You've found a cheap flight to the mountains but, ugh, extra baggage costs. And, oh no, your resort is still a long and expensive transfer from the airport. Thankfully, there is another option for travelling to some of Europe's best winter sports destinations: the humble train. To show you what's possible here are nine superb places to plough the powder, each one with excellent equipment hire offerings and which are easily accessible by rail.
There are also dozens of places from which to hire or buy snow sports equipment; perfect if you've forgotten yours or just can't be bothered to carry it here. The Meribel snow report shows potential for good quality snow for each week of the ski season based on 15 years of historical observations.
It's just a seven-minute funicular ride from Bourg-Saint-Maurice to Les Arcs where free shuttles whisk you to resorts. The easiest way to get here is by taking advantage of Eurostar's Snow Train , which runs every Saturday between December and March. Although this train includes free carriage of snow sports equipment, why lug around all that baggage when Les Arcs have over 50 rental shops? The Les Arcs snow report shows potential for good quality snow for each week of the ski season based on 15 years of historical observations.
Although it may look like a complicated route it's a very smooth one, with plenty of time to change trains and views that make the journey perhaps as scenic as any other you'll take. You can look forward to zooming at high speed through the French countryside, ending with a climb up into the Alps where, after a quick change in Geneva , you'll be spirited to Sierre which is connected to Crans-Montana by a minute funicular ride.
Crans-Montana's cable cars are waiting to lift you to heights of 3, metres and km of south-facing pistes. You'll also have the pick of places from which to hire equipment, including the usual Intersport-affiliated shops. The Crans-Montana snow report shows potential for good quality snow for each week of the ski season based on 15 years of historical observations. Less busy than the Alps, Oloron-Sainte-Marie has connections to several smaller resorts that, because of their proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, actually receive more snow over a season than resorts in the Alps.
