Skiers on piste with wide mountain view

Les 7 Laux

Massif de Belledonne, Isère, French Alps

In the French Alps roughly midway between Chambéry and Grenoble, the A41 autoroute providing quick transfers from budget flights into both airports.

The Ski Area

For such an accessible ski area the first big surprise is that Les 7 Laux’s piste network is both extensive and varied, plus you get to ski on either side of the mountain – the second being: “why on Earth did it take us this long to discover it?”.

Along the way there’s something for all tastes and skiing abilities. As expected, that includes a snowpark – an impressive complex designed by Oakley and covering 8 hectares.

Young families can enjoy skiing themed fun trails together, leaving advanced skiers to head for Les Vallons du Pra, an ungroomed freeride sector which, unusually, is patrolled just like the pistes. Vertical drop: almost 1000m.

For off-piste skiers, a Freerando pass brings rapid access to a wealth of ski touring terrain, via three high-speed chair-lifts. Alternatively, Nordic skiers have 8km of cross-country terrain beside Le Pleynet, 15km at Prapoutel, plus a further 50km nearby at the Espace Nordique du Barioz.

Recent years have seen heavy investment to upgrade the lift system, which now hauls skiers smoothly and rapidly all the way up to 2400m from three access points: Prapoutel (1350m), Le Pleynet (1450m) and Pipay (1550m).

Resort Information

Altitude : 1350m - 2400m
Les 7 Laux
Pistes Total:
120 km
Piste graphic Les 7 Laux
11 Green
14 Blue
19 Red
7 Black
Ski Resort Lifts : 22
1 Magic Carpets
12 Draglifts
9 Chairlifts
1 Télémix Gondola/Chairlift
1 Gondolas

Green Credentials...

  • There are direct fast train services from Paris to Grenoble, 35km from Les 7 Laux and served by a shuttle bus in winter.

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The Ski Village

Les 7 Laux comprises not one but three purpose-built villages, linked by a common ski area – and if it’s your first time here you’ll need to know exactly where you’ll be staying before you head up the mountain.

Pipay (1550m) is essentially a low-impact point of access for day-skiers, so your choices centre on Le Pleynet (145m) or the larger Prapoutel (1350m), which has more accommodation and services, making it the livelier option.

Architecturally, the latter’s front de neige is pure 1970s, but not unattractive. Besides, its bars and restaurants are great places to hang out, and tucked away out of sight is a useful multi-level shopping centre.

If you’re looking for something more up-market then recently-constructed Les Granges des 7 Laux chalet-style 4-star self-catering apartments with ski-in/ski-out access and a spa should bring you the creature comforts you desire.

In Le Pleynet things are more compact and at first glance have a cosy, more retro vibe. While there’s less accommodation and fewer services, everyday essentials are all there, including a helpful tourst office. Look more closely, and you’ll see that it also has a sense of fun – at one end of the front de neige is a tracked luge, and at the other is a real snow-covered one. Also the Pincerie 4-seat chair will haul you up to the snowpark and a boardercross run.

Staying There

Value for Money Accommodation Dining Out Nightlife Village Charm

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Why go skiing in Les 7 Laux ?

Les 7 Laux has long been the preferred option for young skiers from Grenoble, who have no shortage of great resorts virtually on their doorstep. That tells you something, and having skied it, we can see why they love its youthful, fun vibe.

The high percentage of red- and black-graded terrain will appeal primarily to more confident and advanced skiers.

The appeal doesn’t stop there. The addition of premium self-catering accommodation in Prapoutel should put Les 7 Laux on any intermediate skier’s shortlist, particularly when you consider the quick transfers from budget flights (Chambéry airport being closest).

It’s also a place to get to grips with off-piste skiing, on the secured but ungroomed terrain of the Vallons du Pra.

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Skiing There

Beginners / Families Intermediates Advanced / Expert Mountain Scenery

Snowboarding

The 8ha Oakley 7 Laux snowpark at 1700m in the Pleynet sector is highly rated by freestylers and has 4 zones with different levels of difficulty including the mini boarder at Crêt Granier and a black level boardercross.
1 Snowparks
2 Snowboarder Cross


Cross-Country Skiing

There are two areas with 16km of trails departing from Prapoutel and 3.5km at Pleynet at an altitude of 1800m.
20km Cross-Country and Nordic Ski Trails

Handiski...

  • ESF Les 7 Laux offers individual handiski lessons in French, English, Spanish or German at Prapoutel, Pleynet or Pipay.
  • Vehicles can park to make a drop-off or pick-up at the accessible Chamois chairlift in Prapoutel. Special equipment often required.

icon-smileyYes please...

  • Investment in modern lifts gives skiers easy and rapid access to the pistes.
  • Exceptional freeride possibilities on marked, secure and ungroomed pistes. At Pleynet the Pra valleys are the favourite of freeride skiers - one of the most popular sectors in the whole area, offering unrivalled views of Belledonne Massif and the Haut Bréda Valley.
  • Good ski area to develop freeriding techniques in complete freedom and safety under the guidance of ESF instructors.
  • Great intermediate territory with blue and red cruising pistes on varied terrain.
  • Well-marked easy circuit, which guides timid skiers around the domain on blue and green pistes.
  • Oakley Freestyle Park and boarder cross plus a fun zone.
  • Themed fun runs for families and children on safe green pistes.

icon-frowneyYes but...

  • High proportion of red and black runs will deter less confident skiers.
  • Limited opportunities for improving beginners.
  • Local day-skiers can create congestion at weekends.
  • Quiet night-life.

icon-winkingOur Tips

  • For best snow quality ski the Le Pleynet side in the morning, before moving round to Prapoutel/Pipay
  • Ski the ungroomed Vallons du Pra during calmer weekday periods
  • Les 7 Laux’s green pistes might surprise you – give them a try
  • To make the most of the domain, skiers who feel intimidated by the piste map should follow the specially signed circuit around the mountain.

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Practical Information

Seen, tried and tested.Residence Les Granges des 7 Laux

38190 Prapoutel

These self-catering apartments are superbly sited near the front de neige and just above the fast Chamois 6-seater lift which drops you in the heart of the domain. The residence is just a few minutes’ stroll from all the services via a footpath. There’s a good selection of bars and restaurants, a pharmacy and indoor shopping centre with a Sherpa minimarket.

We stayed in a well-equipped one bedroom apartment with a double bed and extra sleeping for 2 people on a sofa bed in the lounge area. The kitchen has a full-size fridge and dishwasher with a microwave combination oven. There’s plenty of storage and you can stow your skis and boots in the ski locker room, which is conveniently situated on the ground floor with a door leading out to the slopes.

Views from our apartment were toward the stunning escarpment of the Chartreuse but you could equally have views over the mountain and village. The residence consists of 7 self-contained chalets with an on-site wellness centre boasting an indoor pool, hot tub, sauna, hammam and beauty treatments (entrance and treatments payable locally). The Kactuss bar restaurant just in front of the residence has a popular sunny terrace overlooking the front de neige. If you wish you can get a buffet breakfast and evening meals here on a half-board basis (payable locally).

The chalets have doorstep skiing onto a green-graded piste and depending on conditions you should be able to ski back to near your chalet entrance. Each apartment is allocated one free space in the underground car park (extra spaces can be booked for a charge.

We were disppointed to find a lack of free wifi in the apartment (modems are available for hire). However, the resort has its own free wifi network available in several locations in the village.

We stayed with Peak Retreats at 4-star Les Granges des 7 Laux. 7 nights self-catered from £230pp* including a return Eurotunnel crossing with a free upgrade to Flexiplus on most dates.

*Above prices based on 5 people sharing a 2-bedroom apartment (sleeps up to 6) for low season 2019/20. Subject to availability. T&Cs apply. Accommodation-only packages are avilable. Ski equipment, lift passes and transfers also bookable. Holidays are fully ABTA bonded).


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Bedina Spa

Les Granges des 7 Laux
38190 Les Sept Laux Prapoutel
Tel: +33 (0)4 76 40 41 42

Indulge yourself in a facial or body treatment at the Bedina Spa situated next to Les Granges des 7 Laux residence a few steps from the base of the Chamois chairlift. You can book a massage or spend a relaxing hour or two enjoying the Jacuzzi, hammam and sauna. In addition to the traditional massages the Spa also offers craniosacral relaxation, shiatsu and foot reflexology.

Wiz luge

Pleynet-Les 7 Laux

Tel: +33 (0)4 76 08 72 21

Four-season sensations are guaranteed on the WizLuge. Climb more than 100m to the start of a stimulating 700m descent through forest.


Accrobranche

Prapoutel – Les 7 Laux

Tel: +33 (0)6 26 60 06 31

Accrobranche is where you follow trails up in the trees, and involves crazy jumps, slack-lines and zip-wires. Accessible to everyone from 3 yrs upwards, there are 4 different courses to follow. In winter the accrobranche is open in the evenings, when the forest is artificially lit, creating a magical setting for family adventures and fun.


Seen, tried and tested.Le Rocher Blanc

1 Immeuble Les Ayes, 38190 Prapoutel
Tel: +33 (0)4 76 08 19 49

Bar restaurant at the foot of the slopes in Prapoutel with a sunny terrace ideal for meals at any time, or an apéro when the slopes close. Inside is a welcoming and stylish dining area with bar and attentive staff. From a varied menu, we chose the fish burger served with chips and salad and a Savoyard gratin with chicken escalope, mushrooms and Reblochon cheese. It’s a popular place so it’s best to book in advance at busy times. Wheelchair accessible.


Seen, tried and tested.Les Airelles

L’Embruneraie
Le Pleynet
38580 Les Sept Laux Le Pleynet

Tel:+33 (0)4 76 08 11 12

This long-established self-service restaurant is a welcome sight when you’re skiing down into Pleynet. Situated at the foot of the pistes and just below the WizLuge tracked luge, Les Airelles offers solid value with generous portions of tempting food. There are daily specials which on the day we visited was a delicious baked cod fillet served with a huge portion of fresh vegetables or chips. We also sampled the veggie burger with chips and side salad. Apparently, if you have room for dessert (we didn’t) the blueberry tart is worth a try. Overall, good value meals served by friendly staff in a spacious refectory-style setting. In good weather enjoy mountain views from the large terrace.


Seen, tried and tested.Chalet des Cortillets

Top of the Bouquetins chairlift
Prapoutel
38190 Les Sept Laux Prapoutel

Tel: +33 (0)4 76 08 39 21

Pedestrians can also use the Bouquetins chairlift to reach the Chalet des Cortillets, which sits at 1550m altitude, surrounded by trees and conveniently sited in the beginner zone. Its authentic chalet interior is cosy and welcoming, but in good weather the large terrace offers fine views. Grab your table before ordering at the bar, having chosen from a good choice of meals and snacks, including daily specials. The menu includes fish and chips, which we just had to sample, but also an interesting vegetarian platter with soup, a mixed salad with dried fruit and nuts, some local cheese and a savoury olive cake. Delicious desserts include blueberry tarts and doughnuts.


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Save precious skiing time when you book your ski equipment online with Alpinresorts.com

After a quick and easy reservation everything will be waiting for you when you get to your destination.

You get to choose the shop and there’s a BEST-PRICE GUARANTEE.

Make BIG savings by booking online today!

Getting there

By car Les 7 Laux is easily accessible from the A41 and A43 motorways connecting Grenoble and Chambéry-Geneva. If you are going to Prapoutel, take exit 24 on the A41 and follow the signs for Les 7 Laux Prapoutel. Do not take the route to Les 7 Laux Pleynet or Pipay as there is no connecting road between the villages.

By air
Chambéry airport is the closest (about 1 hour) then Grenoble-Isère (about 1hr30mins), and Lyon (about 2 hours). The resort isn’t served by direct bus transfers, so hiring a car is essential unless you take a taxi (120-160€) or a combination of train and taxi (around 100€).

By train
Take the direct fast train (TGV) Paris-Grenoble (3hrs). The rail station is 38km from Les 7 Laux - Prapoutel so you will need to arrange a transfer by bus or taxi if you are not hiring your own vehicle. Bus transfers from rail connections are operated by Transaltitude and takes 1hr15mins. See website for tarifs and timetables.

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Airport Transfers

Ski-Lifts offer the widest range of airport transfers to ski resorts in France, from economy shared transfers for budget-conscious travellers, right through to luxury limousines. They also offer coach transfers for larger groups.

Insight: Les 7 Laux

Ski lift, mountainside and apartments in Prapoutel

Insight: Les 7 Laux

We can’t quite fathom why it took us this long to get around to skiing in Les 7 Laux. Maybe it was simply the thought that anywhere this close to a big city (Grenoble) sounded more like a convenient choice than a big-hitter. How wrong can you be?

Totally, it turns out. For starters, the ski terrain is much more extensive than expected, and spread across two faces of a substantial mountain, each side with a purpose-built ski village. We approach from Grenoble and head up to Prapoutel, the larger of the two, its counterpart Le Pleynet being more readily accessible from Chambéry, via the ski and thermal spa town of Allevard. Get that wrong and you’re up for an extra hour’s drive between Les 7 Laux’s two centres.

We’re here for a couple of days’ skiing in January, and while the season’s best snowfalls are still a week or two away we’re relieved to find Prapoutel above the snow-line, with all lifts operating and all runs open. There’s more good news: our self-catering appartment at the Résidence Les Granges des 7 Laux has a slopeside location just above the Chamois high-speed chairlift, plus secure underground car parking, so after transferring our gear we enjoy the views from the balcony by way of unwinding from the journey.

the ski terrain is more extensive than we’d expected, and spread across two faces of a substantial mountain…

ski piste signs above Prapoutel with falling snow

Clear piste signage includes recommended routes for less-experienced skiers


ski-lift with skiers at Les 7 Laux

The Eterlou chair is a key lift for skiers from Prapoutel

Time to ski Les 7 Laux

The next morning we ski down to the lift and join the Sunday skiers already heading up. When we ski off at 2100m we take a short cruise on Cabris (blue) to the Eterlou fixed chair. Once over the ridge it’s downhill all the way into Le Pleynet (1450m) on terrain which faces NE, making it the recommended option for morning skiing in Les 7 Laux.

Despite appearances on the piste map, there’s some great cruising potential on this side. Intermediates will love long blues like Coulemelle and Rosée des Près, whose final sheltered run into the village gives a welcome taste of the local conifer forests.

More confident skiers, though, can turn off halfway down onto Roche Noire (red) for a more direct descent, or to access the snowpark and boardercross, both of which (and a debutant zone) are served by the Pincerie fixed chair from Le Pleynet.

For our first run over we ski the blues, to have a look around and get a feel for this side of the mountain, before joining the red for the final drop to the front de neige. Once down we note the compact layout of the village, and eye the WizLuge tracked luge sitting beside the Pincerie chair.


wide view of early morning ski piste and mountains

Girolle (blue) feeds onto a red to access the Gypaète chairlift for advanced skiers


Ski instructor and skiers on mountainside

Coulemelle (blue) heralds great cruising all the way down to Le Pleynet

Scenic cruising from Le Pleynet to Pipay

From here we schuss over to ride the Aigle chairlift. The high-speed 4-seater hauls us smoothly through spruce forest before things open up for the remaining haul up to 1928m. At the top we ski off with a few options to consider. Ignoring for now a choice of two short drag-lifts, we re-join Rosée de Prè (blue), the idea this time being to access the Oursière high-speed 6-seater for a ride up to 2236m. At the top there’s a red + black link to join the unpisted Vallons du Pra sector, but for now we take Coulemelle and enjoy more of Les 7 Laux’s excellent blue-graded carving and cruising terrain. This time, however, we won’t be heading all the way down.

Instead we take a left turn onto a bracing steep-but-mostly-wide run on Mataru (red). It’s a blast, and takes us all the way down into Pipay (1550m), home to a gentle debutant area and the departure point for a muscular ‘télémix’ lift. The Grand Cerf combines 6-seater chairs with 8-seater cabins (an inspired move which allows the lift to carry walkers up to a network of scenic Alpine footpaths in summer). We take a chair, and at the 2123m top station we ski straight off onto Girolle (blue) followed by Cabris, a red whose occasional steeper sections are again forgivingly wide.


High view of skiers on wide piste

Rosée des Près (blue) has plenty of room for a spot of carving


View from chairlift of skiers on mountainside

Among tracts of forest above Le Pleynet

Almost 1000m of vertical for freeriders

That in turn drops us at the Gypaète high-speed 4-seat lift serving the 2400m, gateway to the Vallons du Pra freeride zone. We find the lift closed due to high winds at the summit, but lunch in a mountain restaurant sounds good, so we check the piste map and continue on a wooded section of Chanterelle, a wide green run providing skiers with a safe return to Prapoutel.

We join them briefly as far as the Lac fixed chairlift, which we ride up to 1880m, for a red-graded descent on the Clapierre piste to pick up the final blue (Souchette) down to the Chalet des Cortillets mountain restaurant. The weather is now deteriorating, so the large sun terrace tables have few takers but inside it’s snug and welcoming. Besides, we’ve had a great morning’s skiing.


skiers joining chairlift at Le Pleynet, with snow-covered mountains

January calm at Le Pleynet’s front de neige


Grandparents with young child skier in debutant area with ski lift

Pipay’s sheltered debutant area is safe and accessible

Lots of terrain for advanced skiers

When we emerge there’s a choice of red (Bolet) or blue (Souchette) pistes for the run back down to Prapoutel. Neither is very long, but the green has the edge, taking a more wayward route through forest, so we go for the scenic option. Later, back in the apartment we ponder our all-too brief time in Les 7 Laux. It certainly didn’t disappoint, serving up a surprising amount of varied terrain, with particular appeal to more experienced skiers.

Terrain-wise, there’s a surprisingly high proportion of reds and blacks here, but less-confident skiers and mixed-ability groups are well-served by some nice wide blues and a long green (Chanterelle) fun run between Le Pleynet and Prapoutel. In short, Les 7 Laux is a strong contender (and a highly accessible one) for intermediate and even advanced leisure skiers, and if you feel like a change from downhill skiing there’s also a choice of cross-country sectors nearby.


Early morning panoramic view of Prapoutel and mountains from ski apartment

Early-morning panoramic view from the Residence Les Granges des 7 Laux at Prapoutel.