 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi, looking for some advice on parking (have looked but not really found anything up to date that can help me).
We're staying in Val T from 30 March to 6 April in the Olympic apartment block. I've seen comments in previous chat threads about dropping off and taking the car to park for free in Les Menuires. But, how practical is this really?
We'll arrive Saturday afternoon - so I guess we can drop everything off and I can leave the boys to unload/unpack while I drive the car down and get a free shuttle back up? Not sure how much hassle this will be if it's blowing a gale however!
Then, I'm guessing that I'd need to collect the car the night before we leave (Friday) and definitely stick it in a car park overnight? This would only be if we plan on skiing a bit on the Saturday (we'd need to pack our stuff into the car)....and skiing would be weather dependent. If not skiing (due to bad weather) then I'm not sure how much hassle it is getting the car from LM/packing the car/cleaning up first thing Saturday morning.
Basically I don't know if paying the 92 Euros for the week for parking is worth it. I don't begrudge paying but I did this in Tignes two years ago at Easter and saw that the French mostly parked on the streets for free! I guess, at the end of the day, what you're really paying for is convenience.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| kettonskimum wrote: |
Then, I'm guessing that I'd need to collect the car the night before we leave (Friday) and definitely stick it in a car park overnight? This would only be if we plan on skiing a bit on the Saturday (we'd need to pack our stuff into the car)....and skiing would be weather dependent. If not skiing (due to bad weather) then I'm not sure how much hassle it is getting the car from LM/packing the car/cleaning up first thing Saturday morning.
Basically I don't know if paying the 92 Euros for the week for parking is worth it. I don't begrudge paying but I did this in Tignes two years ago at Easter and saw that the French mostly parked on the streets for free! I guess, at the end of the day, what you're really paying for is convenience. |
You can park right outside the Olympic without blocking the road. Used to be limited to 2 hours I think but it's now a pay and display with a maximum 12 hours. You could park Friday night and put a ticket on in the morning. Or just chance it, the Police Municipale will probably only check once during the day and a French parking ticket is about €12 if you get one. But since brexit it's almost certainly not enforceable on a UK registered car...
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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| Quote: |
But since brexit it's almost certainly not enforceable on a UK registered car...
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In Les Arcs I've seen the police standing by an illegally parked British car to collect the money and of course seen them towed away.
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Depends what you call illegally parked. Nobody's going to tow a car that's a couple of hours overdue in a pay and display zone.
The last time I overstayed in Val Thorens, they put a note on the windscreen telling me to move it by the next day or else they would give me a ticket. That was outside the Olympic.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@kettonskimum, personally I'd just pay the parking. Everyone is different, but I'm on holiday and already paid a huge amount for a family ski holiday so the additional parking cost is minimal in comparison, and it makes life a lot easier.
That said, you may find doing it much less of an inconvenience than me, and actually you've then saved 92 euros. I guess the trick is to imagine the scenario in which you wished you'd just paid the parking, and how frustrating you'd find it, and then consider how likely that is to happen.
On our last trip to VT, we arrived on 2nd April and it was dumping down with snow. In that scenario I was quite happy to get in the warm with a glass of wine as soon as I could.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@kettonskimum, like you, I looked into parking in les menuires whilst staying in VT last season, in the end I couldn't be bothered to mess about, and just paid for parking in the car park for around 80 euros for the week, I think it was an early bird deal?
we could park outside our apartment all day from the Saturday morning when we arrived in resort, whilst we went skiing, then unloaded in the afternoon when able to gain access to the apartment.
you can exit and enter the car park during the week if you need to, I had a planned journey to Geneva to pick up one of my daughters from the airport on the Sunday eve, which may have swayed my decision not to dump the car in LM in the first place
I must be honest, I do not remember any cars parked, French or otherwise, on the street after the Saturday evening.
people had started to park outside again from late Friday eve, i woke up around 6am by chance on the sat morning, wandered down to the car park and found a space outside ready to load up.
I will be doing the same this season in VT, same dates as you.
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I kind of get why they do it at the these high altitude resorts, given they have to keep the roads free of snow and traffic free flowing but at the same time I would rather have 70/80/100 Euros in my pocket than theirs for a small amount of inconvenience.
As it happens we prefer lower stations like Les Coches, Oz-en-Oisan, La Tania, anyway. And in recent years we've done late season trips staying Les Menuires. What I can say about the latter is that there is plenty of street parking and would only be a short walk to get the shuttle up to Val T.
The only time I did pay for parking is Tignes (early season crap snow year. I believe you can park in Les Brev but seemed a lot more of a schlep than Val T/Les Men to me.
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@kettonskimum, There isn't a free shuttle back up on a Saturday, last Easter it was €6 to catch an Altibus coming up from the valley. There is a free shuttle down on a Friday to collect the car.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@Je suis un Skieur, If that's the slalom car park, it would be cheaper just to park there for the duration (84 Euros vs 92 Euros) - seems to be payable 8am to 8pm (but then just the hassle of whacking a payment on it each day for a saving of a few quid!). But, the fact that it's there does open up the option of saving some money that can be used on wine to bring home!!
@Handy Turnip, My worst scenario would be to arrive with it dumping down and not have reserved an indoor parking place. But then, I could park in Slalom and move the car to LM when the weather improved.....then move it back to Slalom on the Friday night as suggested by @Je suis un Skieur.
I think I might play it by ear instead of booking in advance. The fact that there is a car park next door (that costs the same as P0 - which would be our indoor car park), and that it's Easter instead of Feb half term leads me to think flexibility is on my side. Worst case, we get there and I need to pay for parking P0 (assuming it's not full of course!).
Thanks to everyone for their help and points of view!
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| rjs wrote: |
| @kettonskimum, There isn't a free shuttle back up on a Saturday, last Easter it was €6 to catch an Altibus coming up from the valley. There is a free shuttle down on a Friday to collect the car. |
Is this correct?
This if for last year:
https://static.lesmenuires.com/files/horaires-navettes.pdf
Perhaps I am missing somert 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Layne wrote: |
| Perhaps I am missing somert |
The timetable you linked to states "except Saturday" for the Val Thorens - Les Menuires - Saint Martin route.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Yes, I just double checked before seeing these comments and the free shuttle linking LM to VT doesn't run Saturdays so something to consider!
Certainly think I will play it by ear after Tignes Easter 2022. We stayed in Val C and I did the obedient 'purchase a parking space in advance' to find lots of French and Brit cars parked outside the accommodation....and down the street.
In fact, a parking space came free outside our block on the Thursday and we moved our car and parked there for the last 2 days. Very convenient but a waste of money for what we'd spent on indoor parking.
I'm picturing VT maybe being somewhat as lenient???
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| rjs wrote: |
| Layne wrote: |
| Perhaps I am missing somert |
The timetable you linked to states "except Saturday" for the Val Thorens - Les Menuires - Saint Martin route. |
Cheers. I just assumed...
Good job I've never tried to/had to use it!
Clearly they know people's game but must be a bit of a pain for locals I would have thought.
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You know it makes sense.
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@kettonskimum, yes, it's the slalom car park that's right in front of l'Olympic. If you've got a spare pair of shoes that you can leave behind in the car (or ski with a rucksack) there's nothing to stop you parking up in LM and skiing out of there on the Sunday morning and then skiing back to the car at the end of the Friday to drive back to VT. No need for shuttles.
In some years Courchevel has shut before LM/VT and I commute there every day. Admittedly you're not at the very end of the season but if you're early you can park on either side of the main road anything from a 50-200m walk from the LM croisette. Get on Menuires and Mont de la Chambre lifts and meet your family at the big signpost between Lac de la Chambre and Mont de la Chambre blue runs. Your family just get on Pionniers (200m straight down from l'Olympic) and either of the 3 Vallees lifts to be at the same point.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| kettonskimum wrote: |
| Certainly think I will play it by ear after Tignes Easter 2022. We stayed in Val C and I did the obedient 'purchase a parking space in advance' to find lots of French and Brit cars parked outside the accommodation....and down the street. |
Interesting. And they were there all week?
| kettonskimum wrote: |
| In fact, a parking space came free outside our block on the Thursday and we moved our car and parked there for the last 2 days. Very convenient but a waste of money for what we'd spent on indoor parking. |
Mmmm does sound as it it's not policed.
| kettonskimum wrote: |
| I'm picturing VT maybe being somewhat as lenient??? |
https://valthorensguide.com/parking.html says "If you leave your car parked in the street, it will eventually get towed away to the pound, and the fee for recovering it is very expensive. On Saturdays and Sundays, the Municipal Police put warning notices on cars, but they do not usually tow them away unless they are obstructing traffic. From Monday morning, any car parked on the street can be towed away."
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Layne wrote: |
| Clearly they know people's game but must be a bit of a pain for locals I would have thought. |
The main thing to remember (unless anything's changed) is that it is a pedestrian only bus between resorts. No skis allowed, so if you miss the last lift back to VT and are stuck in LM, it's a taxi. The other way round doesn't matter because you can take the boulevard from VT at any time and the yoghurt pots up to resort.
@kettonskimum that reminds me that there are also big outdoor car parks lower down near the Boulevard Cumin and the Doron lifts. If you can't get on the main road, they'd be a good alternative.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Layne wrote: |
| On Saturdays and Sundays, the Municipal Police put warning notices on cars, but they do not usually tow them away unless they are obstructing traffic. |
That matches my experience in VT. Jolly reasonable I thought, especially as I'd already been there for three days. 
TBF, it did help that it had absolutely dumped down with snow so there was no way the Police Municipal could see if there was a ticket on the dashboard or not.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Interesting. And they were there all week?
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Yes! Outside of our accommodation was a black Brit Landrover which I clocked and kept my eye on. Went nowhere for a week. And, oddly, a sign next to the parking (which I'm assuming said no parking!) was covered with a black bag. There were also cars across the road, and a line of parked cars on the walk up to the covered car park.
Can't imagine all French day trippers. But, admittedly, I didn't look everyday.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| Quote: |
The main thing to remember (unless anything's changed) is that it is a pedestrian only bus between resorts. No skis allowed,
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That's interesting! So if you end up skiing down to LM and are a bit pooped you can only take a lift back up?
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Correct. There are two bus services in LM, the ski bus that goes around resort and the intra resort bus for pedestrians.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| kettonskimum wrote: |
| Quote: |
The main thing to remember (unless anything's changed) is that it is a pedestrian only bus between resorts. No skis allowed,
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That's interesting! So if you end up skiing down to LM and are a bit pooped you can only take a lift back up? |
No. Taxis are also available, at a cost of about €12 per person back to VT; or the scheduled Altibus, that runs from Moutiers.
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