Getting to the venues
The Alps are well served by rail as far as the valley floor, poorly served by road on winter Saturdays, and not at all by air for the final climb.
How far the train takes you
The Tarentaise line serves Moûtiers, Aime-la-Plagne and Bourg-Saint-Maurice, with direct trains from Paris in season — the best access to the Savoie venues. For the Aravis, get off at Annecy. For the Briançonnais, Briançon is the end of the line, served among others by a night train from Paris. Lyon is two hours from Paris.
| Venue | Station | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Courchevel | Moûtiers-Salins-Brides-les-Bains | ≈ 25 km |
| Val d'Isère | Bourg-Saint-Maurice | ≈ 30 km |
| La Plagne | Aime-la-Plagne | ≈ 18 km |
| Le Grand-Bornand | Annecy | ≈ 32 km |
| La Clusaz | Annecy | ≈ 32 km |
| Serre Chevalier | Briançon | ≈ 10 km |
| Montgenèvre | Briançon | ≈ 12 km |
| Lyon | Lyon Part-Dieu | on site |
| Heerenveen | Heerenveen | ≈ 2 km |
In every case, the station is not the resort: a shuttle, coach or taxi still has to take you up. That last leg is what saturates most during major events.
Flying
Geneva is the closest airport to the Aravis and remains very competitive for the Tarentaise. Lyon-Saint-Exupéry serves the whole range well and is on site for the ice events. For the Briançonnais, Turin is markedly closer than any French airport. Speed skating, in the Netherlands, is reached via Amsterdam-Schiphol and ninety minutes by train.
Driving
A car remains the most flexible way to string together several venues in one valley, on three conditions: winter tyres or chains, tolerance for changeover Saturdays, and a parking space booked in advance. At previous Winter Games, access to mountain venues was heavily restricted on competition days, with mandatory park-and-ride. The 2030 arrangements have not yet been published.
Moving between valleys
This is the classic trap. On a map, Le Grand-Bornand and Courchevel look close. In practice you must drop back down the valley, skirt a massif and climb again: allow half a day. Between the Aravis and the Briançonnais, allow a full one.