Please sign in to post.
Holiday Sale! Save 20% Storewide!

For Les 3 Vallees-rent car in Lyon or Moutiers

Posted by (Southeast of Seattle) on

Planning far in advance for late March/early April 2024! I need to fill gray winter PNW days.

The plan is to meet a cousin who resides in France for spring skiing in Les 3 Vallees. We will fly into Lyon, then after a 4-5 night stay there, travel to a family residence in Villette for 12 nights. We will definitely need a car while there. Both Lyon and Moutiers have availability (right now anyway) for rentals. Chambery does not have any that offer the ‘no deductible’ which is our preference. We will NOT have skis as part of our luggage.

We can easily take the train to Moutiers, rent the car there and return the car there. Or rent and return to Lyon. The issue is that we will be taking the train to Torino (and onward to more of Italy) once the skiing portion is finished and the car is dropped. I believe there are connections out of Moutiers through Chambery to Torino. Definitely Lyon to Torino.

My husband does not mind driving and drives in winter mountain conditions frequently. Therefore, in the minds of anyone who has done this or similar, is it just as easy to do Lyon-Lyon or Moutiers-Moutiers or Moutiers-Lyon or? Granted there will be cost differences and we will need to watch hours of operation, especially in Moutiers. Any thoughts, suggestions- all welcome.

Posted by
21150 posts

Just got back from 3 Vallees. See my post about Lost Computer-Found in Trip Reports section.
My friend rented a car or 2 days in Moutiers and she as happy with it.

Having some difficulty understanding your timeline. You are flying into Lyon, then are you going to 3 Vallees straight away? Villette is a suburb of Paris, as far as I can tell. Then you are going to Torino by train. But later it sounds like you are going from 3 Vallees to Torino. Which is it?

Posted by
731 posts

Thanks Sam.
Clarifying I hope.

Arr Lyon from Seattle
4 -5 nights in Lyon
Travel to Les 3 Vallees-either train or rent the car in Lyon
If by train, rent car in Moutiers
12 nights in Villette which is very tiny and just to the west of Aime-La Plagne. It was hard to find and yes, there are several Villette in France. This one is in the La Plagne Tarentaise Valley.

After Les 3 Vallees, we will be going to Torino by train from whatever is most convenient for rental car return.

Therefore, does it seem best to rent in Lyon, drive to Les 3 Vallees, return the car to Lyon and take the train from there OR would renting the car in Moutiers with a return to Moutiers work just as well? I do suppose personal preference for ease of getting to Torino from Moutiers will play a part.

Shoot, now I’m even wondering why I asked this question. Oh well, will still like to see some of your personal opinions!

Posted by
21150 posts

OK, I see Villette, Savoie. Certainly, taking the train to Moutiers and renting and returning there will short cut returning all the way to Lyon, since you can get a train to Torino from Moutiers with a train change in Chambery.

Looks like you are closer to La Plagne ski area than 3 Vallees. It is likely to take at least 2 hours to drive from Villette to any of the 3 Vallees resorts. There are a lot of switchbacks to get from the valley floor to the ski areas. There is a gondola from Brides-les- Bains up to Meribel. Late March and early April will not be prime time, so traffic should be fine. Saturdays, they put traffic lights on the N-90 just northwest of Moutiers which backs traffic up for 20 km. Watched several trains on the way to Moutiers pass by as we sat in traffic. Probably only on Saturdays in high ski season.

Posted by
731 posts

Thank you again Sam.

The extra driving info helps. The cousin has his place in La Plagne Tarantaise and is very familiar with what the entire area offers and will most likely just haul my husband around to show him everything!

I won’t be skiing but understand there are opportunities for foot traffic on some of the gondolas, so will certainly be looking for those in the areas they will ski. Cuz there isn’t anything to do in Villette!

Quite honestly, I think they will drive over to Val d’Isere too. Eleven ski days won’t be enough for all there is to cover there!

Posted by
731 posts

If the snow isn’t good, there will be a bit of hiking around to take its’ place-maybe.

This topic has been automatically closed due to a period of inactivity.