Les Carroz:Ski resort guide

What is Les Carroz like?

Les Carroz is a village first and a ski resort second, and it has been both since the late 1930s. It sits at 1,140 m in the commune of Arâches-la-Frasse, between the Arve and Giffre valleys, on the road up to Flaine. When its first ski lift opened at Christmas 1938, 367 people lived here. The lift was built by two local watchmakers, Charles Pons and Léon Carpano, and was for years considered the longest in Europe. The tourist office tells the rest of the story plainly: the farmers and watchmakers became ski instructors, patrollers, lift workers and shopkeepers.

The village still looks the part. The lift company describes chalets in typical Haute-Savoie style and a resort for lovers of "chic, confidential addresses". The heart of it is the Place de l'Ambiance, a fully pedestrianised square where the winter events happen, and the weekly market sets up on Tuesday mornings.

Les Carroz suits you if you want a proper village with good restaurants, a gondola from the centre into a big ski area, and a drive from Geneva of under an hour.

Skiing in Les Carroz

You have two ways into the ski area. From the centre of the village, the Kédeuze gondola (Les Carroz 1200) carries eight people a cabin and reaches the slopes in six minutes. Higher up the Flaine road, Les Molliets (Les Carroz 1500) has its own car park and chairlifts that take you straight to the Tête des Saix, the crossroads of the Grand Massif, at about 2,120 m. From there you can ski on to Samoëns, Morillon and across to Flaine.

The tourist office counts 34 runs and 37 km of pistes in the Les Carroz sector, and 60 snow cannons cover 6 km of runs so the pistes into the village hold from December to April. The lift company says the Tête des Saix chairlift gives access to the Corbalanche freeride area.

The Les Carroz ski area

Les Carroz is on the Villages pass, which covers Les Carroz, Morillon, Samoëns and Sixt, and on the full Grand Massif pass, which adds Flaine and the Cascades run. For 2026/27 the tourist office also advertises a new one-day Les Carroz pass for weekdays outside the French school holidays, at €39. Check the current offer before you buy.

Beginners

Les Carroz does well by beginners, with several free learning areas:

• The Figaro slope, between the gondola and the village, is free and has a covered carpet.
• The Louveteau area, at Les Molliets at 1,500 m, is completely free and turns into a sledging area over Christmas and New Year.
• The snow garden at the foot of the gondola, for children from three, has two covered carpets.
• Coin Coin, at the top of the gondola, has a covered carpet and a gentle drag lift, and parents who don't ski can ride up on a pedestrian ticket.

The Les Carroz beginner pass covers two gondola rides, the Crêtes drag lift and carpet, and the Plein Soleil drag and chairlift. For older children there are two boardercross courses: the Cool Zone at the Oasis, at blue level, and the Gron course, at red.

Two ski schools work here. The ESF, running since 1945, meets at the bottom or top of the gondola depending on your class. The ESI Grand Massif caps groups at nine and keeps the same instructor all week, and meets at the bottom of the gondola under its signs.

Where to stay

Stay near the Place de l'Ambiance and the gondola if you want to walk everywhere; free ski buses cover the rest of the village and Arâches. Les Molliets, higher up, puts you by the chairlifts to the Tête des Saix.

Two hotels stand out, and both are four-star, the official French classification:

• La Croix de Savoie Hotel & Spa, open all year, with 28 rooms and four suites looking over the resort, and La Table des Dames, its gastronomic restaurant.
• Les Servages d'Armelle, on the slopes, with ten rooms and suites and a free shuttle-bus stop beside it. Its restaurant holds two Gault et Millau toques and the hotel was listed in the 2025 Michelin Guide. It closes between seasons and reopens in December.

The tourist office also lists residences and holiday villages; check each is open for your dates.

Les Carroz for families

The tourist office runs Les Carroz as a family resort, and the childcare backs that up: a crèche for children from six months to three years, a children's club for three to 12-year-olds, and a kindergarten for three to five-year-olds in the village centre. The free beginner areas help, and at the time of writing children under eight ski free for the day with proof of age at a ticket office.

Off the slopes there is sledging on rails, dog-sled driving, group sledging, ice skating, a toboggan area in the centre for young children, and L'Aquacîme, an outdoor pool heated to 30°C in winter.

Eating and drinking

On the mountain, the tourist office lists these restaurants for the winter:

• Le K, at the top of the Kédeuze gondola: self-service and snacks from fresh produce, reachable on skis or by gondola.
• L'Anfionne, by the Plein Soleil chairlift: traditional cooking in a Savoyard chalet with a wood fire. No reservation is needed, and you can only reach it on skis, snowshoes or on foot along the Plume Rouge trail.
• La Cupesse, also by the Plein Soleil chairlift, reached on skis.
• Croc Blanc, at 2,100 m on the summit of the Tête des Saix, at the top of the Tête des Saix chairlift.

In the village, the two hotel restaurants set the standard: La Table des Dames at La Croix de Savoie, and the restaurant at Les Servages d'Armelle, closed on Mondays. Around the Place de l'Ambiance, Le Carnotzet cooks traditional and local dishes with tapas all day, Le Névé is a crêperie in an old Savoyard farmhouse, and the Marlow bar serves food and cocktails. Le Yéti does a lunchtime menu of the day, and Le Take Off is a new bar-restaurant with traditional cooking. Their winter 2026/27 dates weren't published at the time of writing, so confirm before you go.

Les Carroz in summer

The Kédeuze gondola runs in summer: from 20 June to 6 September in 2026, daily from 09:00 to 17:00, weather permitting. At the top you'll find the Airon pasture, downhill mountain-bike trails, walking and cycling routes and a paragliding take-off.

The Pierre Carrée golf course, shared with Flaine, sits at the col above the village. In summer 2026 a new valley shuttle, line 9, linked Les Carroz with Samoëns on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

How to get to Les Carroz

The tourist office puts Les Carroz 50 minutes from Geneva Airport by car and about 45 minutes by transfer. Leave the A40 at exit 19, "Flaine – Les Carroz", and follow the RN 205 towards Sallanches. At the roundabout by the Magland Super U, turn left onto the D6, through Arâches to Les Carroz, about 15 minutes from the motorway. Annecy is 45 minutes away and Lyon two hours.

From 1 November to 31 March, French law requires winter tyres marked 3PMSF, or chains or snow socks in the car, everywhere in Haute-Savoie. There are 550 parking spaces at the gondola and 600 at Les Molliets.

By public transport, take the Léman Express (line L3) from Geneva to Cluses, about 1 hour 30 minutes, then the Les Carroz–Flaine Express bus up the mountain, which you must book in advance. In winter the EBA Eurobus coach from Geneva Airport to Flaine also stops in Les Carroz. The tourist office names Les Carroz Transfert and Balme Transfert for airport transfers.

Once you're here, free shuttle buses run three lines around the village, Arâches and La Frasse to the gondola.

Getting to Flaine covers the shared road and bus in more detail.

Weather, snow and webcams

The tourist office posts live webcams from the snow front in the village up to the Tête des Saix. Its slope info page shows which runs are open, and its forecast covers the village, the Kédeuze and the Tête des Saix separately.

When to visit Les Carroz

For 2026/27, the lifts in Les Carroz run from 12 December 2026 to 11 April 2027, and the whole Grand Massif links up from 19 December. When the Les Carroz lifts close, a shuttle takes skiers up to Flaine from 12 to 18 April 2027, so you can stay in the village for Flaine's last week.

• December: the season opens on 12 December, snow permitting.
• January: outside the New Year week, usually quieter.
• February: the French school holidays and British half-term, the busiest weeks.
• March and April: longer days, then the shuttle to Flaine in the final week.
• Summer: late June to early September, when the gondola and the Airon pasture are open.

Les Carroz vs Flaine

The two share a road and a ski area, but they are opposites.

Choose Les Carroz if you want a real village with its own restaurants, free beginner areas and a short drive from Geneva.

Choose Flaine if you want to ski from your door, the area's highest skiing and the longest season.

What's nearby

• Flaine

  Up the same road, the Grand Massif's high resort.

• Morillon

  Over the Tête des Saix, on the Giffre side.

• Samoëns

  The historic market town, reached on skis via the Tête des Saix.

• Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval

  At the head of the Giffre valley.

• Annecy

  About 45 minutes away by road.