{"id":11703,"date":"2019-09-26T12:39:46","date_gmt":"2019-09-26T10:39:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/?p=11703"},"modified":"2021-01-15T12:43:10","modified_gmt":"2021-01-15T11:43:10","slug":"ski-st-martin-de-belleville","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/ski-resort-reviews\/ski-st-martin-de-belleville\/","title":{"rendered":"St Martin de Belleville"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n

O<\/span>n the busy N90 from Albertville<\/strong> the attention focuses intently on the fast-approaching exits signed to familiar-sounding ski areas. As we approach Mo\u00fbtiers<\/strong> those of us homing in on the 3 Vall\u00e9es<\/strong> split from the Bourg Saint-Maurice traffic and peel off once again, this time leaving those bound for Brides-les-Bains, Courchevel and M\u00e9ribel, while we focus on the climb signed to Saint Martin de Belleville, Les Menuires<\/a> and Val Thorens<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\nthe nervous chatter of skis on icy, early morning snow reminds us that the end of another ski season isn\u2019t far away..\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n

\n\t\t\"Skier
\n\t\t

Bound for M\u00e9ribel Mottarets from 3 Marches (2704m).<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\n\"Skier
\n

Direct to M\u00e9ribel Centre from the St Martin Express chairlift.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

At home, in a 3 Vall\u00e9es hideaway<\/h2>\n
\n
\n

Turning off into Saint Martin de Belleville<\/strong> feels good, not just because it\u2019s the closest of the three, but also since it still looks and feels like a mountain village, and seems determined to stay that way. Our accommodation at Chalets Caseblanche<\/a> is no threat to the skyline, despite the scale of this recent chalet-style ski-in\/ski-out<\/strong> development. Over the years we\u2019ve stayed in all kinds of self-catering ski accommodation, but this is right up there, and we feel instantly at home.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

As we head out the following morning the nervous chatter of our skis on icy, early-morning snow reminds us that the end of another ski season isn\u2019t far away. Things improve visibly, though, as the Saint Martin 1 gondola<\/strong> takes us smoothly up to the 1800m<\/strong> mark, the departure point for a couple of blue-graded return runs. We transfer to the Saint Martin Express<\/strong> high-speed 6-seater chairlift, however, for a haul up to 2404m<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

\n\"View
\n

Mild temperatures in early April but there's plenty of snow up here.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\n\"Wide
\n

J\u00e9rusalem (blue) adds exhilaration to the return to St Martin.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Into M\u00e9ribel, or onwards to Les Menuires?<\/h2>\n
\n
\n

It\u2019s a key liaison point, offering skiers the choice of onward drops into M\u00e9ribel Mottaret<\/strong> (1750m), M\u00e9ribel Centre<\/strong> (1450m), some great return runs to Saint Martin de Belleville or a blue-graded cruise over to Les Menuires<\/strong> on the Gros Tougne<\/strong> piste. We intend to remain high for now, though, so follow it only as far as the Granges chairlift. A couple of minutes later the high-speed 6-seater drops us at the Roc des Trois Marches<\/strong> (2704m).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

From here it\u2019s possible to take the Alouette<\/strong> red piste over to the Montvallon gondola<\/strong> for a ride up to 2952m for scenic, mostly-red drops into M\u00e9ribel Mottaret, with 1200m of vertical<\/strong>. Our time being limited, we save that option for another trip and instead enjoy the rest of the day re-acquainting ourselves with the excellent terrain above Les Menuires.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

\n\"Group
\n

Arriving at the top of Bruy\u00e8res and Mont de la Chambre lifts from Les Menuires.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\n\"Skiers
\n

Clear signage helps skiers navigate the vast 3 Valleys ski area.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Day two: it\u2019s time for Val Tho\u2019<\/h2>\n
\n
\n

The following day we take a similar route, this time working our way over to ride the Bruy\u00e8res gondola<\/strong> from Les Menuires up to the Col de la Chambre<\/strong> (2841m). From here a wealth of possibilities opens up above Val Thorens, and we pack in as much as we can before working our way back to Saint Martin de Belleville for an unpressured late lunch at le Trait d\u2019Union<\/strong>, a gem of a mountain refuge in a secluded setting above the village.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

During previous visits to the 3 Vall\u00e9es we’d made a point of skiing over to St Martin de Belleville, not least since it\u2019s the perfect spot for a relaxed lunch. This time, however, we had the opportunity to stay here and get to know it much better. What we discovered was a cheerful, welcoming and practical base from which to explore all that ski terrain. We therefore look forward to returning to Saint Martin de Belleville<\/strong> from time to time \u2013 and not merely for lunch.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\n\"Saint
\n

Saint Martin de Belleville remains a living and working mountain community. <\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Stay in this family-friendly, authentic mountain village with chalet-style accommodation and enjoy high-speed access to 600km of slopes in the Three Valleys ski area.","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12083,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[317,326],"tags":[463,713,659,634,618,528,475,472,466,338,462,372,352,344,343,342,341],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSt Martin de Belleville Ski Resort Review - French Alps - MountainPassions<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"An authentic, family-friendly mountain ski village, St Martin de Belleville enjoys high-speed access to the vast 3 Valleys ski area of the French Alps.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/ski-resort-reviews\/ski-st-martin-de-belleville\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"St Martin de Belleville Ski Resort Review - French Alps - MountainPassions\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"An authentic, family-friendly mountain ski village, St Martin de Belleville enjoys high-speed access to the vast 3 Valleys ski area of the French Alps.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/ski-resort-reviews\/ski-st-martin-de-belleville\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"MountainPassions\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Mountain-Passions-422318654644495\/?ref=hl\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MtnPassions\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-09-26T10:39:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-01-15T11:43:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/MP-Saint-Martin-de-Belleville-ski-village-3-valleys-French-Alps.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"530\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"330\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Roger Moss\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@MtnPassions\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@MtnPassions\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Roger Moss\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/ski-resort-reviews\/ski-st-martin-de-belleville\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/ski-resort-reviews\/ski-st-martin-de-belleville\/\",\"name\":\"St Martin de Belleville Ski Resort Review - French Alps - MountainPassions\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/ski-resort-reviews\/ski-st-martin-de-belleville\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/ski-resort-reviews\/ski-st-martin-de-belleville\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/MP-Saint-Martin-de-Belleville-ski-village-3-valleys-French-Alps.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-09-26T10:39:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-01-15T11:43:10+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/#\/schema\/person\/ea32a1a1cf2b7d5e8492ef0bee6214a1\"},\"description\":\"An authentic, family-friendly mountain ski village, St Martin de Belleville enjoys high-speed access to the vast 3 Valleys ski area of the French Alps.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/ski-resort-reviews\/ski-st-martin-de-belleville\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/ski-resort-reviews\/ski-st-martin-de-belleville\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/ski-resort-reviews\/ski-st-martin-de-belleville\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/MP-Saint-Martin-de-Belleville-ski-village-3-valleys-French-Alps.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/MP-Saint-Martin-de-Belleville-ski-village-3-valleys-French-Alps.jpg\",\"width\":530,\"height\":330,\"caption\":\"Skiing into Saint Martin de Belleville\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/ski-resort-reviews\/ski-st-martin-de-belleville\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/maintenance-page\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Ski Resort Reviews\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/category\/ski-resort-reviews\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"St Martin de Belleville\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/\",\"name\":\"MountainPassions\",\"description\":\"Skiing & Enjoying the Mountains of France\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/#\/schema\/person\/ea32a1a1cf2b7d5e8492ef0bee6214a1\",\"name\":\"Roger Moss\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4781097732ab530d172814d4b643f5e5?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4781097732ab530d172814d4b643f5e5?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Roger Moss\"},\"description\":\"Owner and Editor of MountainPassions, Roger is a journalist and photographer with more than 30 years\u2019 professional experience producing illustrated ski and travel editorial features for magazines and location photography for travel guides, both in the UK and overseas. He regularly writes resort reviews for other ski websites and tour operators as well as ski and mountain features for newspapers and magazines worldwide.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\",\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MtnPassions\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/rogermoss\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/author\/rogermoss\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"St Martin de Belleville Ski Resort Review - French Alps - MountainPassions","description":"An authentic, family-friendly mountain ski village, St Martin de Belleville enjoys high-speed access to the vast 3 Valleys ski area of the French Alps.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/ski-resort-reviews\/ski-st-martin-de-belleville\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"St Martin de Belleville Ski Resort Review - French Alps - MountainPassions","og_description":"An authentic, family-friendly mountain ski village, St Martin de Belleville enjoys high-speed access to the vast 3 Valleys ski area of the French Alps.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/ski-resort-reviews\/ski-st-martin-de-belleville\/","og_site_name":"MountainPassions","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Mountain-Passions-422318654644495\/?ref=hl","article_author":"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MtnPassions","article_published_time":"2019-09-26T10:39:46+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-01-15T11:43:10+00:00","og_image":[{"width":530,"height":330,"url":"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/MP-Saint-Martin-de-Belleville-ski-village-3-valleys-French-Alps.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Roger Moss","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@MtnPassions","twitter_site":"@MtnPassions","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Roger Moss","Estimated reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/ski-resort-reviews\/ski-st-martin-de-belleville\/","url":"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/ski-resort-reviews\/ski-st-martin-de-belleville\/","name":"St Martin de Belleville Ski Resort Review - French Alps - MountainPassions","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/ski-resort-reviews\/ski-st-martin-de-belleville\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/ski-resort-reviews\/ski-st-martin-de-belleville\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/MP-Saint-Martin-de-Belleville-ski-village-3-valleys-French-Alps.jpg","datePublished":"2019-09-26T10:39:46+00:00","dateModified":"2021-01-15T11:43:10+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/#\/schema\/person\/ea32a1a1cf2b7d5e8492ef0bee6214a1"},"description":"An authentic, family-friendly mountain ski village, St Martin de Belleville enjoys high-speed access to the vast 3 Valleys ski area of the French Alps.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/ski-resort-reviews\/ski-st-martin-de-belleville\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/ski-resort-reviews\/ski-st-martin-de-belleville\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/ski-resort-reviews\/ski-st-martin-de-belleville\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/MP-Saint-Martin-de-Belleville-ski-village-3-valleys-French-Alps.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/MP-Saint-Martin-de-Belleville-ski-village-3-valleys-French-Alps.jpg","width":530,"height":330,"caption":"Skiing into Saint Martin de Belleville"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/ski-resort-reviews\/ski-st-martin-de-belleville\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/maintenance-page\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Ski Resort Reviews","item":"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/category\/ski-resort-reviews\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"St Martin de Belleville"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/","name":"MountainPassions","description":"Skiing & Enjoying the Mountains of France","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/#\/schema\/person\/ea32a1a1cf2b7d5e8492ef0bee6214a1","name":"Roger Moss","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4781097732ab530d172814d4b643f5e5?s=96&d=blank&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4781097732ab530d172814d4b643f5e5?s=96&d=blank&r=g","caption":"Roger Moss"},"description":"Owner and Editor of MountainPassions, Roger is a journalist and photographer with more than 30 years\u2019 professional experience producing illustrated ski and travel editorial features for magazines and location photography for travel guides, both in the UK and overseas. He regularly writes resort reviews for other ski websites and tour operators as well as ski and mountain features for newspapers and magazines worldwide.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com","http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MtnPassions","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/rogermoss"],"url":"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/author\/rogermoss\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11703"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11703"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11703\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12927,"href":"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11703\/revisions\/12927"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12083"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11703"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}