Review of Bourg-St-Maurice

30th January 2010 by jonG 

Hi All,

Well it’s nice that BsM has its own resort feature, rather than being a footnote about just being the stop-off point for the Eurostar ... I’m chuffed.

Having been a property owner in BsM for some years now and saying what a great place it is to stay to many people, if you/they are interested in staying somewhere that offers something a little different to normal resorts with a more of a towny feel, it’s a lovely place to be.

The funicular up to Les Arcs 1600 takes just 7 minutes and at the top the ski lifts of Arc 1600 are only around 50 yards away, as are the free shuttle buses which serve Arcs 1800,1950 and 2000.Along with the train station which serves Eurostar, TGV and SNCF trains getting to the Alps has never been easier, there are also many airports within two hours or so drive including Geneva, Lyon ,Grenoble, Chambery.

BsM is a traditional working Savoyard town with a variety of shops selling locally produced products. The town has a cinema, swimming pool, equestrian centre (newly opened) and a wealth of sports shops etc catering for the outdoor activities that flourish in the area from skiing, mountain biking, parapenting, horse riding, kayaking (the world championships were held here a few years back). Also being close to the Italian and Swiss borders, it offers a great base for exploring the Alps via car or motorbike during the summer months when the Beaufortain pass is open along with the Col du Petite Saint Bernard reached via La Rosiere ,and the Col D’izeran from Val D’Isere.

Along with the traditional Savoyard cuisine from the area, BsM is also the base for the Beaufortain cheese factory with its facilities located opposite the train station. There are also three good supermarkets in the town - Lidl, Intermarche and SuperU, and all are substantially cheaper than shopping up in the resorts for your groceries and beer/wine etc. In fact most of the chalet companies that operate in the valley (which has several of the Alps’ major resorts in it) do their weekly/fortnightly and monthly shopping down in BsM.

Nightlife revolves around several bars and restaurants, the best being Bazoom and the Cafe Fiore, but the town offers a wealth of cuisine from Cantonese, Mexican, Italian and, of course, French. The best restaurants (which in my opinion are some of the best in the Alps are the Hostellerie du Petite Saint Bernard, Le Refuge, La Savoyarde, Le Tarteflette, Ski Roc and Bazoom. Out of town there is the excellent La Ferme in the little village of Le Pre (reached via Sainte-Foy & Villaroger) and L’Ancolie near Vallandry.

BsM is for those looking for a more relaxed skiing holiday with one of the world’s best resorts which doesn’t get as crowded as the other resorts up the valley (many do not even give BsM/Les Arcs a thought as they go up the road to Tignes and Val d’Isere - they are missing something special, I think). Those that do stop either in the town or up in the resorts of Les Arcs ( Arcs 1600, 1800, 1950, 2000 & Peisey-Vallandry, and on the other side of Arc 2000 Villaroger and Le Pre) often fall in love with the place and rarely go anywhere else after that ... in fact, many have gone for a week and never gone home ... what better recommendation do you need.

As the adverts say come and spend some time in Paradiski ... and experience all it has to offer:)

J Garratt

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