St Martin de Belleville Ski Resort France
St Martin is the prettiest ski resort & most authentic village in the Belleville valley. Part of the gargantuan 3 Vallèes ski area, St Martin de Belleville is closely associated with neighbouring Les Menuires. With some of the regions longest beginner runs, easy linkages into the Meribel valley, plus some tasty off-piste freeride terrain of its own on a powder day, St-Martin-de-Belleville has loads to offer.
Pros & Cons for St Martin de Belleville Ski Resort
Pros
- Integrated part of the world’s largest ski area.
- Super modern & efficient lift system.
- Long skiable verticals on all piste trails.
- Perfect piste trails for novices & beginners onto the village
- Good diversity of trails for intermediates & advanced riders nearby.
- Awesome off-piste terrain from Roc de Fer into St Martin, plus everywhere into Meribel & on nearby La Masse summit in Les Menuires.
- Three particularly good value lift pass options.
- Good inter-connections to adjacent 3 Valleys ski resorts, particularly Meribel & Les Menuires.
- One the 3 Vallees most authentic & charming villages.
Cons
- Limited advanced terrain in the immediate ski resort area.
- Few ski-in ski-out accommodations.
Pro or Con (depending on your perspective!)
- Over 60% of the local trails (in an admittedly huge area) are gentle for novices & beginners.
- Long ski day to Courchevel from here!
- Quiet traditional village on the edge of the largest ski area in the world.
- No 5-star accommodation.
Skiing & Snowboarding, Lifts & Terrain
The slopes of St Martin are best suited to beginners & intermediates, with a small sector for advanced riders under the St Martin Express chair. Long runs extend from the high alpine & through glades for up to 7km from Tougnette (2,437m) & 3 Marches (2,704m), ending down in the heart of the village at 1450m elevation. The skiable vertical 1254m is fun for beginners wanting to test their legs before moving further afield into Les Menuires, Meribel or Val Thorens for ’pitch worthy’ sliding. In the village itself, two small but beautifully situated novice learn-to-ski areas provide a perfect location to make one’s first turns. For freeriders with a 3 Vallees lift pass, dropping into Meribel & heading up the Olympic chair to Roc de Fer will reveal stellar, heliski-like terrain on a powder day leading all the way into the Belleville valley.
Check out the ski trail map for St Martin de Belleville below.
Access from the village up the mountain is better than ever thanks to the installation of a brand-new gondola back in season 19/20. Departures from the centre of town are always a bonus in a ski resort!
In reality, whilst the lifts & terrain in St Martin are limited, the skiing & snowboarding available from the resort is immense thanks to its links to the broader 3 Vallees, particularly Les Menuires & Meribel.
See here for the 3 Vallèes ski trail map.
Lift Passes
Ski lift pass options are many & varied when skiing Les Menuires. The local pass is for the 150km of trails in the Les Menuires -St Martin domain. It is around €10/day cheaper than the full 3 Vallees lift pass which includes Meribel, Courchevel & Val Thorens-Orelle. In between is the Vallèe des Bellevilles lift pass. At just a few €/day cheaper than a 3 Valleys pass, it includes all the lifts & terrain from top to bottom in the valley: Val Thorens-Orelle, Les Menuires & St Martin de Belleville. The Vallee des Belleville pass is only available as a day pass or season pass. Choose wisely!
For international guests, holders of an Epic Pass or Epic Australia Pass receive seven complimentary, unrestricted, and consecutive days at the entire Les 3 Vallées ski area, including St Martin. To receive their complimentary pass, Epic Pass holders must go to one of the ticket offices listed with their Epic Pass and ID. Ticket offices are: COURCHEVEL 1850: La Croisette; COURCHEVEL LE PRAZ: Le Praz gondola; BRIDES-LES-BAINS: Olympe gondola; MÉRIBEL CENTRE: La Chaudanne (under the Tougnète gondola); MÉRIBEL MOTTARET: Next to the Tourist Office; LES MENUIRES: La Croisette (under Roc 1 gondola); SAINT-MARTIN-DE-BELLEVILLE: Saint-Martin 1 gondola; VAL THORENS: Forum Joseph Fontanet and Funitel de Péclet; ORELLE: Francoz.
Where is St Martin-de-Belleville France?
St Martin de Belleville ski resort is unsurprisingly in the Vallèe des Bellevilles, Savoy (Savoie – pronounced Sav-wa) region of the French Alps. By car, it is 200km (2¼hr) east of Lyon, 132km (2hr+) south of Geneva and 20km (½hr) drive south of the nearest major town, Moûtiers.
Lyon St Exupery (LYS) and Geneva (GVA) are the main gateway airports, with most visitors heading there via busy GVA. Both airports are connected to Moûtiers by trains, but connections are better from Geneva than Lyon. Rail journeys from the airports to Moutiers can be done in under 4hr. From Paris (Gare de Lyon) the direct TGV train connection to nearby Bourg St Maurice & stops at Moutiers on the way. Taxis, shuttles, or public bus transport are available from the airports & Moûtiers train station. Buses to St Martin from Moutiers train station are on the T3 line. They run at least once in the morning, around lunchtime & in the afternoon. Travel time is around 1hr 10min. Buy train tickets to Moutiers via the link below, purchase bus tickets from the driver. A free shuttle bus runs 5 times a day between St Martin de Belleville, Les Menuires & Val Thorens for skiers & snowboarders.
Search rail transport options to St Martin & book here for all train tickets from Geneva, Paris, or Lyon to Moûtiers.
Alternatively, anyone adverse or contagious to trains & buses (COVID19 et al ) can organise a private transfer direct from a hotel or airport. Search & book here for all transfers to St Martin-de-Belleville.
For day visitors arriving by car, there is a convenient car park on the edge of the upper village, a short stroll to the ski lifts. Use the second turn off into the village off the main road to avoid an unnecessary drive all through the narrow streets.
St Martin-de-Belleville Accommodation
The traditional village of Saint Martin de Belleville is delightfully situated below the tree line & off the main road at an elevation of 1450m in the Belleville valley. The first of the ski resort villages in the valley, its authentic vibe & brand-new gondola extending up from the centre of town make compelling reasons to stay here. St Martin has a character quite distinct from the other Vallee des Bellevilles ski villages, lacking the industrial scale development in the likes of Val Thorens & Les Menuires. Most accommodations available are chalets, guesthouse rooms & limited hotels.
Search & book via our St Martin Ski Accommodation page.
Further up the valley, the small chalet-filled village of St Marcel is tucked away below the road. Further still, the many & varied village sectors of Les Menuires will in equal parts delight & appal. The ‘delight’ is in its interconnected, ski-in ski-out lodgings. The ‘appal’ is usually associated with one’s first glimpse of the resort’s architecture. Worth remembering though that Les Menuires is a very well positioned village to ski vast swathes of the 3 Valleys, plus it usually has availability during peak season.
Search & book via our Les Menuires Ski Accommodation page.
Ski Rentals, Lessons, Guiding & Services
Ski equipment rentals are available with our local partners in the centre of St Martin-de-Belleville near the ski lifts, plus at nearby Les Menuires. Receive a discount when you search & book via our St Martin de Belleville Ski & Snowboard Rental page.
Some off-piste ski lessons & guiding can make all the difference to a stay at St Martin de Belleville & the 3 Valleys. For information & options see our St Martin-de-Belleville Ski Lessons & Guiding page.
Reviews
The Powderhounds visited St-Martin-de-Belleville in January 2020 & were incredibly impressed by its ski terrain & village. We are due back this coming season to check it out again and have in depth look at neighbouring Les Menuires. Click on the review link in the left column (or top of the page if on a mobile) to read its inciteful prose!
See how St Martin, Les Menuires & the 3 Vallèes compare to the rest of the French ski resorts on the France ski resort ratings page, or compare to the rest of Europe on the European ski resort ratings page.
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