If you’re coming to La Plagne for an extended period or are driving to resort, you could save a load of money by stocking up on your shopping in the valleys. Speak to any local in any ski resort around the world and you’ll find they rarely shop up the hill – for example in La Plagne supermarkets. You’ll often find the La Plagne valley supermarkets rammed with resort locals, saisonniers and chalet staff buying better value food and drink. Trust us – the savings can be considerable. Note, you’ll find cash machines locally at each of these options but, if you’d prefer to draw money before you leave, check this link for info on La Plagne ATM machines.

While France isn’t a particularly cheap country at the best of times, you’ll always find the on-hill resort prices are considerably higher than in the valleys. The logic here is quite simple

1.  Costs are higher to transport goods up to resort level
2.  Business owners know the majority of visitors are somewhat trapped in resort once they arrive
3.  A trip down the mountain can be seen as an unnecessary inconvenience and eat into your on-hill time
4.  Seasons in ski resorts are cyclical so, as the saying goes, business owners need to make hay while the sun shines
5.  Business rent and rates are higher up the mountain and these costs are transferred to shoppers

Note – this applies to all the Tarentaise resorts, whether you’re talking about Val d’Isère (and surrounding areas), Les Arcs, La Plagne or any of the Trois Vallées areas. In all cases, you’ll find the locals shop in Bourg St Maurice, Aime or Moûtiers / Albertville respectively.

Driving – plan your route

If you’re driving to La Plagne, there are multiple places along the way where you could stop to buy food and drink (see the La Plagne transfer route from Chambéry – it’s the same as the driving route). Also, should you decide to take a trip to any of the other great ski resorts near La Plagne, you could easily coordinate your trip to drop past the valley supermarkets on your way. Click this link to check La Plagne road conditions and webcams.

Albertville supermarkets

Finding supermarkets in Albertville is easy – in most cases, they’ll be on your main driving route to La Plagne. There is a large shopping centre on the outskirts of town where you’ll find a concentration of larger stores, making it easy to do your shopping in just one stop. As you might expect, the best value supermarkets are the Aldi and Lidl. If you’re passing through the city anyway, it could make sense to stop off and shop in either. Also, if you’re pining for fast food and are asking the question, does La Plagne have a McDonalds, you’ll find one here.

Moûtiers supermarkets

While Moûtiers isn’t exactly the largest town, it does have two supermarkets where you could pick up everything you need. In this case, you’ll need to take a short detour off the main La Plagne route and drop into the town but both shops are easy to find and won’t take you far out of your way. NOTE – if you’re staying Champagny, there’s also another supermarket about midway between Moûtiers and Brides-les-Bains which you could use instead and is normally quieter.

Aime La Plagne supermarkets

While the above options are good if you have a car, by far the most convenient valley supermarket option is to shop in Aime – these stores are just a short way off the main Aime high street. In both cases, you’ll find a good selection including everything from typical groceries to local meats and cheeses – plus everything in between like electronics, home goods, etc. By far the easiest of the two is the E.Leclerc supermarket which is on the right as you drive in the direction of La Plagne (this store is also pictured above). If you don’t have a car, access options include the regular La Plagne valley bus service or private La Plagne taxi/transfer. As a general rule this trip will take about 40-45 minutes (village location, transport type, weather and traffic-dependent).

Bourg-St-Maurice supermarkets

If you’re staying in Les Arcs, things get even easier to reach the valley shopping by taking the funiculaire from Arc 1600 down to Bourg-St-Maurice – a trip that takes around ten minutes. Bourg is the last major town in the Isère valley and has a good range of supermarkets including a Lidl, Intermarché, Super U and U Drive. Note, these stores are also the closest for the other major resorts at the head of the valley – Val d’Isère, Tignes, St-Foy and La Rosière.

Save money on your ski holiday shopping

Depending on your size of group and length of stay, there are considerable savings to be made shopping in valley towns. Obviously, guests staying in hotels, chalets or all-inclusive La Plagne holidays won’t need to concern themselves with such issues. However, if you’re in self-catering accommodation, a valley shop could well be your best option – especially if you’re also driving to resort.

Food and Drink Shopping La Plagne

The video guide below (How to do a winter season) gives a brief explanation of the advantages of shopping in the valleys while you’re on holiday, an extended stay or doing a season.

La Plagne video guides

If you want to learn more about La Plagne holidays, the conditions you can expect at certain times of year or how to live like a local on your trip, check out the iRide YouTube channel for extensive La Plagne videos. The team behind our ultimate La Plagne guide, LaPlagne360, produced these edits.