Bourg-Saint-Maurice

Bourg-Saint-Maurice is a town in the French Alps. It is at the foot of the Les Arcs skiing area, a group of pistes which can be found just below the Aiguille Rouge summit. In the summer, hiking and white water sports are available: the town was host to the ICF White Water Championships in 1969, 1987 and 2002.

The nearby mountains, part of the Les Arcs ski area pistes (when there's snow!)

The town of 7,300 people (2017) provides varied accommodation with cinema, two swimming pools, and an international train station. There is also a new high speed, high traffic link to La Plagne.

A Eurostar service from London arrives at Bourg-Saint-Maurice

Bourg-Saint-Maurice's train station is served by TGV and local train services all year round. In addition, during the winter season Eurostars run direct from London (£225 return), and Thalys trains from other parts of Europe.

Flying in, the nearest airports are Geneva (2 hours by car; 4 by trains) and Lyon (4 hours by car; 5 by coach; 4 by train). Budget airlines operate to both airports, with lots of services during the winter season.

The town can be accessed by road via the N90 road, although the use of cars in the town is being discouraged.

Shops in Bourg-St-Maurice

Some bus services are available for getting around in the village; some of these are free, others require fares. There's a free shuttle bus that services Bourg-Saint-Maurice. More info and timetables here.

The pistes are well served by ski lifts and cable cars. To get to the slopes in Les Arcs, free shuttle buses run from the town to the bottom of the ski lifts; these operate 07:30-19:30. For access from Bourg-Saint-Maurice to Arc 1600, there is also a funicular railway that is a lot quicker than taking the bus. The bottom station is near Bourg-Saint-Maurice train station. In summer 2022, the funicular is closed due to maintanance work (take the bus instead). More info and timetables here.

The whitewater course is in the centre of the town.

Église Saint-Maurice de Bourg-Saint-Maurice

Mount Blanc can be seen from the town, and hiked to during the summer. Of course, the natural views of the Alps are always spectacular.

The town's whitewater course is one of the training grounds of choice for European national teams.

Ski equipment purchase and rental is available in the winter; hiking and kayaking equipment purchase and rental in the summer.

On Saturdays, there is a market where locally grown vegetables, fruit and other produce are sold.

There are several restaurants available in the town, with lots of tastes catered for.

There are also several bars in the town.

There are several hotels, apartment rentals and chalets available. These range from cheap and cheerful to 4-star.

Bourg-Saint-Maurice is the largest town for some distance. If greater needs are required, Geneva is 2 hours by car, 4 by train; Lyon is 4 hours by car, 5 by coach and 4 by train. Chambery is 2 hours by train.