Winter 2025-2026: what's new in resorts?

New developments in the ski areas

Renovated ski lifts, new connections between resorts, redesigned slopes and new areas – every year brings its share of new developments in the ski areas! So, are you ready to try them out this winter?

Montclar/Chabanon:

A new “Fun zone” in Montclar: Situated at an altitude of 1,900m, it is freely accessible by chairlift, with only the cost of a pedestrian pass. In winter, it offers a range of activities:

• Toboggan run: Let yourself slide at full speed down a toboggan run specially designed to maximise the sensations in a safe setting. Fun for all ages!

• Airbag jumps (15m x 11m): have you always dreamt of doing aerial acrobatics in complete safety? Airbag jumping is for you! Take to the skies, try out your wildest tricks and land softly on a huge cushion of air.

• Boardercross: thrill-seekers on skis or snowboard won’t be left out in the cold thanks to the boardercross course, where tight turns and bumps await you for high-speed descents.

• Freestyle modules: unleash your creativity on the specially designed freestyle modules.

Val Thorens:

• Reopening of the Cime Caron cable car and new gondolas:

A strong symbol of the Val Thorens ski area, the Cime Caron cable car will be making its comeback for the 2025/2026 winter season with two brand new gondolas, ready to welcome skiers and pedestrians from the 3 Vallées. This reopening marks an important milestone for the resort and the ski area, providing direct access to one of its iconic peaks at an altitude of 3,200 metres, as well as to the new Caron 3200 building inaugurated last winter. From Val Thorens, visitors will once again be able to enjoy this spectacular ascent to one of the most beautiful panoramas in the Alps, at the heart of the 3 Vallées ski area.

• Construction of the TC 10 gondola lift, North Face :

Val Thorens is getting a new 10-seater gondola lift: “Face Nord”. This new installation replaces the old Glacier and Col chairlifts, which have been dismantled in recent years, and is part of a drive to optimise the flow of skiers throughout the resort. Offering direct access to the Asters and Face Nord runs, it also provides a strategic connection to the Orelle sector, via the La Lory blue run, which is accessible to all levels of skier.

Méribel:

• Côte Brune gets a makeover with a 10-seater gondola from December 2025!

The iconic Côte Brune chairlift linking Méribel-Mottaret, Val Thorens and Les Menuires will be replaced by a new ultra-modern gondola lift in the winter of 2025/2026.

An exceptional lift for a unique experience. The new project will mark a turning point in the management of skier flows and the improvement of comfort in the ski area. This 10-seater gondola lift will be capable of transporting up to 2,600 people per hour at a speed of 7m/s, a significant improvement on current capacities. It will provide a smooth, fast link between the valleys.

Les Arcs:

• A balcony overlooking the clouds: the new Col de la Chal terrace

Accessible in summer and winter from Transarc, Arcabulle or Plagnettes, this panoramic terrace will offer a timeless break. Set against the mountain like a natural amphitheatre, this balcony overlooking the clouds will offer a poetic scene based around the mountain sky: the sun, the clouds and the stars… all celestial elements that shape the landscape. Designed for all ages, the space will be enlivened by a number of fun installations: a slide, a climbing wall and a sundial. The new terrace will provide a place to stop for lunch or just admire the panorama, while modern sanitary facilities will complete the facilities.

• Villaroger cable car:

From December 2025, Villaroger will be home to a new, modern and fast gondola lift, replacing the Replat and Plan des Violettes chairlifts. Equipped with 40 10-seater cabins with external ski racks, it will link the Pré-derrière of Villaroger (1,200 m) to the summit of Plan des Violettes (2,119 m) in just 6 minutes 45 minutes, cutting the ascent time by almost 10 minutes.

A new service building will accompany this transformation: a shared reception area (ski school, tourist office, sales point with ticket offices and vending machines), an underground car park with 112 spaces, 114 ski lockers and modern toilets.

Combloux:

• New gondola lift at Beauregard (gateway to the Portes du Mont-Blanc ski area on the Combloux side):

Replacing the historic chairlift after forty seasons in operation, this new 10-seater detachable gondola lift guarantees smoother, safer boarding and is better suited to all types of public, especially children and groups taking ESF lessons. Designed to improve the reliability of flows, enhance the quality of the welcome and support the diversification of uses, it illustrates the Portes du Mont-Blanc’s desire to offer a more functional, accessible and sustainable ski area.

Val Cenis:

• New artistic and educational descent:

The 12km of Europe’s longest green trail, L’Escargot (Route Napoléon in summer), is being adorned with new wooden sculptures and turned into a veritable artistic and educational trail! A dozen life-size sculptures in local wood (Pin Cembro), sculpted by local artist Christophe Chappellaz, line the trail and represent the local wildlife.

Orcières:

• A brand new beginners’ area on the snow front

The snow front will be completely reshaped to create a new beginners’ area suitable for families. The slope will be softened to 14%, compared with 16-17% previously, to make learning easier. To replace the two old ski lifts, a conveyor belt with a high-speed covered gallery will ensure comfort, safety and accessibility.

Peyragudes:

• The resort accessible by train from Luchon!

This winter, Peyragudes is more accessible than ever, thanks to the return of the train to Bagnères-de-Luchon. The renovated line runs several times a day from Montréjeau, Loures-Barbazan, Marignac-Saint-Béat and Saléchan-Siradan stations to Luchon, connecting with direct trains from Toulouse.

A regular shuttle bus then takes you to the resort in just 30 minutes, with a return fare starting from €4. A new way of getting to the resort in winter that’s practical, comfortable and low-carbon!

What’s new in the resorts

To make your holiday a success, the resorts are innovating and offering something new not just on the slopes. A new wellness area in the hotel, a new toboggan on rails or a new restaurant are all good reasons to try out other activities after your skiing sessions!

To discover this winter in the accommodation

New activities for a 100% successful holiday!

• Offered by the Starski ski school, the “Petits Trappeurs” workshop in Le Grand-Bornand gives children aged 5 and over the chance to make the most of the mountains. On the programme for these nature outings combining sport and discovery, the apprentice adventurers can go on a snowshoe treasure hunt, discover spotting scopes or learn forest survival techniques (lighting a fire in the snow or building a makeshift shelter) with Sébastien Fontanel, ski instructor and mountain guide! (Star.ski.fr)

• The Val d’Allos Explor Games. The Val d’Allos is expanding its winter offering with a brand new Explor Games© on the Val d’Allos le Seignus ski area. This interactive adventure, accessible free of charge to skiers and pedestrians, invites participants to discover a piece of local history through a series of enigmas and fun challenges.

• Plush’Coffee, Gérardmer ‘s new teddy bear delight! The Chalet des Peluches never stops innovating. Never short of ideas, Jérôme and Géraldine are preparing another novelty for the end of 2025: Plush’Coffee. It’s a teddy bear-themed tea room with a new stage of automatons and a magic tree. You’ll be able to savour a whole host of delights, including chocolate fondues, madeleines and marshmallow teddy bears.

• L’Echappée Vosgienne: an original sports hotel concept. They dreamt it, they did it! Four Géromois, all former top-level sportsmen and women, have opened a “sports hotel” at Ramberchamp, not far from Lake Gérardmer. There’s a 16-room hotel with 38 beds, a restaurant that uses local produce, a high-tech fitness and reathletisation room, a storage area and repair shop for bikes and skis, a wellness area with hot and cold baths and a sauna, a multi-sports ground with 3 x 70 m athletics tracks, a 10 m shooting range and a seminar room. All set between forest and lake. Find out more here.

• Le Massif du Sancy has officially obtained the Qualidog label (the 1st label dedicated to welcoming dogs on holiday) and has created its new “Toutou Sancy” brand. Le Massif du Sancy is the first Qualidog winter destination in France to be awarded the label!

• In Serre Chevalier, “La Rotonde” spa will open in December 2025 at the heart of the famous Grands Bains du Monêtier and their naturally warm waters. This intimate spa will offer a complete wellness break, with facilities designed to awaken all the senses: relaxation areas, herbal tea room, panoramic sauna, steam room, natural waterfall at 44°, immersive pool.

• Since this summer, Villard-de-Lans has been offering a new cultural activity on the Bois Barbu site: Vercors en Lumières, an immersive night-time trail through the forest. Along a 1.2km signposted trail, visitors can stroll at dusk through a light and sound show combining nature, poetry and storytelling. Book online here.