La Plagne is located in the Tarentaise region of France which is home to some of the world’s most prestigious ski areas including Trois Vallées, Val d’Isère / Tignes, La Rosière and Saint-Foy (see our La Plagne nearby resorts page for more information). Collectively, these areas are famed for providing some of the best on and off-piste riding on the planet –  but just how big is La Plagne Paradiski and what does it bring to the party?

La Plagne Paradiski statistics

Taken together, La Plagne Les Arcs Paradiski is renowned as being the world’s third-biggest ski area offering a huge range of skiing and snowboarding on 425km of snow-sure pistes ranging from 1250m up to 3250m. In total, Les Arcs and La Plagne share a massive 35,559 acres of skiable terrain, making this a true monster in terms of ski domains, To put this into perspective, Paradiski is more than four times larger than North America’s biggest ski area, Whistler (8171 acres).

La Plagne is an intermediate rider’s paradise

Just on its own, La Plagne offers 225km of pistes spread over a huge variety of runs of varying difficulty. However, take even the most cursory look at La Plagne’s piste map and you’ll soon see this resort is ideal for improving beginner and intermediate skiers and snowboarders (see our guide to La Plagne’s best intermediate runs). Around 81% of La Plagne’s runs are graded blue runs (55%) or red runs (26%) making the area the perfect for skiers and snowboarders to hone their skills on wide-open, long pistes.

La Plagne off-piste challenges

While it’s true the majority of La Plagne’s runs are best suited to intermediate riders, the resort is also famous for offering some of the Alps’ most challenging off-piste riding – in particular the tough Bellecôte North Face. There are also many easy-access, long backcountry routes available – especially in the Champagny-en-Vanoise sector, Montchavin area and in the main Plagne Centre bowl.

La Plagne’s massively long pistes and routes

As you might expect from such a large area with an equally impressive vertical drop, there are some truly thigh-burning, gargantuan pistes available across the area. For example, La Plagne’s longest piste (the Mont Blanc blue) drops 1km over a 7km piste down to the village of Montchavin making it one of the lengthiest runs in the Alps. Check our article on La Plagne’s longest runs as well as the La Plagne longest descents page which features combination runs to maximise your ride time and vertical drop.

La Plagne – the world’s most popular, most visited ski area

Each year, La Plagne welcomes more than 2.6 million visitors making the resort the most visited and most popular ski area on the planet. Thankfully, La Plagne’s extensive lift network and huge total area cope well with demand in all but the busiest times of the La Plagne season. Even then, there are places you can ride when La Plagne is busy to avoid the inevitable queues and cramped pistes.

La Plagne’s 11 unique villages offer something for everyone

Each of La Plagne’s 11 villages has its own unique personality that will appeal to visitors of all types looking for their ideal holiday experience. If you’re prefer a quieter holiday experience, you could choose to stay in the relatively sleepy lower villages of Plagne Montalbert, Plagne Montchavin, La Roche or Champagny-en-Vanoise.

Alternatively, if chalet-style accommodation is more your thing, Plagne 1800 has it in abundance. Or, if ski in / ski out convenience is more your thing, go for the on-piste stations of Plagne Centre, Plagne Aime 2000, Plagne Soleil, Plagne Villages, Plagne Bellecôte or Belle Plagne which mostly offer apartment and hotel accommodation.

Note, the number of villages jumps to 20 when you include the stations on the Les Arcs side of Paradiski.

La Plagne’s six sectors

The La Plagne domain comprises six different sectors each with their own advantages and appeal. In truth, the terrain and number of pistes in each of these areas is so large that it eclipses many smaller Alpine resorts and each sector would perform admirably as a stand-alone resort.

La Plagne nightlife – not as raucous as some but still options on offer

While it’s undoubtedly true that La Plagne tends to attract families that are perhaps less interested in lively nightlife, there are still good options here. Take a look at our La Plagne best aprés ski bars or our La Plagne nightlife guides. As a general rule, the higher resorts have more going on – with Plagne Centre and Belle Plagne being the best choices for a good variety of bars and restaurants. There’s also the excellent Spitting Feathers in Plagne Bellecôte which has a distinctly Brit flavour or Monicas in Plagne Soleil.

La Plagne amenities

As you might expect, the larger stations have the greatest range of amenities on offer. In particular, Plagne Centre, Plagne Bellecôte and Belle Plagne have the greatest range of off-snow activities – for example health spa, cinema, swimming pool, gym, ice rink, etc.

Why choose a ski or snowboard holiday in La Plagne

As the world’s 3rd-largest ski area, La Plagne Paradiski is also one of the best. From its massive variety of pistes to its huge potential for off-piste challenges and varied villages, you will not go far wrong booking a La Plagne ski holiday. When you throw Les Arcs into that mix and take the resort as a whole, Paradiski is an undoubted gem of a ski area that offers everything you could possibly need for your next ski or snowboard trip.

More La Plagne videos

Visit the iRide YouTube channel for more great La Plagne videos produced La Plagne 360 showing all facets of the area filmed through the season over multiple years.