Doing a Season in Paradiski: La Plagne and Les Arcs

Paradiski connects La Plagne and Les Arcs in the Tarentaise valley in Savoie via the Vanoise Express — the world's largest double-decker cable car, crossing the valley between Montchavin/Les Coches on the La Plagne side and Peisey-Vallandry on the Les Arcs side. The combined area runs to 425km of marked runs across two distinct resorts.

For a seasonaire, the combined system is genuinely useful. A Paradiski pass gives you both mountains for free-skiing days, and after a few months in one area you'll be crossing to the other regularly. But the two resorts are separate places to live and work, and they attract different jobs and different atmospheres. Getting the choice right matters more than the pass does.

La Plagne — Large, Organised, and Deliberately Sprawling

La Plagne isn't one resort. It's a collection of eleven separate villages and altitude stations spread across two elevation ranges, organised around a central lift network that connects them all. The main altitude stations — Plagne Centre (1,930m), Plagne Bellecôte (1,930m), Belle Plagne (2,050m), Plagne Villages and Plagne Soleil (both around 1,980m) — were built specifically as ski stations in the 1960s and it shows. Functional architecture, direct ski-in ski-out access, efficient but not especially beautiful.

The lower valley villages — Montchavin and Les Coches — are different in character. They were farming settlements before skiing arrived and they retain genuine village structure: older buildings, a community that predates the lifts, a quieter pace. They connect to the main area by gondola and sit directly at the Vanoise Express terminal, which makes crossing to Les Arcs straightforward from this base.

The skiing is large enough to keep a full season interesting. The Glacier de Bellecôte at 3,417m provides high-altitude terrain and extends the season at both ends — glacier access typically opens the area earlier and closes it later than the valley itself. Multiple valleys spread off the main massif, and the terrain mix is strong: extensive intermediate groomed pistes that a mid-level seasonaire can explore for months, plus genuine black runs and off-piste couloirs for those who want a technical challenge.

The job market is large and weighted toward self-catering accommodation — La Plagne has a significant concentration of apartment complexes, chalet operators, and self-catering properties alongside hotels. There is a strong British tour operator presence here, more so than in many French resorts, which makes La Plagne accessible for UK workers navigating post-Brexit work arrangements. The main employment hub is Plagne Centre. Ski school (particularly ESF), rental, and F&B complete the market.

Cost of living and accommodation: staff housing varies by employer but is commonly included, particularly with the larger UK operators. Seasonaires based in the altitude stations pay resort prices for groceries and eating out; those in Montchavin or Les Coches have slightly more access to normal-sized towns in the valley below.

Best for: those targeting self-catering accommodation, resort operation, or ski school roles; UK workers who benefit from the established British operator presence; anyone who wants a sprawling, explorable mountain with good intermediate terrain and glacier access.

Les Arcs — French-Leaning, With a Strong High-Altitude Option

Les Arcs is also a collection of stations rather than a single village: Arc 1600 (the lowest, smallest, and quietest), Arc 1800 (the main hub), Arc 2000 (high altitude, glacier access, quieter), and Arc Pierre Blanche (a modern linked development between 1600 and 1800). Free ski lifts and shuttle buses connect them.

Arc 1800 is where most of the employment and social life concentrates. It's the most lived-in of the stations — real bars, shops, a population that actually moves around — and the atmosphere leans slightly more French than La Plagne's altitude stations, with less of the overwhelming British-operator presence. English is widely spoken but the resort doesn't feel like a British enclave in the way some Tarentaise resorts do. If that balance matters to you, Les Arcs tends to feel more genuinely mixed.

Arc 2000 is purpose-built altitude skiing. High, quiet, exposed, excellent snow. Limited social infrastructure beyond the basics, but if your priority is maximum ski time at altitude and you're working in a self-catering complex or hotel at 2000, the skiing off the front door is hard to match.

The skiing above Les Arcs is the area's strongest suit for advanced skiers. The Aiguille Rouge at 3,226m gives access to off-piste terrain that is seriously demanding — the couloirs and high-mountain routes above the top lifts are not for the casual skier. For an experienced seasonaire who wants technical progression over a full season, Les Arcs offers more ceiling than La Plagne. Intermediate terrain is extensive throughout the linked system.

The job market is solid — hotels, ESF (a major presence at Arc 1800), apartment operators, independent venues, and the usual resort support roles. Not quite as large as La Plagne's total market but comparable, and the ski school side is particularly active.

The Vanoise Express — What the Link Actually Means

The cable car crossing between Montchavin/Les Coches and Peisey-Vallandry is included on the Paradiski pass. Practically, it means that on a free-skiing day you can start on one mountain and finish on the other — or spend a day deliberately exploring the opposite area from your base. Over a full season this matters. The 425km combined figure is not marketing fiction; it's genuinely enough terrain that you won't exhaust it in four or five months.

The cable car operates on ski pass, not a separate ticket, and runs through the main lift hours. Check the seasonal timetable for exact closing times — it shuts earlier than some of the on-mountain lifts.

Choosing Your Base

La Plagne suits those targeting self-catering accommodation roles or who benefit from the strong British operator network. The mountain is vast and the glacier extends the season. The altitude stations feel purposeful rather than charming, but Montchavin and Les Coches offer something more textured if you're prepared for the gondola commute.

Les Arcs / Arc 1800 suits those who want a more mixed French-international atmosphere, a strong ski school job market, and the best advanced ski terrain in the combined area. The top of the Aiguille Rouge and the off-piste above it give a full season of technical progression that La Plagne's glacier doesn't quite match.

Both mountains are large enough that you won't run out of skiing. The Paradiski pass makes the choice a base decision, not a terrain restriction. Spend your working days in your home resort and your free-skiing days ranging across both.