Car parking in Les Arcs
Discover and book Les Arcs car-parks
In summer you'll probably find it easier to find a space to park your car in Les Arcs. In winter, a covered or underground parking spot is the ideal place to leave your vehicle as it will save you all the hassle of digging it out after a snowfall, scraping your windows and trying to start a frozen car. However, parking in ski resorts can be tight and so you’ll more than likely end up leaving your car outside.
Things to remember:
Traffic wardens or “Police Municipal” are regularly seen patrolling the streets on the look out for illegally parked vehicles. Parking in ski resorts can be very problematic especially during high season, so it is always worth reserving a parking space in advance wherever possible to ensure you have a suitable spot to leave your car. Foreign plates do not give you diplomatic immunity from parking fines so if you do leave your car in an inappropriate spot then you should expect to be ticketed or even towed away and impounded.
Parking fines vary from €11 to €135, with €45 being then norm. If you receive a fine through the post you have three options: throw it away (although the French authorities are cracking down on non-payment of penalties by foreign drivers), pay it, or contest it. If you decide to pay it then the sooner the better as the fine is lowered if paid within 15 days. You can do so either by buying a “timbre amende” from a tabac or tax office, attach it to the ticket and send it off; or by credit card on this website. Should you choose to contest it, then you need to complete the form attached to the fine and send it off to the Police Municipal.
Always pay attention to signs placed around parking areas in resort that may indicate a market or snow clearing taking place the following day. When there is snow to clear, ploughs show very little respect for things in their way and on more than one occasion have been known to scrape up the sides of errant vehicles causing significant damage. If you don’t move your car it will be towed and left elsewhere in resort, generally on the outskirts of town.
A few tips for parking your vehicle:
- Park facing downhill and turn your wheels towards the kerb to act as a brake.
- Leave your car in gear with the handbrake off as it can freeze and you can snap the cabling.
- Lift the windscreen wipers away from the window so that they don’t stick to the glass and get damaged. If there has been heavy snowfall, clear the snow from your windscreen by hand rather that with your wipers – the weight of the snow can be deceptive and you’ll probably just end up burning out your wiper motor. You certainly don’t want to be without functioning windscreen wipers in winter with all the salt from the roads that sprays over your car.
- Remember where you parked. This sounds stupid, but it can be very hard to identify your car under a metre of snow!
Car parks
For those of you driving an electric car you'll find charging stations at the following locations:
- Les Arcs 1800: Charging stations for electric cars are available on the ground floor of the Charvet covered car park.
- Les Arcs 1950: Two recharging stations for TESLA cars and one charging station for all types of electric vehicles.
- Les Arcs 2000: Charging stations for electric cars are available in parking Mont Blanc.
- Bourg St Maurice: Charging stations for electric cars are available in Central car park.
Enquire with your accommodation provider at the time of booking as some hotels and chalets have charging points installed for guests to use.
Free parking
There are a couple of places in Les Arcs where you can park your car for free, and depending on which resort you are staying in, you may get free parking for the duration of your holiday.
Most of the free parking is outdoor car parks, so make sure you have access to a shovel as if there is a heavy snowfall you may have to dig your car out. The free outdoor parking can be found on resort maps by the blue P which will indicate if it is a paid car park or free.
- Les Arcs 1600: The only resort that has large outdoor car parks in the centre of its village and they're all free.
- Les Arcs 1950: A pedestrianised resort so there is no free parking, no vehicles in resort and all parking is indoor paid parking which is part of the residences you stay in.
- Arcs 1800 and Les Arcs 2000: Charges for all outdoor and indoor car parks.
Parking is restricted to car parks and designated parking areas so do not park your car on the street as it may get snowed in, or worse, towed.
Whether you're in a covered car park or outdoors, the first two hours is free in Arc 2000, in Arc 1800 the first four hours of parking is free or down in Bourg St Maurice the first hour is free in the centre, but only the first half hour at the funicular.
Please check times, dates and fees at the time of parking as these might change.
Indoor / Covered parking
Indoor parking is available at each level of the Les Arcs resorts and in certain places, i.e. Arcs 1950, it is compulsory as the resort is traffic free.
Reservations online are no longer available for covered car parks and you will need to pay on arrival.
The indoor car parks in Les Arcs can be found on resort maps by the blue P and are located as follows:
- Arcs 2000: Two covered - Lac des Combes and Mont Blanc. The first two hours of parking is free in each one. Season passes are also available in each of these.
- Arcs 1950: One compulsory covered car park with 720 places. You will be allocated a space most conveniently located for your residence. Access to the residences is by lift.
- Arcs 1800: Three covered parkings - Charmettoger, Charvet and Villards. The first four hours of parking are free in each one.
- Arcs 1600: One covered private car park at La Cascade Residence which is reserved purely for people staying there.
- Les Coches: There is an underground car park in Les Coche. It has 2.15m clearance and is located below the tourist office.
- Bourg St Maurice: 200 covered parking places at Parking du Centre close to the station. The first hour is free and you are limited to 24 hours maximum stay. Residents or seasonnaires can buy annual passes.
These car parks will provide covered protection for your car and protection against some of the severe weather conditions that often occur throughout the winter season.
Parking in the summer is free throughout Les Arcs.
Please check times, dates and fees at the time of parking as these might change.
Outdoor parking
There is plenty of outdoor parking throughout the Les Arcs resorts, on almost all levels except Les Arcs 1950. Both Bourg St Maurice and Arc 1600 have free outdoor parking, but the remaining designated outdoor parking areas are all paying. Most of the outdoor car parks can be seen on the resort maps, marked by a blue square P.
- Arcs 2000: Three paying outdoor parking areas. If you are prepared to leave your car 2km away at Pre St Espirit there is a free outdoor car park and a free shuttle bus will take you back into Arc 2000 or 1950.
- Arcs 1800: Three paying outdoor car parks. The first four hours of parking are free.
- Arcs 1600: Two free outdoor car parks, close to the tourist office and the Place des Trois Arcs.
- Plan-Peisey and Vallandry: Both have numerous outdoor car parks but there isn't any communal covered parking in either resort. If you want to ensure that you can park your vehicle underground during your stay, enquire at the time of booking to see if your accommodation has private covered parking spaces.
- Bourg St Maurice: Four outdoor car parks. Parking du Centre has 96 outdoor spaces, Parking de la Poste has 61 places, at the Funicular there are 500 places and at l'Arc en Ciel there are 250 places. You can also park for the week at the Funicular.
The car parks are well maintained and as clear of snow as possible, however it is always advisable to have access to a shovel as after a heavy snowfall you may need to dig your car out!
Booking online is not possible for outdoor car parks. Parking is restricted to car parks and designated parking areas, so do not park your car on the street as it may get snowed in, or worse, towed.
Please check times, dates and fees at the time of parking as these might change.
Disabled parking
There are lots of disabled access parking spaces in and around the villages of Les Arcs. They are predominantly found close to the ski lifts, the main public car parks and tourist information centres. All of the resort car parks will have allocated disabled spaces, have a look at the resort map to find out where the closest one to your accommodation is.
Motorhome parking
The Les Arcs resorts do not have parking for camper vans or motor homes, however a bit further down the valley in Peisey Vallandry you will find parking for your motor home. There you will find Camping des Lanchettes where you can park and access Les Arcs via a free shuttle bus, so you can get to the ski area and Les Arcs villages in no time.
Please check times, dates and fees at the time of parking as these might change.
