Where is Bourg St Maurice & the Haute Tarentaise France?

Bourg St Maurice & the famed Tarentaise valley is in the Savoie (pronounced Savwa) region of France on the banks of the Isere River.

The most important Tarentaise town of Bourg St Maurice is at the end of the railway line, only 6½hr by train southeast of Paris! The Geneva airport is a piddling 150km away to the northwest & Lyon St Exupery airport is only 190km (2hr drive) west of Bourg St Maurice. The well-known, but incredibly disappointing, Olympic city of Albertville is 55km by road (or 1hr on the train) to the west. Beyond Bourg St Maurice, the Haute Tarentaise valley ends in the upper alpine regions of Val d'Isere at the Col de I'Iseran, from where the Haute Maurienne valley begins near Bonneval sur Arc.

Flights to Bourg St Maurice

By road, the Tarentaise & Bourg St Maurice is 2-2½hr southeast of Geneva (GVA) airport and a similar driving time east of Lyon-Saint Exupéry (LYS) airport, both of which are the best gateway international airports. In winter, weekend flights from the UK and within Europe also arrive at Chambery (CMF), the closest airport to the Tarentaise. 

To search for a great deal on a flight to Lyon, Geneva or other European airport, use our recommended flight search engine.

Train Transport to Bourg St Maurice

The recommended method of travel to the Haute Tarentaise valley ski resorts is via the train direct to Bourg St Maurice, then buses or funicular for the final leg. It is an awesome way to contribute to POW (Protect Our Winters). For La Plagne & the 3 Vallees resorts, the train stations at Aime & Moutiers respectively, should be utilised.

Search & book train tickets to Bourg St Maurice & the Tarentaise valley ski resorts.

Bus Services to the Ski Resorts

Bourg St Maurice is the terminus for trains travelling from as far away as Paris (6½hr) & London. Trains are also accessible from airports at Lyon & Geneva. Buses (& taxis) meet the trains to transport skiers to the nearby resorts just outside the railway station. Belle Savoie Express run 3 main bus routes to the resorts up the valley from the Bourg St Maurice train station. The T12 to La Rosiere, T14 to Val d'Isere & the T15 to Tignes. Some of the T14 buses occasional go via Tignes. For Saint Foy ski resort, take either the T14 or 15 bus, get off in Sainte-Foy-Tarentaise village, then catch the bus shuttle up to the ski resort (Station Sainte Foy). For Les Arcs, the funicular leaves a few minutes’ walk from the far end of the train platforms. Resort buses meet the funicular for onward journeys. Purchase bus tickets from the Belle Savoie Express office in the train station terminal.

Lower down the valley, buses to La Plagne & the 3 Vallees leave from Aime & Moutiers respectively.

See the Tarentaise bus route map.

Airport & Hotel Transfers

For larger groups (of 3 people or more) or for those with cash to splash & an aversion to public transport, a private transfer from the airport direct to your hotel is the most cost effective & efficient mode of travel to the Tarentaise ski resorts.

Search & book your transfer to the Tarentaise ski resorts.

Driving to the Haute Tarentaise

Driving to Bourg St Maurice is easy from either Switzerland (Geneva) or anywhere in France. Major airports at Geneva & Lyon are only a 2-hour drive away by rental car. Neither driving route is particular difficult to navigate or challenging to drive, with most of the journey being undertaken on motorways with 'pay as you go' tolls. However, the road beyond Albertville can become quite congested on weekends & Friday afternoon/evenings, and then further along beyond Bourg St Maurice toward Tignes-Val d'Isere the narrow road can be extremely busy from Friday to Sunday during the season.

Driving that last sections up into the mountains has varying degrees of difficulty in winter conditions. In terms of difficulty, the following may be of use:

• Val d'Isere - aside from traffic, a relatively easy drive all the way to all the villages.
• Tignes - as above, aside from traffic is easy to the lower villages, however the upper villages can be interesting in full winter driving conditions.
• Sainte Foy - a comfortable drive on a good road despite the hairpin bends, and with relatively little traffic.
• Les Arcs - roads can be busy and like Tignes, driving to the upper villages can be challenging in snowy conditions. best take the funicular from Bourg St Maurice & then a local bus from the top station. The exceptions to the funicular rule are for anyone heading to Villaroger, Vallandry or Peisey villages.
• La Plagne - a busy, but wide road, well-travelled road with multiple hairpins. Challenges are mainly in the form of numerous oncoming buses if ascending/descending at the 'wrong time!' and in icy conditions.
• La Rosiere - a reasonable road with less traffic than every other resort except Sainte Foy. Sunny aspect can have daytime melt that becomes night-time freeze if ascending after dark!

Car Rental

All the major airports & cities have car hire available. The cheapest rates are at the airports, with France being better value than Switzerland, however now that rentals from France are not necessarily as well winterised as those from Switzerland. Bourg St Maurice has a limited number of rental cars available in town, a short walk from the train station.

Search & book rental cars by location, availability & rate.

For hints, tips & warnings about getting to French ski resorts in winter, see our Travel in France page.