All-aboard the French ski train: sales open for winter season

Sales for winter train tickets to ski resorts across France are now open, SNCF has confirmed, with half of all trains departing in February expected to be booked up by the end of this week.

SNCF today (Wednesday, November 12) released tickets for trains running from January 8 to March 29 2026.

The French ski season is almost in full swing, with resorts set to begin opening at the end of November. Several of the best-known resorts – including Chamonix Valley – open before December, and many will open on December 6 or December 13.

Tickets expected to go fast

“By the end of the week, nearly half of all trains departing from Paris and bound for Bourg Saint-Maurice [Savoie, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes] will be full in February,” said Clément Bretagnolle, Country Manager France of train booking app Trainline, to Le Figaro.

This prediction is based on last year’s sales, which showed winter trains to skiing gateways being booked extremely quickly. 

“In 2024, Paris-Bourg-Saint-Maurice journeys accounted for 35% of bookings, and were already 50% full by the [end of the] first week of sales,” he said.

Trains from Paris to Annecy (Haute-Savoie, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes) accounted for 18% of sales by the same time, while 45% of trains departing from Lyon to Bourg-Saint-Maurice were also booked up in the first week of sales last year.

Bourg-Saint-Maurice is the starting point for many of the most popular ski resorts in France, including:

• Les Arcs
• Tignes
• Val d'Isère
• La Plagne
• Les 3 Vallées
• La Rosière, and
• Sainte-Foy-Tarentaise.

The Paris-Ax-les-Thermes line makes it easier for people to travel south to the Pyrenees (for both skiing and the area’s famous spa treatments), while the Occitanie region is also reopening the mountain line between Montréjeau and Luchon (offering access to the resorts of Peyragudes and Luchon-Superbagnères).

Ticket prices

People who book winter train tickets early are not only more likely to be able to book the train they wish, but should get tickets at a lower price before high demand pushes up rates. 

“In 2024, three weeks after tickets went on sale, ticket prices from Paris had already increased by an average of €70,” said Mr Bretagnolle.

Competitive rates

Passengers may be able to find a better deal by looking further afield than SNCF to competitors, with Italian company Trenitalia also operating trains that offer access to certain resorts this winter.

For example, the twice-daily Paris-Milan route is now up and running (after having been closed and diverted for 19 months due to a landslide in the Maurienne valley). It stops at Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, which is the gateway to resorts including:

• La Toussuire
• Saint-Jean-d'Arves
• Saint-Colomban-des-Villards
• Les Bottières
• Le Corbier, and 
• Saint-Sorlin d'Arves.

Similarly, the Chambéry stop is closest to the largest cross-country skiing area in France, Savoie Grand Revard. This is also close to 15 downhill ski resorts (within an hour’s drive), including Orelle, which is itself the gateway to the 3 Vallées area.

The Modane line also offers access to resorts in the Haute-Maurienne Vanoise area, including:

• Valfréjus
• La Norma
• Val Cenis, and
• Bonneval-sur-Arc

Go by night…ahead of Winter Olympics

The Paris-Briançon line is also being relaunched, with brand new trains coming for 2029, according to Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot. He announced the news during a hearing in the Senate on November 5.

It comes after a quarter of trains on this line were cancelled last February, leading it to gain a reputation as a delayed, dilapidated route. 

The government is seeking to improve it ahead of the 2030 Alpine Winter Olympics, which are set to host the Olympic village at Fort de Briançon.

In terms of winter sports, this route offers access to the Serre Chevalier area (Chantermerle, Villeneuve-la-Salle, and Le Monêtier-les-Bains), as well as La Grave, La Meije and, towards the Italian border, the resort village of Cervières.