Bourg Saint Maurice (Les arcs) advice

Gravity Lab for bike hire, mate got a Pivot Firebird for the week recently..

There's a bike park blue from Arc 2000 back to Bourg via Villaroger which looks good, can't remember the name, but seems to be mostly fire road.

Fort de la Platte looks worth a visit, and if you sneak a bike into the car there's a great singletrack back down. Swimming lake near Aime would be a good shout too

Not sure on restaurants, sorry!

1. There are a few bike hire shops in Bourg, Gravity Lab is the best, and I assume also the most expensive. The rest are Intersports with Rossignol type bikes.
2. Head down the valley on the cycle route by the river. There's a lake at Aime with a nice terraced restaurant next to it. The blues in Les Arcs are jumpy and flowy with big berms. Think Dyfi red equivalent. The greens are just fire road, and can be quite loose, not much fun.
3. Whitewater rafting is good fun.
4. The Cherry Garden (Oriental) is a bit different to the rest up there. Gluten free shouldn't be a problem, Savoyarde cuisine is based around potatoes, ham and cheese.

Trails wise, I think there's a couple of bikepark-ish greens - certainly some of Tranks is singletrack(ish), and there's a red that starts and finishes alongside it. The blues are bermy, jumpy and were a bit battered 2 weeks ago.

Gravity Lab is VERY boutiquey. I would expect VERY spendy too.
The Intersport next to the funi had some decent looking Commencals with Zebs on as hire bikes.

Watersports is a good call - lots of places to go and different stuff to try. There was some kayaking championship stuff going on when we were there.

Food wise - a friend runs a little cafe/takeaway near the station called Mont Gateaux. Bangin' cornish pasties and cakes, decent coffee. Also does salads, but I never get past the pasties. The charcuterie platter at Charley's next to the Funi is good too.

For proper posh eating Petit Hibou in Nancroix takes a lot of beating. As does 1580m in Station St Foy. Both are in stunning locations. Both brew their own (very nice) beer. PH is quite "fine dining", 1580m a little more gastropub.

The blue from 2000 back to Bourg is Route 66, I think. It’s a fairly long way, and a lot of it was actually blue pistes, so quite loose, but nothing technical, and then ends on a tarmac cycle path for a few miles.

It is possible to do a loop from 1600 to a bit below 1950 and pick up Route 66 from there, but most people were going from 1950 to 1600 on ebikes. A gravel bike going the “wrong” way got some very strange looks, but was good fun.

For easy and good views, I’d probably get them ebikes and do 1600 to the start of Route 66 as an out and back, but it depends on their definition of “easy”…

Route 66 is bobbins - avoid that imho. It's far too tame fir mtb but too gravelly uncomfortable for beginners wanting a pleasant ride.

158O is fantastic. Some nice walking round Ste Foy too

We stayed in Arc 1800 in Summer years back. Good swimming pool, great kids' club with excellent activities. Good road riding up cols. Hardly used the MTB tandem we had with us, at the time there were just lots of gravelly runs down ski pistes which didn't appeal. We went for a walk upwards but initially got lost in the golf course and were uninspired by gravelly paths around gravelly ski pistes.  Best walk was a waymarked walk on a leaflet from the tourist office which was a nearly flat walk though the woods starting in Arc 1800 and passing through 1600 and on.

My favourite activities in the area are the x-c skiing in Peisey and the way-marked ski touring paths through the woods. Wrong season for that. In three stays I've never eaten out so can't help you on that.

Thanks for the info all. Not sure the wife will enjoy slippy gravel tracks so might be best to stick to fireroads.

I currently ride a commencal and so intersport maybe a good option.

Easy routes:

Route 66 and Canal (Arc 1600 - Arc 1950) are uninspiring in the extreme. Both on fireroads in the woods with views which are good when you can see them, but often obscured. On the north side, so damp feeling unless it's scorching hot.

I have taken my parents (in their 60s!) on a fireroad descent from the top of the Transarc (highest lift accessed point for bikes) all the way down to Peisey and eventually back to Bourg. This is easy enough riding for anyone used to riding bikes but who isn't necessarily a mountain biker. Some road lower down if you want to go back to Bourg, but easy enough to come up the lobster pots and Vallandry lift, then back to the funi. To/from Transarc can be done either on fireroads or easy blue runs. The blue runs might be easier than the fire roads! Flat (ok, not totally flat!) fireroad option back / forward between funi and transarc on the route des espagnols. There is a great ice-cream stop down in Nancroix.

You can also make a nice loop for beginners taking the blue from Cachette to Transarc (Legend), up the Transarc, down the green (Tranks, pretty good green), then following Canal back to the funi. Legend is rideable for anyone who has tried mountain biking a few times. Sketchiest bit is the gravelley stuff below Arc 1950 to pick up Canal.

For restaurants in Bourg, Petit Auberge or Arsiban for posh food (Arsiban seems to be in some kind of semi-retirement where they open when the feel like it!). Petit Hibou as above is great too. The big bike descent I suggested above goes right past it. Also Beliou la Fumée below Arc 1950 (just off Canal). Spendy but has a pool you can linger at for the afternoon if you go for lunch.

We work with Gravity Lab for bike hire. €89 per day for a Specialized Status, €109 for a Pivot Firebird. That's pretty much the going rate these days and they know what they're doing so the bikes are always in good nick.

Other activities:

Rafting is great fun also parcours aventure (Go Ape) - La repaire des ecureils in Seez is the best one. Wave, you're looking at my house from there....

5 Lacs walk up from the Fort de la Platte is cool and easy to turn around on with kids. Not much doing at the fort, all closed up these days. Go up to Sainte Foy and walk to the Monal with beers / food at 1580 before or after. It's a nice, easy bike ride too. Rent ebikes from Colin at Evo2 in Sainte Foy to make it a family ride. Awesome singletrack around there if you can ditch the family....

Thanks SteveO. Thought you may have some tips. Have fond memories of a trip at your place and hope to return one day.

Thanks for the local knowledge @stevomcd - we are also there later this month.

Would you recommend the red trail Dre Val from La Plagne all the way down to the valley (northwards)? It's 1000m descent, but seeing a vid of it isn't too inspiring, looks a bit mid. Could have that completely wrong, mind, with how flattened things look on video.

<p>Dre Val is decent, but pretty tame. There’s a bit of fireroad, but it’s mostly natural singletrack which has been tweaked with a few jumps and berms. There’s an optional black section which is proper steep and tech. The bottom section is fun in a « remove brain, go fast » kind of way. We never really ride it as there’s much better trails nearby.</p>