Saint-Martin-de-Belleville:Ski resort guide

What is Saint-Martin-de-Belleville like?

Saint-Martin-de-Belleville is the old village at the start of the Belleville valley, at 1,450 m. Les 3 Vallées counts 22 hamlets around it, grouped into five districts: the village centre, Les Grangeraies, La Villette, Villarencel and Les Places. The tourist office brands itself St Martin de Belleville, and you will see both spellings.

It is also the seat of a much bigger commune. Les Belleville was created on 1 January 2016, when Saint-Martin-de-Belleville merged with Villarlurin, and grew again on 1 January 2019 when Saint-Jean-de-Belleville joined. The commune has 3,576 permanent residents in 33 villages and covers 22,755 hectares, the third-largest commune in Savoie. Les Menuires and Val Thorens are on its land too, and all three resorts are linked into Les 3 Vallées.

Until 1965 the valley lived from livestock, and by the 1950s Saint-Martin had lost about two-thirds of its population. The commune built Les Menuires from 1964, opening it in 1967, and Val Thorens from 1973 at 2,300 m. Saint-Martin's own small resort came last, in 1983, under a plan that the town hall says gave more weight to protecting the environment.

The church of Saint-Martin dates from before 1606 and was rebuilt and enlarged between 1650 and 1750. Behind its plain façade is a gilded baroque altarpiece, carved in the last quarter of the 17th century and restored in 1991. The sanctuary of Notre-Dame de la Vie stands on its own where the upper valley begins. One of its three altarpieces, carved in 1636, is, by the commune's account, the oldest baroque altarpiece in the Tarentaise, and it draws a pilgrimage every 15 August.

Skiing in Saint-Martin-de-Belleville

The lifts leave from the village centre and from the Grangeraies district, and two of them take you to the Col de Tougnète at 2,437 m: the Saint-Martin 1 gondola, then the Saint-Martin Express chairlift. From the col you ski down to Méribel on one side or Les Menuires on the other, and from there into the rest of Les 3 Vallées.

The ski area from Saint-Martin

Two passes matter here. The Les Menuires and Saint-Martin-de-Belleville pass covers 160 km of pistes, 81 runs and 30 lifts; the tourist office puts the mix at 16% green, 41% blue, 33% red and 10% black. The Les 3 Vallées pass opens the whole area, which Les 3 Vallées gives as 600 km of pistes, 337 runs and 169 lifts.

For the way home from Les Menuires, Les 3 Vallées suggests the Roc 1 gondola and Roc 2 chairlift, then the Grand Lac, Pelozet and Biolley blues back to the village. From Méribel, the Tougnète gondola and chairlift bring you back up to the col. For off-piste inside the ski area, the Liberty Ride zone at La Riondaz is reached by the Saint-Martin Express.

The tourist office gives the village's 2026/27 season as 12 December 2026 to 18 April 2027. There are 92 heated ski lockers at the bottom of the Village ski lift, open from 9am to 6pm.

Beginners

The ski area's beginner guide lists the Village drag lift and the two Biolley carpets among its easy lifts. The beginner pass also covers the Saint-Martin 1 gondola and the Saint-Martin Express, plus a set of lifts in Les Menuires. If you take the Gros Tougne run down to Les Menuires, the guide tells you to come back on the free shuttle from the Les Menuires bus station.

Saint-Martin-de-Belleville piste map

The tourist office's piste map page has three downloads: the full 3 Vallées map, the Les Menuires and Saint-Martin-de-Belleville map, and the beginner guide.

Saint-Martin-de-Belleville lift passes

For 2026/27 a six-day Les Menuires and Saint-Martin pass costs €350 in the main season, against €421 for the 3 Vallées; a day costs €70 or €84.20. Both are cheaper from 5 to 18 December 2026 and from 10 to 18 April 2027, and both have a reduced Saturday rate if you buy online by midnight on Friday. Check the tourist office's ski pass page before you buy.

Ski hire in Saint-Martin

The tourist office lists seven rental shops in the village: Intersport in the centre and at Les Grangeraies, Sport 2000's Jean Sports and Belleville Pro Glisse, Skiset Togosports, Netski Sport 1500 and 3 Vallées Ski-Location.

Ski schools and ski lessons

The tourist office lists two for the village. The ESF has its office at 53 rue Notre Dame and is one school with the ESF in Les Menuires. It runs group lessons from age three (two and a half outside the school holidays), children's courses from 6 to 12, teenage and adult groups, snowboarding from six, and private lessons. The Bureau des Guides, based in Les Menuires, guides off-piste outings.

Where to stay

Stay in the centre for the shops, the restaurants and the Village lift, or at Les Grangeraies, which has lifts of its own. The tourist office lists four hotels: La Bouitte, a five-star hotel in the hamlet of Saint-Marcel; the Hôtel Saint-Martin at Les Grangeraies; M Lodge & Spa; and the Lodji. Beyond the hotels, it lists letting agencies and chalet companies, and four mountain refuges, two of which take overnight guests.

Read the full guide: Where to stay→

Saint-Martin-de-Belleville for families

The ESF's Club Piou-Piou takes children from 36 months to five years, daily except Saturday, with snow games, sledging and snowshoeing rather than ski lessons. Book at least ten days ahead; for 2026/27, six half-days cost €243.

Off the slopes, the tourist office runs "Tales and treats in the barn", a storytelling session for 3 to 6-year-olds on Tuesday evenings in the Christmas and February holidays. There is a free sledging hill at Les Grangeraies for children from six with an adult, and La Belle Vie, the village pool, has an indoor pool with waterfalls and massage jets. The Hôtel Saint-Martin runs a mini-club in the school holidays, and the tourist office publishes a list of local babysitters.

Things to do in Saint-Martin-de-Belleville

The village museum, in an old farmhouse on the rue du Clocher, tells the valley's story from mountain farming to the first ski lifts. For winter 2026/27 it costs €5 for adults and nothing for under-18s. The tourist office also runs a torchlit tour of the village that ends at the museum with Beaufort cheese and Savoie wine, and a walk to the Burdin mill in the hamlet of Saint-Marcel. Both are in French. You can follow the village heritage trail on your own with the tourist office's map.

On Wednesdays in the Christmas and February holidays, the village centre has a show, the ski instructors' torchlit descent and fireworks. The church holds concerts every other Monday at 6pm. La Belle Vie adds an indoor-outdoor Nordic pool at 33°C, a hammam and a sauna, and the tourist office lists dog-sled rides and guided snowshoe walks.

Eating and drinking

Saint-Martin-de-Belleville restaurants

The tourist office lists 26 restaurants for winter, in the village, the hamlets and on the slopes, and points you to the Savoyard staples: raclette, fondue, tartiflette, Beaufort cheese, diot sausages and polenta.

La Bouitte, in Saint-Marcel, is where René and Maxime Meilleur, father and son, hold two Michelin stars. They also run Simple & Meilleur on the rue Caseblanche, a bistro with a wine bar and a bakery that opens at 8am; the tourist office lists it with a Michelin Bib Gourmand. In the village, Le Montagnard cooks French and Savoyard dishes in a former family stable, La Voûte has been a bar, restaurant and pizzeria in old vaulted stables since 1985, and Le Dahlia on the rue Notre Dame serves burgers, Savoyard dishes and après-ski drinks. At Les Grangeraies, Le Grenier is the Hôtel Saint-Martin's restaurant, at the foot of the slopes.

On the mountain

La Loy is a chalet on the Biolley piste on the way home, cooking Savoyard food with a terrace and open fires, and L'Eskis is at the top of the Saint-Martin 1 gondola.

Saint-Martin-de-Belleville in summer

In summer the valley's three resorts, Saint-Martin-de-Belleville, Les Menuires and Val Thorens, share 70 marked walking routes and 40 bike and mountain-bike trails between 1,200 m and 3,200 m. The lifts open to walkers and bikes, and the Pass Ascensionnel gives a week of unlimited use of the 3 Vallées lifts on foot, with options that add the pools or a daily guided walk. The bike park has 20 downhill and enduro trails and more than 100 km of tracks between 1,400 m and 2,800 m. Free shuttles with bike trailers run every day between the three resorts.

In June the cows and goats go up to the pastures with a village festival, later in the summer there is a craft beer festival, and on 15 August the pilgrimage goes to Notre-Dame de la Vie. La Belle Vie opens its 16-metre outdoor pool.

How to get to Saint-Martin-de-Belleville

Les 3 Vallées names four airports, Chambéry, Grenoble, Geneva and Lyon, and puts the village about two hours from them by road. The nearest railway station is Moûtiers-Salins-Brides-les-Bains, 20 km and about 30 minutes away, where coaches, taxis and hire cars finish the journey.

Geneva to Saint-Martin-de-Belleville

From Geneva, drive the A41 past Annecy to Chambéry, the A43 and A430 to Albertville and the RN90 dual carriageway to Moûtiers, then the 20 km up the Belleville valley. Altibus runs shuttles from Geneva and Lyon airports to Moûtiers, with a connecting transfer on to the resorts; check its site for the 2026/27 timetable and fares before you book.

From 1 November to 31 March, cars in Savoie must carry winter equipment. Parking in the village is free, including the Le Cochet, La Duche and Château Feuillet car parks; near the shops there are blue zones, and the tourist office gives out the parking disc. Once you are here, free shuttles run every day except Saturday between Saint-Martin, Les Menuires and Val Thorens, stopping at Praranger, Les Granges and Saint-Marcel.

Weather, snow and webcams

The village sits at 1,450 m and the Col de Tougnète at 2,437 m, so check conditions at the top as well as in the street. The tourist office runs webcams in the village and on the ski area, and a live page with the lifts and pistes open, snow depth, the avalanche risk and a three-day forecast.

• Saint-Martin-de-Belleville webcams
• Snow report, open lifts and forecast
• Les 3 Vallées weather

When to visit Saint-Martin-de-Belleville

The lifts run from 12 December 2026 to 18 April 2027.

• December: lift passes are cheaper until 18 December, the Christmas lights go on on 13 December, and the festive programme runs from 20 December to 3 January.
• February: the school holidays, with the Wednesday shows, torchlit descent and fireworks back in the village.
• March: the second stage of the Belleville Light Tour, a night-time ski-touring event on a lit course, comes through on 10 March 2027, after the first in Les Menuires on 28 January.
• April: Yogiski runs from 4 to 9 April 2027, and passes are cheaper again from 10 April to the close.
• Summer: the lifts open to walkers and bikers, with the festival for the move to the summer pastures in June and the pilgrimage on 15 August.

Saint-Martin-de-Belleville vs Les Menuires

Both are in the same commune, on the same local lift pass, served by the same ESF and linked by the free shuttle. The difference is what was there first.

Choose Saint-Martin-de-Belleville if you want an old village with its church, museum and hamlets, a short list of hotels, and you are happy to take two lifts to reach the heart of the ski area.

Choose Les Menuires if you want to start 400 m higher, in a resort where Les 3 Vallées says most of the accommodation is ski-in, ski-out, with a Famille Plus label and two nurseries.

What's nearby

• Les Menuires

  The purpose-built resort up the valley, in the same commune and on the same local pass.

• Val Thorens

  The commune's highest resort, built from 1973 at 2,300 m; on skis or by the free shuttle.

• Méribel

  Over the Col de Tougnète, down the other side from Saint-Martin.

• La Tania

  Courchevel's car-free village in the forest at 1,400 m, beyond Méribel.