes resume), Serbian ones from the ministry's primary-school calendar and the Vojvodina secondary-school rulebook, the festival and Tomorrowland dates from the tourist office's home page.
Monday is for finding your legs. Everything on this day starts from the resort, and the first lift is free: the Télécentre takes you up from the village without a ski pass. Passes can be collected at the Bergers and Grandes Rousses offices or at kiosks. If your group is mixed, this is the one day when everyone skis together. Beginners can stay in the learning zone all day; the rest take the Signal sector for the first red runs of the week.
The Télécentre is a free gondola that runs from Place Paganon near the tourist office, through Avenue des Jeux, up to Grandes Rousses 1800. The operator calls this snow front a key departure point for the higher sectors and for Pic Blanc. From Place Paganon the ride takes 15 minutes, from Avenue des Jeux 7. The other two free lifts are the Alpe Express, from Place Paganon through Éclose to the Bergers snow front (10 minutes), and the Huez Express from Huez village (15 minutes).
Pick up your pass here or at Bergers, where the ski pass office, self-service kiosks and a shopping centre sit beside the lifts. The skipass card is mandatory, costs 2 EUR and can be reused. Then ride up for your first run while the grooming is fresh.
The tourist office says 36 green and 29 blue runs are served by lifts directly accessible from the resort, and that three of them are free. For a first morning this is the right place. The learning zone has magic carpets and gentle drag lifts, and the fun slopes are named after three friends, Marcel, Roger and Jacques: tunnels, ramps and bumps, with a bell at Marcel's to ring with your pole.
The area has a Jeux snowpark of more than 20 hectares, one of the larger ones in the Alps by the tourist office's count, and a smaller T-Park near the Montfrais chairlift for families. Experts can skip this stop; beginners, children and anyone back on skis after a few years should not.
The Signal Telemix, a mixed chairlift and gondola, takes you from the resort to the Signal sector at 2,100 m, on the western edge of the area. It is also the sector's night-skiing area: the operator lists evening sessions on the Signal and Rif Nel slopes with a valid ski pass and no booking, so the same lift that takes you up in daylight is the one lit after dark.
The Villarais chairlift, a short ride away, is the shortcut to Villard-Reculas, and you will use it on day 4. The runs here are mostly red and blue, which makes it a fair test of your legs before the bigger days.
Signal 2108 sits on the slopes above the village and is open to skiers, pedestrians and lift users. The tourist office describes a Maître Restaurateur table upstairs serving regional dishes, with fast food at the counter downstairs, so you choose between a proper lunch and a quick one. The area has nearly twenty restaurants on the slopes, and the operator says reservations are recommended between 12:30 and 1:30, especially in school holidays. For a table by a frozen lake instead, the tourist office lists the Chalet du Lac Besson, with wood-fired grills and mountain dishes for skiers and pedestrians; check its opening days.
La Folie Douce is a high-altitude après-ski venue at 2,300 m, at the Marmottes 1 lift above Bergers, open daily from 5 December to 25 April. Lunch is served from noon to 3 pm, then the place turns into an artistic show with dancers, live musicians and DJs. It has two kitchens, La Petite Cuisine for the festive crowd and La Fruitière for fine dining.
The show hours are not published, so ask on the day. The honest verdict: loud, crowded in high season and no place to ski after drinking. Go for one drink and the show, then ski down before the lifts close.
Le Refuge des Fondues and La Racletterie are both on the tourist office's list of restaurants in the resort, and both do what the names promise. Cheese fondue and raclette are the usual evening meal in the Alps, and after a day in the cold melted cheese is hard to beat.
Book in the school holidays. If someone in your group doesn't eat cheese, the tourist office lists many other restaurants in the resort, from a crêperie to a ramen place.
Tuesday is the signature day, and the Pic Blanc cable car decides how it goes. The summit has a booking system: reserve a free slot on the operator's site the day before. Advanced skiers do the whole plan. Intermediates can ride up for the view and the ice cave, and ski the Sarenne only if they are comfortable on long black runs. Beginners can go up without skis on a pedestrian pass or skip the day.
The Pic Blanc 1 gondola starts at Grandes Rousses 1800 and the Pic Blanc 2 cable car leaves from 2,700 m. The queue is the problem, and the operator has a fix: Direct to the Peak, a free time slot for the cable car. Slots open 24 hours in advance and can be booked up to 20 minutes before departure; you enter each skier's ski pass number, and you can make two bookings a day. If you are late, the reservation is cancelled.
If no slots appear, all of them are taken and you queue normally. The operator's Altitude 3300 programme replaces six lifts and rebuilds the Pic Blanc 2700 station, and its page does not say how summit access runs in winter 2026/27, so read the lift openings first.
Pic Blanc, at 3,330 m, is the highest point of the ski area and the one the resort calls its Eiffel Tower. The tourist office gives it three stars from the Michelin Green Guide and lists what you can see on a clear day: La Meije, Taillefer, Belledonne, Chartreuse and the Aiguilles d'Arves, with Mont Blanc and Mont Ventoux on the far horizon.
Take ten minutes at the top and read the weather. The summit decides the day: if it is clear, the next stops are a go. If it is windy or cloudy, ride down and ski the Signal and Marmottes sectors instead. Non-skiers can go up too: the operator sells a guided tour of Pic Blanc without skis, with the ice cave on the way back (check the 2026/27 schedule).
Below the summit, at 2,700 m at the top of the second section of the cable car, the ice cave is carved beneath the snow of Lac Blanc each winter. Two mountain guides dig it, and sculptors fill it with themed ice work: the 2025/26 theme was an African safari with around thirty sculptures. Inside it is about -1°C.
The 2026/27 theme and price are not published yet; last winter was 7 EUR for adults with a lift pass.
The Sarenne is the reason many people come. The operator calls it Europe's longest black run: 16 km of piste, 1,820 m of vertical drop from Pic Blanc, and the run changes character as it goes. The opening section is steep and demanding, then it opens into a wild valley with a frozen river and fir forest, far from any lift. It runs through the Sarenne gorges.
Be honest about the level. The operator rates it for advanced skiers and calls the opening section demanding. Treat it as a run for confident skiers, and if your legs are tired before the start, ski something else. The valley is far from any lift, so there is no quick way out once you are in it.
The Auberge de la Combe Haute sits in the Sarenne gorges at the bottom of the run, and it is reachable only on skis. The tourist office lists it for exquisite cuisine in the heart of the gorge, and the operator's first-tracks experience ends here with a hot drink and a pastry. After 16 km it is the obvious lunch.
From here the way out is the Chalvet chairlift, then the Campanules piste down to the Bergers area. Start the Sarenne early, check the last lift times in the app, and plan the afternoon around that chairlift. The restaurant is ski-only, so a group that includes non-skiers needs a different lunch.
The bobsleigh track of the 1968 Winter Olympics was built in spring 1966 and hosted the 1967 world championships. The cooling could not keep the ice solid in sunlight, partly because the track faced south. The four-man event was cancelled because of thawing, and before the Games the builders strengthened the refrigeration and added shades over several turns, but thawing stayed a problem and the races had to be run before sunrise. The track closed in 1972 because it cost too much to run, and the structure is still there, since demolition was not economical.
The Maison du patrimoine de l'Oisans, also called the Musée d'Huez et de l'Oisans, shows a model of the track; ask at the tourist office for its winter hours. A place famous for sunshine tried to make ice.
Wednesday goes over to the Oz-Vaujany side. The way there is the biggest drop in the area, so this is a day for the best skiers, with an easy alternative for everyone else: the lifts. The Poutran gondola from Oz takes about 9 minutes back to Alpe d'Huez at 2,100 m, so check its last ride before you stay for the evening.
From the exit of the Tunnel at 3,000 m, the run drops 1,350 m to the Montfrais sector at 1,650 m, a continuous 1,350 m of vertical, according to the resort. The operator describes it as a challenging black run reserved for highly experienced skiers. You ski about 200 m inside the mountain, then come out onto one of the steepest mogul fields in the area, with gradients of up to 35 degrees.
The operator reserves it for highly experienced skiers, a notch above the Sarenne's advanced rating. It is not a run to try for the first time with tired legs. If you doubt it, cross by lift instead: the Alpette-Rousses cable car and the Poutran gondola join Alpe d'Huez at 2,100 m to the Vaujany and Oz side in about 10 minutes, and you ski the Oz-Vaujany blues and reds from there.
The Montfrais plateau is where the Tunnel ends and the area turns from rock to forest: the operator says the descent runs from the mineral landscapes of the high mountain down to the fir forests around Oz and Vaujany. It is also the family end of the sector, where the Dolines run teaches children with interactive modules.
If you started the day with the Tunnel, stop here for a drink at Le Vaujaniat, a restaurant on the plateau serving French cuisine, before the next run.
La Fare is the signature black run of the Oz-Vaujany sector: 4.7 km and 720 m of vertical drop through the forest, with views over Vaujany, the Rissiou and the Belledonne massif. It faces north, which the operator says helps preserve the snow, so it is one of the better runs in the area when the south faces have gone soft in the afternoon.
The operator calls it long, technical and demanding, and its forest setting is very different from the open slopes at the top. It is a good option on a day when the summit is shut. Ski it in the morning, while the snow is firm.
Alpette chez Passoud serves authentic regional cuisine on the Alpette plateau and is open to skiers, pedestrians and lift users. The tourist office also lists L'Aventure, a modern restaurant at the Poutran intermediate station, and Les Airelles, a mountain chalet with a fireplace.
Pick one, because you have only one lunch: Les Airelles for the fireplace, La Cabane for a panoramic terrace over the Rousses. Book in school holidays.
The Dôme des Rousses is the high point of the Oz-Vaujany forest sector, at 2,800 m. The operator's first-descent experience is held here on Thursdays from December to March with the ski patrol, followed by breakfast on the Alpette plateau; the 2026/27 dates are still to come. Ski from here down toward Oz or Vaujany. The whole Oz-Vaujany sector has 30 runs: 6 green, 12 blue, 10 red and 2 black, so it is mostly blue and red. It is the place to take a friend who found the Sarenne too much.
Vaujany, at 1,250 m, is the lowest of the five resorts and the family one. It joins the area by the Alpette-Rousses cable car, about 10 minutes to Alpe d'Huez at 2,100 m. The village has a cinema, an international ice rink with 1,600 m² of ice and seating for 700, a museum space, and about 500 free covered parking spaces.
It is a village that has chosen to be quiet, so do not expect nightlife.
Oz 3300, at 1,350 m, is a 100% pedestrian resort, ski-in/ski-out. Its Wednesday night skiing on the lit Canetons and Clos du Pré slopes, with the Olmet magic carpet and drag lift free, is listed only for the Christmas and February school holidays, so on 13 January the lights stay off. In the holidays it suits beginners and children, not racing. Without it, this is a quiet pedestrian village to walk through and eat in, with two bakeries, a cheese shop and a grocery.
Stay for dinner if you like, but check the last Poutran gondola back to Alpe d'Huez first. If you miss the last lift, getting back is a long detour through the valley.
Thursday goes south and west. Villard-Reculas and Auris-en-Oisans both face the sun and are linked to Alpe d'Huez by lifts, 10 to 20 minutes from the resort. This is the gentlest day of the plan, and the right one to end the skiing: if your legs are tired by now, it is still a good day. The stops are close, lunch is the main event, and the evening returns to the church in Alpe d'Huez for a Thursday concert.
The Villarais chairlift links the Signal sector to Villard-Reculas in under 10 minutes. The operator calls the village a south-west-facing mountain village on a sunny balcony, authentic and peaceful, with ski-in/ski-out access and its own 20 km sector: 9 runs (3 green, 4 blue, 1 red, 1 black) and the Vallons snowpark.
Ski down the village runs, then ride back up. A morning is enough for the sector.
The Auris sector has 45 km of runs and 19 marked pistes: 3 green, 8 blue, 4 red and 4 black. Of those, the operator singles out Maronne and Fontfroide as the more challenging terrain, and the Maronne chairlift links the sector to La Garde-en-Oisans. The sector faces south, with views of La Meije and the Écrins.
Ski Fontfroide first, then the blue runs. Auris has four black runs if you want steeper skiing away from the Pic Blanc queues.
Le Skob in Auris-en-Oisans is new for the 2026/27 winter. Two friends from northern France took it over and mix Savoyard classics with the specialities of the north: tartiflette, Flemish carbonnade, a maroilles burger and chips cooked in beef fat. They also sell their own beer, made with a Belgian brewery. According to the Oisans press kit it is open seven days a week in season, with dishes from 15 to 30 EUR.
The tourist office also lists Sol & Monta, a traditional restaurant at Haut des Sûres open to skiers and pedestrians, and Hermine, serving mountain dishes at the base of the Fontfroide run. If you want the mountain view, take Hermine. If you want something different from fondue, take Le Skob.
The Auris resort at 1,600 m is built for families: the operator lists ski-in/ski-out access, shops and services close by, a kids' club, a ski school and dedicated beginner areas. The fun slope here is Jacques le Bûcheron, the lumberjack of the three friends. Auris's tourist office calls it the small resort that families prefer.
For a mixed group this is an easy afternoon. Beginners learn in the safe zone, while others take the Auris Express and Alpauris chairlifts back to the Bergers area, about 20 minutes. Auris has a free car park at Les Souses, which matters if you came by car.
The church of Alpe d'Huez was designed by the architect Jean Marol in the 1960s and finished in 1970, under Father Jaap Reuten, the parish priest from 1964 to 1992. Its silhouette recalls the Virgin Mary, and its stained glass is by the artist Arcabas. Its organ is shaped like a hand reaching up, designed by the composer Jean Guillou with the German organ builder Detlef Kleuker.
Concerts on the organ are held on Thursday evenings in winter and summer, so the church is best visited on this day.
Friday is the day off the mountain. The road down is 13.8 km of hairpins, then Grenoble is another 50 km along the Romanche valley, about an hour. You can drive, or take the winter express bus from Alpe d'Huez to Grenoble (about 1 hour 45 minutes, two return services a day). The Musée dauphinois is closed on Mondays, so Friday is fine, but the Bastille cable car's January 2027 hours are not published yet.
The climb to Alpe d'Huez starts in Le Bourg-d'Oisans and covers 13.8 km at an average of 8.1% with 21 numbered hairpin bends, and a maximum gradient of 13%. The Tour de France first used it in 1952, when Fausto Coppi won the stage, and it has been a regular finish since 1976. The tourist office says the drive takes about 20 minutes.
In winter, drive it with winter tyres or chains in the car and take it slowly. It is the main access to the resort, so check the road conditions before you leave.
Le Bourg-d'Oisans, at 720 m, is the base camp of the Oisans. The press kit points to Café Buvard, a bookshop and café with homemade waffles and hot drinks (Tuesday to Thursday 9:30 to 18:30, Friday and Saturday 9:30 to 17:00), and to Écrin Glacé, an artisan chocolate maker whose hot chocolate is, in its own words, the refuge of the gourmet after a day on the pistes.
The valley also has Les Bières de l'Oisans, a small brewery in the town centre that makes high-fermentation beers. It ran tastings in 2025 as part of the Oisans Route des Savoir-faire, so ask whether it does this winter.
The Musée dauphinois is in a former convent on the slope of the Bastille, 30 rue Maurice Gignoux, and is dedicated to alpine heritage. Its permanent exhibition, Alpins, 7000 ans d'histoires, tells how people have lived in the mountains for 7,000 years, and was designed with a young audience in mind. Entry is free.
From October to May it is open Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 18:00, and closed on Mondays. Tram B to the Notre-Dame-Musée stop, then walk over the Saint-Laurent footbridge and up the montée de Chalemont. Large bags are not allowed in and there is no cloakroom, so leave your ski bag in the car.
The Grenoble Bastille cable car carries you in glass bubbles from the city centre to the Fort de la Bastille, a 19th-century fortification above the town. It runs continuously, with departures every 5 to 10 minutes, and the round trip costs 9.80 EUR (full price).
In the plan this is the finish, but check the dates: the operator publishes hours only to the end of 2026, when it runs Tuesday to Thursday and Sunday from 11:00 to 19:00 and Friday and Saturday from 11:00 to midnight, with no Monday departures listed. January 2027 is not published, so if it is closed, walk the quays of the Isère from the museum instead. The last ride up is 15 minutes before closing.
Places for a day off the slopes or the road home.
Allemond, at 713 m, is the valley gate to the area, with a free car park at the foot of the Eau d'Olle Express gondola and, per the press kit, a Maison du Bouquetin devoted to the ibex. It is the way into Oz without driving up the hairpins.
Getting there: 25 km, 31 minutes by road to Allemond; the Eau d'Olle Express valley gondola reaches Oz in about 8 minutes
The glacier resort next door skis up to 3,400 m by the Jandri lift, according to the Oisans press kit. SATA, the same operator, sells the Supernova pass for Alpe d'Huez, Les 2 Alpes and La Grave from 1,155.50 EUR a season, and the Alpe d'Huez season pass includes ten days at Les 2 Alpes.
Getting there: 31 km, 39 minutes by road from Alpe d'Huez
The Oisans press kit calls La Grave the unique off-piste ski area of La Meije. It is a mountain for experts with a guide, not a place to ski casually.
Getting there: 40 km, 44 minutes by road from Alpe d'Huez
Vizille opens onto the Oisans and holds the Domaine de Vizille, a park with the Museum of the French Revolution. It is a natural stop on the drive down to Grenoble on departure day.
Getting there: 46 km, 51 minutes by road from Alpe d'Huez, on the way to Grenoble
Two off-ski options from the operator's list, both subject to snow. A dog-sled ride, from 60 EUR a person, starts at the altiport and must be booked with the provider at least 15 days ahead. Mountain Kart costs from 20 EUR (from age 12, helmet compulsory), runs by day in the Jeux sector and on Monday evenings in Les Bergers, and is paid on site by card. Prices are the operator's current listing, not confirmed for 2026/27.
Getting there: Inside the resort: the dogs start from the Alpe d'Huez altiport, the daytime kart from the Jeux sector
The international ice rink at Vaujany's sports centre has 1,600 m² of ice and seats 700, and is open all year for public skating, with evening sessions and Disco Banquise nights. Hours vary with events, so check the current timetable. It is the best answer to a wet or foggy afternoon.
Getting there: 32 km, 39 minutes by road, or by lift and run from Alpe d'Huez with a ski pass
Official websiteMountain food here is melted cheese, potatoes and a few things from the Dauphiné, the old province Isère belongs to.
A pot of melted cheese eaten with bread on long forks. It is a standard evening meal in the resort, and Vaujany's village grocery sells fondue to take away.
Where to try it: Le Refuge des Fondues in Alpe d'Huez, listed by the tourist office; the resort's blog also describes fondue evenings in an igloo, reached on snowshoes with a guide.
Cheese melted and scraped over potatoes, with cold cuts. The resort serves it everywhere in winter, and Vaujany's village grocery lends the appliance if you cook it in your apartment.
Where to try it: La Racletterie in Alpe d'Huez, listed by the tourist office; the Sherpa grocery in Vaujany sells cheese and lends raclette equipment.
Sliced potatoes baked until soft, in cream or milk depending on the cook. It comes from the Dauphiné, and tradition puts its birth in the Four Mountains country around Villard-de-Lans, near Grenoble.
Where to try it: Traditional restaurants in the resort and in Bourg-d'Oisans; ask for it as a side to meat.
Small squares of pasta filled with cheese and parsley, boiled in water. They are made near Romans-sur-Isère and protected as a regional product (IGP since 2009).
Where to try it: Cheese shops and delicatessens in the resort, such as La Fromagerie and La Grange de l'Éclose, both on the tourist office's list.
The walnut of Grenoble is a protected-origin fruit grown around the city. It appears in cakes, tarts and sweets and is an easy local souvenir to carry home.
Where to try it: Delicatessens and bakeries in Grenoble; markets in Bourg-d'Oisans.
Génépi is a herbal liqueur of the Alps made from wormwood, usually taken neat. Chartreuse is a herbal liqueur made by Carthusian monks since 1737, from 130 herbs, in the mountains north of Grenoble. Both are digestifs after a heavy meal.
Where to try it: Cheese shops and groceries; Vaujany's regional-products shop Affaire de Goûts lists génépi (it showed as temporarily closed in October).
Savoie is the only Alpine wine region in France, with grapes rarely seen elsewhere, such as Jacquère and Altesse for whites and Mondeuse for reds. The appellation reaches into the Isère department. A dry white goes with melted cheese.
Where to try it: Any restaurant that serves fondue or raclette; the Eight bar x Les Caves de l'Alpe is listed by the tourist office among the bars.
A mild blue cheese from the Vercors massif, an AOC since 1998. The best season is June to November, so in January take it on a cheese board, not as a must.
Where to try it: La Fromagerie and La Grange de l'Éclose in Alpe d'Huez.
Thin pancakes, sweet or savoury, a simple lunch or an afternoon treat for children after a morning on the slopes.
Where to try it: La Crêperie in Alpe d'Huez, on the tourist office's list of restaurants in the resort.
The French breakfast, and the bread for the cheese.
Where to try it: Le boulanger de l'Alpe on Avenue des Jeux and Pâtisserie Jannin's tearoom, both listed by the tourist office; two bakeries in Oz 3300.
The Oisans has its own small brewery, Les Bières de l'Oisans in Le Bourg-d'Oisans, making high-fermentation beers. Le Skob in Auris-en-Oisans pours a beer it brews with a Belgian brewery.
Where to try it: Le Skob in Auris; the brewery in the centre of Bourg-d'Oisans (ask whether it takes visitors in winter).
In Le Bourg-d'Oisans, Écrin Glacé makes its own chocolate and Café Buvard serves hot drinks and homemade waffles in a bookshop.
Where to try it: Écrin Glacé and Café Buvard, both in Le Bourg-d'Oisans, named in the Oisans winter press kit.
Pick the base by what you want to do after the lifts close. Alpe d'Huez has everything and the longest walks to the snow; the others are quieter and closer to the slopes.
Best for: Mixed groups, first-timers and anyone who wants shops, bars and a choice of restaurants
The biggest of the five and the one with the most to do after skiing. The catch is that it is the busiest in school holidays and spreads along the slope, so choose a lodging near a free lift.
Best for: Families and couples who want a quiet, pedestrian resort
A small resort of wood and stone among the pines, and the easiest base for the Oz-Vaujany forest skiing. The catch is that Pic Blanc and Sarenne are a lift ride away.
Best for: Families who want facilities and a village feel
The lowest of the five resorts at 1,250 m, with a cinema, an international rink and a museum space. The catch is that Pic Blanc is a cable car and several lifts away.
Best for: Families with young children and beginners
A small, sunny resort with views of the Écrins, chosen by families for its beginner slopes and the Jacques le Bûcheron piste. The catch is that evenings are quiet and Pic Blanc is a long lift ride away.
Best for: Skiers who want a small village and a short lift to the Signal sector
A south-west-facing village at 1,500 m on a sunny balcony, with its own 20 km sector and a short chairlift (Villarais) to Signal. It is the smallest of the five, so it suits couples and groups who like quiet. The catch is that every big day starts with a lift ride to Signal.
In Map Drop the countries of Europe fall one at a time and you drop each into its place - France is one of the pieces.
The practical stuff that makes the first day in Alpe d'Huez easier.
Prices are in euros and cards work in the resorts. Buy the pass online and collect it at a kiosk (pickup is possible until the last minute, home delivery needs 10 days). The rechargeable card costs 2 EUR and is mandatory. Online orders can be cancelled for a refund up to seven days before the first day, and the pass is personal: lending it can mean a fine of up to five times a day pass.
Grenoble Alpes-Isère airport is about 100 km away (Actibus links it to Grenoble station in about 40 minutes), Lyon-Saint Exupéry about 150 km and Geneva about 2 hours 45 by road. Grenoble is the main rail gateway (Paris about 3 hours by TGV, Lyon 1 hour 30, Geneva 2 hours). From there a winter-only express bus runs to Alpe d'Huez (about 1 hour 45, two return services a day); the T75 and T76 routes via Bourg-d'Oisans are slower. Altibus runs a Saturday shuttle from Geneva airport (under 4 hours).
The route is Grenoble, the D1091 along the Romanche to Bourg-d'Oisans, then the 21 hairpins: about 1 hour from Grenoble, 2 hours 30 from Lyon and 2 hours 45 from Geneva. Carry chains or fit winter tyres. French mountain-road rules require winter equipment on signed roads in winter, and the prefecture sets which communes are covered, so whether the Oisans roads are on this year's list was not confirmed: check the road signs and the Isère prefecture's current list before you go.
The Alpe d'Huez app shows live slope status, weather and lift hours. The Pic Blanc cable car can close in wind, and booked slots can be cancelled. Read the last-lift times in the app each afternoon, especially before staying late in Oz or Vaujany.
Alpe d'Huez is in school zone A (Grenoble, Lyon): winter holidays 13 to 28 February 2027. Paris (zone C) is 6-21 February and zone B is 20 February to 7 March, so the whole of February is busy. French Christmas holidays run 19 December to 3 January, so 5-15 January is the quiet window; any mid-February break lands in the French peak. Serbian schools break 31 December to 15 January (primary, central Serbia), and the Vojvodina secondary break is 24 December to 8 January. Events: the Comedy Film Festival 18-24 January and Tomorrowland Winter 20-27 March 2027.
Rescue and evacuation off the slopes are charged. Assur'Glisse is sold with the pass at 3.50 EUR a day; your own cover works if it includes skiing. The off-piste terrain around Pic Blanc is serious: go with a guide from the Bureau des Guides.
Yes. Four ski days cover the main sectors once, and the fifth is a day off in Bourg-d'Oisans and Grenoble.
Yes, and it is one of its strengths. The tourist office counts 36 green and 29 blue runs served by lifts directly accessible from the resort, three of them free, and the operator sells a beginner pass in every resort.
The operator rates the Sarenne black, for advanced skiers. It is 16 km long with 1,820 m of vertical drop, the opening section is demanding, and the valley below is far from any lift. Do not start it tired.
The resort says about 300 days of sunshine a year and the ski area is mostly south-facing. That helps on a clear day, and the area is backed by 1,053 snow cannons to make up for the south-facing slopes. The north-facing runs, such as La Fare, hold their snow better, the operator says.
A day pass is 68 EUR in the main period and a 4-day pass 243 EUR. Covered parking is 18 EUR a day. The cheapest weeks are 5-18 December (15% off) and after 10 April.
Not if you stay in Alpe d'Huez: three lifts and the Résalp shuttles are free. A car helps for the Friday trip to Grenoble, though a winter express bus runs there. If you drive, carry winter equipment and book covered parking.
It is smaller (250 km against 600 km) but has real extremes: the Sarenne and the Tunnel at the top, a large beginner zone at the bottom. Les 3 Vallées is the bigger linked area, with seven resorts on one pass.
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