At a glance

Choose by the hardest piste: Each itinerary gives the highest piste colour in its described circuit, including access and the return. Snow and visibility can make any grade more demanding.
Keep the way home simple: The local circuits include a lift descent to the village where useful. Check the last downhill service before setting out.
Use the day’s map: Match the route with open lifts and pistes, your pass and your group’s ability. Follow closures and signs on the mountain.

SECTION 1

Choose your circuit, then check its connections

Start with the least confident skier in the group. These local outings all begin at Val d’Isère’s central snow front, so you can explore one part of the mountain without committing to a crossing into Tignes. A green circuit still needs controlled turns, stopping and independent lift use; complete beginners should start with an instructor.

Levels refer to the hardest named piste in the circuit. Firm snow, bumps and poor visibility can make a piste considerably more demanding.
Before leaving, check every lift in the loop, the last downhill service and the pass you need. Follow the current map, piste signs and closures.
The route descriptions use the official 2025–26 map currently linked by the resort.

Open the live piste map First days on skis

Sources & booking links

Official piste map (PDF)

SECTION 2

Madeleine: gentle laps above Solaise

An easy-to-repeat outing with the Solaise cirque spread around you. Ride up for the views from Madeleine, then work on relaxed turns on its green piste. Staying on the upper mountain keeps a harder village descent out of the plan.

Level: green, for skiers already comfortable controlling their speed and stopping.
Start: the Solaise gondola from the central snow front.
Ski: use the signed connection beside the Pim Pam carpets to the Madeleine chairlift. Ride up, then ski the green Madeleine back to the chair’s base; repeat the lap if you wish.
Return: take the Pim Pam carpet back through the beginner area to the Solaise gondola, then ride down to the village. Check the last gondola descent before starting your laps.

Fredrik’s experience

First turns high on Solaise

To reach Madeleine, you take the Solaise gondola up. It is practical and straightforward to use, and you ride with your skis off. When you step out, there is a beginner slope served by a moving carpet: a perfect place for those first turns. You are already up on Solaise, so it doesn’t feel as though you are stuck practising down in the valley. You can enjoy the mountain views from the beginning.

The next step from the carpets

At the bottom of the Pim Pam carpets, on the other side, the Madeleine chairlift takes you higher. The skiing here is a little more challenging for a beginner. It is still gentle and, in my experience, usually well groomed, making it a natural next step when you are ready to leave the carpets behind.

A real sense of achievement

At the top you get a fresh set of views, looking down over the Manchet valley. The run is longer than the classic nursery slopes, still well groomed and lovely to ski. To me, a few sections feel a little steeper than a straightforward green run, so there is a real challenge for a beginner. I think beginners who manage Madeleine often come away feeling they have achieved something: they have taken on that next step and done it.

Company that respects your level

I think the company you ski with matters. Go with someone who respects your level, ideally an instructor. If you are with a friend who is a stronger skier, make sure they really understand where you are with your skiing and don’t push you forward too quickly.

Snow-covered Solaise seen across the wooded gorge from the Tignes dam. — Solaise

Sources & booking links

Madeleine viewpoint and access Official map and lift descent information

SECTION 3

Bellevarde: a green circuit through Borsat

A longer green outing that links several lifts rather than repeating one short slope. La Verte carries you away from the Bellevarde summit towards Borsat; Génépy then brings you around the upper mountain to Fontaine Froide. The final cable-car descent makes this a complete village-to-village circuit.

Level: green, suited to confident green-run skiers ready for a longer linked circuit.
Start: the Olympique cable car from the central snow front.
Ski: La Verte → Borsat chairlift → Génépy → Fontaine Froide chairlift. Stay with the named green pistes rather than taking a red or black valley descent.
Return: from the top of Fontaine Froide, return to Olympique and take the cable car down. Borsat, Fontaine Froide and the downhill cable-car service are all essential to this plan.

Sources & booking links

Bellevarde’s family pistes Trace the circuit on the official map

SECTION 4

Arcelle: red turns into the Manchet valley

Arcelle opens out towards the Manchet valley, with the Rocher du Charvet across the view and the Roche des Fours beside the descent. It gives confident red-run skiers a longer stretch for linking turns, followed by a chairlift back to the upper Solaise slopes.

Level: red; choose this once everyone is comfortable on red pistes.
Start: take Solaise, then the signed connection beside Pim Pam to the Madeleine chairlift.
Ski: from Madeleine’s summit, follow the upper green Madeleine and take the marked Arcelle red piste into the valley. Ride Manchet Express back up, then rejoin Madeleine.
Return: ski the green Madeleine down to Pim Pam, take the carpet back to Solaise and download. Check Manchet Express before starting Arcelle: it is your planned lift back out of the valley.
Blue warm-up option: from Solaise, take Lac-parc to the Glacier chairlift. Explore the blue Glaciers and Plan Milet pistes down towards Datcha, then ride Datcha to the Arcelle start near the top of Manchet Express.

Fredrik’s experience

A blue warm-up before the red

For this outing, I would take the Solaise gondola up again, but then go left towards the Glacier chairlift instead. Ride Glacier up for a warm-up on the blue pistes. It is a long, lovely blue descent with room for carving, and the well-groomed morning snow makes it a very good start to the day. Follow the blue pistes down towards Datcha, which takes you up towards the top of Manchet Express and the start of Arcelle.

My pick of the red pistes

I would call Arcelle the best red piste in the area. It is long, with around 700 metres of vertical descent. If you can ski it in one go, you’ve got real stamina. But there is plenty of room to stop and rest along the way.

A rolling descent

The slope rolls and changes as you go, varying both its pitch and its undulations. That is what makes it such a lovely piste.

Take care near the bottom, though. The final section can be quite hard and icy because the sun does not reach it to warm it up. With the right snow, Arcelle is a fantastic experience.

Room for carved turns

For someone hesitating before the first turn, my encouragement is that Arcelle is wide, and the combination of that width and its pitch invites really lovely carved turns.

Sources & booking links

Arcelle approach and character Trace the return lifts Glacier access via Lac-parc

SECTION 5

Face de Bellevarde: a deliberate black-run descent

The famous descent drops straight towards the village, turning the view from the Olympique into a demanding ski run. Steep pitches and narrower sections call for strong technique and controlled speed. Save it for a considered choice after warming up, rather than making it an automatic last run home.

Level: black; advanced skiers comfortable on steep terrain and firm snow.
Start: ride Olympique from the central snow front.
Ski: follow the marked Face de Bellevarde black piste back to the snow front. Assess the conditions at the top before committing.
Return: the piste finishes where the outing began. If the descent does not suit the group, take Olympique down instead, while its downhill service is operating.

Sources & booking links

The Face de Bellevarde Olympique lift descent information

Sources & useful links

Contacts and practical information for your plans.

Tignes–Val d’Isère official piste map, 2025–26Piste colours and lift connections on the official 2025–26 map. Use the live map for the day’s status.
Madeleine viewpoint and ski accessMadeleine access and the green piste above Solaise.
Solaise and Bellevarde family skiingBellevarde green pistes and Génépy’s connection to Fontaine Froide.
Arcelle: approach and piste descriptionArcelle’s approach from Madeleine and its descent into the Manchet valley.
Val d’Isère’s demanding pistes, including Face de BellevardeFace de Bellevarde’s black grade, steep pitches and village finish.
Village-centre lift-node orientationSolaise and Olympique lift descents to the central snow front.
Glacier and Leissières access from SolaiseSolaise–Lac-parc–Glacier access and blue Plan Milet; the official map supplies the Datcha connection.

Keep planning

Val d’Isère piste map explained: Solaise, Bellevarde and Le FornetStart with Solaise or Bellevarde above the village, or explore the Fornet–Iseran–Pisaillas side. Use the official map for the connections and live opening status.
Is Val d’Isère good for beginners?Yes, if you choose a proper beginner course and keep your skiing in the right areas. You have free learning lifts in Centre and La Daille, gentle terrain higher on Solaise, and the option to ride back down. The real decision is whether the lesson, accommodation and cost fit your first week.
Classic off-piste routes in Val d’Isère and TignesFrom the high valleys above Fornet to the couloirs and long descents of Tignes, these classics show how much variety lies beyond the pistes. Use the names to shape a day with your guide.

Explore the guide

Piste routes in Val d’Isère: connected ski outings

At a glance

Choose your circuit, then check its connections

Madeleine: gentle laps above Solaise

Bellevarde: a green circuit through Borsat

Arcelle: red turns into the Manchet valley

Face de Bellevarde: a deliberate black-run descent

Keep planning

At a glance

Choose your circuit, then check its connections

Madeleine: gentle laps above Solaise

Bellevarde: a green circuit through Borsat

Arcelle: red turns into the Manchet valley

Face de Bellevarde: a deliberate black-run descent

Keep planning

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