Villard de Lans
Why Villard de Lans Ski Resort in Isere?
- Short transfer time being only 1 hour from Grenoble Airport
- Traditional French mountain village with twice weekly market
- More than just skiing; excellent luge park on the edge of the village, ice rink, trampoline park, pool
- 'Famille Plus' resort - good children’s facilities and great for families
- A decent size Nordic Park - classic, skating and snowshoeing - one of the largest in Europe
Villard de Lans Resort Information
Villard de Lans and Corrençon existed long before the development of tourist resorts. Even today, their tranquil village life goes on, following the seasons, as the two villages have managed to preserve their quality of life: busy local life, local products, new builds respecting tradition and the identity of the region.
Villard de Lans is a lively village - the largest market centre and ski resort of the Vercors massif. It was the 3rd ski resort created in 1906 after Chamonix. At the foot of the Grande Moucherolle, the village has retained its architectural heritage and friendly atmosphere, both of which are a legacy from the early 20th century. Before winter sports took off in 1925, it was fashionable to come here for prescribed 'cures' of “healthy air and milk”. Today, the town has a population of over 4000, with pedestrian streets, a market, shops, a wave pool, an indoor ice rink, an exceptional sledging space, a bowling alley, a casino, a museum and other amenities that are busy round the year.
They are very proud of their winter sports champions, with freeride snowboarders and biathlon champions having trained here. Altitude and terrain have naturally made the two villages the home of some of the best French winter sports athletes.
5km away from Villard de Lans you have the smaller village of Correncon en Vercors, which stands against the backdrop of the largest Natural Reserve in France. Whilst being smaller, Corrençon still has its restaurants, sports shops, bakery and mini-market, plus it's the entrance to the nordic area. The two villages are lift-linked to form the alpine skiing area of Espace Villard-Correncon.
Villard de Lans is a Famille Plus resort. On 10 April 2017 and on 4 October 2017, the Tourist Offices of Villard de Lans and Corrençon en Vercors were awarded the national Qualité TourismeTM mark recognising its quality approach, for a period of three years.
The Vercors Park boasts many prestigious AOPs (products with a protected origin) such as the famous Grenoble walnuts (since 1938), Picodon cheese (goats cheese), the Clairette de Die, and the Châtillons en Diois wines plus Fario trout. The area also boasts a blue cheese with an AOP, Bleu du Vercors-Sassenage has been produced here for over 600 years! "La Villarde" a mixed breed of cattle from Villard-de-Lans is raised as much for its quality meat as for its milk, which is used to produce Bleu du Vercors-Sassenage.
Ski resort growth
Villard de Lans was the site of the 1st two-seater detachable chairlift and the 1st six-seater gondola lift in Europe, it also had the first snowploughs in France. The merging of the Villard de Lans and Corrençon domains, modelling of the slopes, adding "latest generation" mechanical lifts and the creation of two Altitude lakes, also indicate the desire of these villages to continue innovating and growing through major investments.
Read our focus on Villard de Lans and Corrençon to find out more about these two neighbouring villages and see what's on offer for both skiers and non-skiers at each.
