Dan Lever

Dec, 9 2025- 6 mins

Hidden Gems: The Biggest French Ski Area You’ve Never Skied (Top Secret!)

Big-name French ski resorts are getting more crowded, more expensive, and more predictable. Same queues, same bars, same selfie spots.

In March this year, I headed somewhere completely new to me: Les Sybelles, basing myself in Saint Sorlin d’Arves. I’d barely heard of it, and I certainly didn’t expect to be skiing in one of the largest ski areas in France.

Les Sybelles is a proper giant – around 310 km of pistes, making it the 4th largest ski area in France and actually bigger (in signed kilometres) than Tignes–Val d’Isère. Yet most British skiers haven’t even heard of it, let alone could point it out on a map.

By the end of the trip, I was pretty convinced this might be France’s best-kept big-resort secret.

First Impressions: Where's the Snow?

I arrived in late March, during the last week of the season, rolling into Saint-Sorlin-d’Arves after a delayed flight. It wasn’t exactly love at first sight. Down in the village, there was far more grass than snow. For a ski trip, that’s never the most reassuring first impression. I remember thinking, “This doesn't look great...”

The next morning, things improved quickly. With a top elevation of 2,620 m, up on the mountain there was plenty of snow on the pistes, but visibility was grim – flat light, low cloud and that white-on-white effect where you can’t quite read the terrain. The runs felt long and flowing, but it was like skiing inside a ping-pong ball.

Around lunchtime, the cloud began to tear open. A glimpse of a ridge here, a distant lift line there. You could sense the scale of the place, but not quite fully appreciate it yet.

Then the cloud inversion kicked in. The valley filled with cloud, the peaks rose above it, and suddenly the whole area opened up. Ridges and bowls in every direction, lifts dotted along distant horizons, pistes dropping away into different valleys. It was the first moment I really understood how big Les Sybelles is.

My immediate reaction was: “How on earth is this not on every British skier’s radar?” One Snomad user, William, nailed it in his review of Saint Sorlin d'Arves: “Hidden gem connected to Les Sybelles, massive network of pistes.” He’s not exaggerating.

What Is Les Sybelles (and Why Haven’t You Skied It Yet)?

Les Sybelles is an interconnected ski area of around 310 km, formed by linking together six resorts:

• Saint-Sorlin-d’Arves (1,550 m)
• Saint-Jean-d’Arves (1,550 m)
• Le Corbier (1,550 m)
• La Toussuire (1,800 m)
• Les Bottières (1,300 m)
• Saint-Colomban-des-Villards (1,100 m)

Saint-Sorlin-d’Arves is a high-altitude village at the top of the Maurienne valley in Savoie, on the road to the Col de la Croix de Fer. The closest airport is Chambéry (about 1h 15–30 by car), with Lyon and Geneva around 2–2.5 hours’ drive.

On paper, Les Sybelles is a heavy hitter: 4th largest in France, with more signed piste kilometres than Tignes–Val d’Isère. But unlike the classic mega-names, Les Sybelles is relatively new in its current form – the link-up only came together in 2003.

In an industry where a lot of resorts have had 50+ years of brand-building, Les Sybelles is still the new kid at the big-resort table. When I spent the morning with ESF instructor Aurélien Durbet, who’s been teaching there for 16 years, he summed up the British awareness problem in one line: “The British simply don’t know much about us…” And he’s right. It hasn’t been heavily marketed in the UK, it doesn’t trade on a wild après reputation, and it sits a little under the radar in British tour operator brochures.

Which, depending on what you’re looking for, is either a downside… or a massive win.

On the Mountain: Big Mileage, Big Confidence

If you’re a beginner or intermediate skier, Les Sybelles is your playground. The area is full of wide, flowing groomers – long reds and blues that are perfect for cruising, building confidence and racking up serious daily mileage. There are safe, spacious learning areas, and it’s particularly good for kids and newer skiers who need room to make mistakes without feeling crowded or pressured.

One Snomad user described Saint-Sorlin-d’Arves as: “Great for intermediate skiing and skill development.”

That’s exactly how it skis. Beginners have gentle slopes and dedicated zones to progress, while intermediates can step up onto longer, steeper pitches when they’re ready.

Advanced skiers won’t be bored either. There are steeper reds and blacks, sustained sections where you can really let your skis run, plus natural rollers and side-hits dotted all over the place. Even on that final week of the season, with snow understandably thinner in a few spots, the pistes were well maintained and perfect for working on carving at speed.

The snowpark is genuinely impressive too – not just for first-timers. It has different lines for multiple levels, making it a genuinely good setup for everyone from beginners through to strong, confident riders. As Snomad user James puts it: “A good snow park for all levels.”

That progression focus runs right across the area. Off-piste, I can’t pretend I got to ski it properly given how late in the season I visited – but I could certainly see the potential when the snow is right. There are wide open slopes and zones where you can drop in for fresh powder, and it definitely won’t feel like the mad rush of trying to get first tracks in Chamonix. Aurélien mentioned that you can still find fresh lines long after snowfall, simply because the area is less hunted-out than the headline freeride names.

One of the most unique and reassuring experiences of the trip came from a first-tracks run with ski patrol, up before anyone else was on the slopes. I joined them before the lifts opened to see the behind-the-scenes routine: slope checks, safety nets, avalanche control, radio checks, incident protocols. For families and newer skiers, that quiet, systematic safety culture is exactly what you want sitting behind the scenes of a huge area like this.

I don't know what ski patrol would have done without my hammer expertise that day

Off the Slopes: Farming Village Authenticity and Relaxed Nights

Saint-Sorlin-d’Arves is not a big, buzzy ski town like Chamonix – and that’s part of its charm.

It’s a small, quiet, authentic farming village with rustic chalets, stone houses and a lived-in feel. You’re in a real community, not a purpose-built ski-only town. There are some good restaurants and bars, but there’s not a huge amount there compared to the big-name ski towns – and if you want endless nightlife options and shopping streets, this isn’t the one.

Across the hill, Le Corbier and La Toussuire are more purpose-built, with a bit of retro 60s-style architecture and a strong focus on practicality. Think ski-in/ski-out blocks and quick access to lifts – particularly good for families who want simple logistics and maximum time on snow.

During my trip I stayed at Chalet Beausoleil in Saint-Sorlin-d’Arves – a piste-side location with multiple apartments that were spacious, comfortable and in a great position to get straight out onto the slopes.

For food, two spots stood out:

• Hors-Piste – a modern twist with Alpine/Japanese touches. We ate steak tataki, tableside eau-de-vie flambé, smoked pork over applewood, and seabream ceviche. Not your standard tartiflette-only mountain menu.
• Les Cèdres – more traditional French dishes, exactly what most people picture when they think of a cosy dinner in a French ski resort.

Après-wise, Les Sybelles is decidedly low-key. Evenings are more about a good meal and an early night so you can be on the first lifts. Having said this, Snomad user Claire did note that: “There is a nightclub which opens at 12.” So if you really need a late night, you can find one – but don’t come expecting a full-on party destination. That’s not what this area is about.

Where Les Sybelles really starts to pull away from the bigger names is value. Across lift passes, accommodation and eating out, it comes in at roughly 30% cheaper than other large French ski areas.

Because the ski area is so big, the “cost per kilometre” of piste is seriously impressive. You’re getting mega-resort mileage without mega-resort prices, and that matters if you’re trying to keep costs under control. On the mountain, prices feel reasonable too. Snomad user Harry summed up the on-piste affordability nicely: “Lots of options for reasonable lunches – baguette and a glass of rosé for 10.”

Add in the fact that lift queues are short or non-existent compared to other big domains, and you end up with a week where you simply get more skiing for your money and your time.

Who It’s For – And My Verdict

Les Sybelles, with Saint-Sorlin-d’Arves as a base, isn’t trying to be the next rowdy, Instagram-famous party resort – and that’s exactly why you should pay attention!

It’s a brilliant fit for:

• Families who want safe, spacious slopes and sensible prices.
• Beginners and progressing intermediates who want room to build confidence in a genuinely big area, especially kids. = Mileage hunters who love long days exploring different valleys and ticking off new runs. = Park fans who want a good, multi-line, progression-friendly snowpark without the pressure of a hardcore freestyle scene.
• Advanced skiers who value variety, space and value over ticking off the most famous named couloirs.

It’s not the right choice if your main goal is to party every night, bar-hop until 3am and treat skiing as a side activity. That’s not the energy here – and honestly, it’s better for it.

For me, Saint-Sorlin-d’Arves and the wider Les Sybelles area feel like a true under-the-radar giant: huge terrain, confidence-boosting skiing, family-friendly, and properly good value, all wrapped up in a quiet, authentic village setting.

If that sounds like your kind of trip, it might be time to look beyond the usual big-name French suspects.

Check out Saint-Sorlin-d’Arves’ resort profile on Snomad to see how our community of real skiers and snowboarders rate this hidden gem – and maybe start planning your own “top secret” week in Les Sybelles - one of France’s biggest ski areas.