Want a short practice session? Start by comparing Le Savoy and La Vormaine. For a mountain setting, compare Marmottons and Prarion and keep the gondola return in the plan.
Book the lesson firstAsk for the exact meeting place and the practice lifts your group will use.
Travel to that starting pointThe links below finish at the learning area or its boarding gondola, with separate parking directions where available.
Keep the return simpleFinish at the same village slope, or take the gondola down. Check the final lift and bus before setting off.
Four first-day plans.
Village nursery area
Chamonix town
Le Savoy
A small nursery slope for first turns, with a carpet before the drag lifts. Stay at village level and finish whenever you have had enough.
Practise onA magic carpet and two drag lifts serving green slopes.
Get to the practice slopeGo straight to Champs du Savoy, behind La Folie Douce.
Finish your sessionFinish at the same nursery area. There is no mountain descent to ski home.
Where to go.
Champs du Savoy, Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, France
By car
Navigate to Saint-Michel car park, the nearest car park listed by the tourist office, then continue on foot to Champs du Savoy.
By train & bus
Travel via Saint-Gervais–Le Fayet and the Mont-Blanc Express to Chamonix. For the last leg, use the Le Savoy bus stop. The tourist office describes the station-to-area walk as about 20 minutes.
Set your travel date and return time in the planner. The car and public-transport journeys can take very different amounts of time.
Le Savoy from beside Planpraz. A summer view to help place the slope beside town. August 2009. Photo: AntonyB / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 3.0. Full frame, resized only.
Ticket & lesson. The tourist office lists the practice carpet as free. The drag lifts use a separate ticket or a covering pass; match the ticket to your lesson.
Worth knowing. The nearby Planpraz gondola goes up Brévent. You do not need to board it for a Savoy lesson.
A separate learning area at Le Tour, away from the higher Balme pistes. Choose it when a village practice area and green-run progression suit your lesson.
Practise onThree green runs and four drag lifts. The forest blue is a later step.
Get to the practice slopeHead to La Vormaine, beside the Balme gondola at Le Tour.
Finish your sessionStay within La Vormaine and finish back at the village learning area.
Where to go.
171 chemin des Clusettes, Le Tour, Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, France
By car
Continue up the Chamonix Valley to Le Tour and navigate to La Vormaine’s street address. This is farther along the valley than Chamonix town.
By train & bus
Take the Mont-Blanc Express towards Montroc, then plan the onward connection to Le Tour. Le Tour is the tourist office’s nearest bus stop; Montroc station is not beside the practice lifts.
Learn above Le Bettex, opposite the gondola arrival at Mont d’Arbois. The gondola gives you a way down without committing to the longer ski runs.
Practise onA covered magic carpet and a drag lift in a dedicated learning area.
Get to the practice slopeFrom Le Bettex, ride Bettex–Mont d’Arbois gondola to the practice area.
Finish your sessionRide the gondola down to Le Bettex. For a rail return, continue down L’Alpin and Le Valléen to Le Fayet.
Where to go.
4383 route du Bettex, Saint-Gervais-les-Bains, France
By car
Drive to the Bettex public car park at 4050 route du Bettex, then walk to Bettex–Mont d’Arbois. Alternatively, park by Le Fayet and use the valley lift chain.
By train & bus
Léman Express L3 to Saint-Gervais–Le Fayet → Le Valléen to town → L’Alpin to Le Bettex → Bettex–Mont d’Arbois to Marmottons. From the airport, include the connection to your Geneva train.
Set your travel date and return time in the planner. The car and public-transport journeys can take very different amounts of time.
Ticket & lesson. Tell the lift team you want Marmottons and how you will reach Le Bettex. Ask which pass covers the practice lifts and every gondola in your journey.
Worth knowing. Le Fayet station, Saint-Gervais town and Le Bettex are three different levels. Keep all the final downhill lift times in your return plan.
For a mountain setting without a ski descent into town, take Prarion to its separate learning area. The longer blue runs can wait.
Practise onThe École carpet and a school chairlift with slow boarding.
Get to the practice slopeBoard Prarion gondola in Les Houches, then follow the signs to the learning area.
Finish your sessionReturn to Prarion’s upper station and take the gondola down to Les Houches.
Where to go.
117 Place du Prarion, Les Houches, France
By car
Use the Chavants car park beside Prarion, then walk to the gondola. The operator lists it as paid parking.
By train & bus
Travel via Le Fayet and the Mont-Blanc Express to Les Houches, then use the local connection to Prarion. The railway station is not the gondola; plan the final bus and evening return in Chamonix Mobilité.
Set your travel date and return time in the planner. The car and public-transport journeys can take very different amounts of time.
Ticket & lesson. Ask which ticket covers Prarion, the practice lifts and the gondola return. Use your school’s exact meeting point; it may be below or above the lift.
Worth knowing. Bellevue is a different lift. La Cha and Chamois are mountain blues, separate from the practice area; they are not required for this first session.
The tourist office places Col de la Faucille about 30 km from Geneva Airport. The operator’s initiation pass includes the Myrtilles drag lift at La Faucille. Ask your school where to meet and which practice lift your lesson uses; Mijoux village and the col have different starting points.
Marmottons has a clear rail-and-gondola chain: Geneva → Le Fayet → Le Valléen → L’Alpin → Bettex–Mont d’Arbois. There are several stages, so check the first and last connections for your date. The Chamonix choices add the Mont-Blanc Express and a local bus or walk.
Are these blue runs?
These are learning-area plans, separate from the longer blues in our Geneva run guide. Le Savoy and La Vormaine have green practice slopes. Marmottons and Prarion provide dedicated practice lifts. Choose the lesson and return journey first, rather than assuming a blue label means a first-day slope.
Is a mountain learning area better than a village slope?
Choose the journey you want to repeat. Village slopes let you stop without a gondola ride; mountain areas give you a mountain setting but add ticket and last-lift decisions. For children, follow the school’s meeting point rather than travelling to the public practice area automatically.
Can I travel from the airport and ski the same morning?
Work backwards from your lesson time, including baggage, equipment collection and every local connection. An airport-to-resort driving estimate is not a door-to-lesson time. An afternoon session or an overnight stay can give you more room in the schedule.
Keep the next step separate.
Once you can stop and link turns, compare a longer blue outing with its video and full return plan. La Cha and Finance use two of the same starting bases above, but they are different days from the nursery slopes.
