Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get access to the chalets?

We will contact you a week before your arrival to finalise access arrangements.  Before then, we would like you to tell us how you would like your bedrooms prepared, double beds or single beds, and as soon as you know your estimated arrival time, please tell us so we can plan ahead.

Unfortunately, we will not always be able to meet you when you arrive. We will send you the Key Box code a couple of days before you arrive. There is a spare key hung behind the entrance door.  When your holiday is finished, all we ask is that you put the keys back on the hook and in the box, wash your dishes in the dishwasher and double check you have not left anything behind.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Where exactly are your chalets?

Maison Cluaran and Le Studio are both part of on large 16th century town house.  Maison Claran is a 3 story chalet above Le Studio, a single story apartment.

Maison Cluaran = 44°59’23.1″N 6°06’56.3″E

what3words = ///emerge.blurbs.disagreeing

Walk along ‘rue du Câble’ from the main carpark at ‘le Sellier’, past the post office and Mairie.  After you pass ‘le Dolilou’ restaurant, turn right to ‘Rue de Montangne’.  After 20m turn right and find Maison Cluaran in a little square, 1 ruelle de la Calèche is on your right.

Le Studio = 44°59’22.9″N 6°06’56.7″E

what3words = ///seafront.honeymoon.advised

Walk along ‘rue du Câble’ from the main carpark at ‘le Sellier’, past the post office and la Mairie.  Before you pass ‘le Dolilou’ restaurant, turn right to ‘ruelle de la Calèche’.  No 8 ruelle de la Calèche is 20m up the hill.

Where can I get groceries?

For your main purchases, the Casino Boug d’Oisans is 20 minutes away by car. We normally buy our main groceries from Lidl or Intermarche in Vizillle on route to Venosc (50 minutes form Venosc). Bread, cheese, milk and small things can be bought at “Les Posettes” which is 1 minute walk away. (Order your bread and croissants the day before)

Sherpa (les Deux Alpes) is closest (5 minutes) from the top of Venosc Gondola for daily provisions.

What are the restaurants and bars like in Venosc?

All the restaurants and bars in Venosc are lovely, serving excellent food and beverages, housed within ancient village buildings. They are all less than 5 minutes’ walk from Maison Cluaran. I advise you to book in advance just in case.  Les Deux Alpes has a huge amount of choice and is very busy all the time.  We recommend you spend time there to take in the atmosphere, and shopping, but don’t forget the Télécabine de Venosc closes at 19h00 Friday to Wednesday, and 22h00 on Thursday during high season.  In contrast to Les Deux Alpes bustling, modern setting, the bars and restaurants in Venosc are situated in a medieval setting alongside its many artisan shops.  They are quieter than those in Les Dux Alpes, but we think they are much more atmospheric and richer in character.  They are also very busy, so it is best to book meals in advance.

Le Dolilou is a family run restaurant and a bar. It is charming and has an excellent traditional French menu with friendly accommodating staff.  It has a large alfresco area in their courtyard in summer time.  The restaurant is is in a cellar setting with an adjoining dining area within their upper mezzanine floor.

Le Cours de la Vie is an excellent restaurant, bistro and wine bar with a varied and sophisticated offer. The dining area is in their cellar vaults with an over spill into the upper wine bar area.  It has a lovely menu which is as much about presentation as it is about food. It has an excellent wine menu. All their products are organic, ethically produced and home made.  They have a lovely alfresco area in the little square below the church for summer time.

Douces Gourmandises is an excellent restaurant with an outdoor bar, BBQ and creperie.  Their view of the mountains and valley are beautiful.  They are passionate about French gastronomy and have very high quality menu.  The external area is used in winter and summer for live music with lovely stoves for the crepes and alfresco food.  You will likely need to ware warm clothes in the winter and spring months.

La Cooperative is a fabulous rustic pizza and kebab restaurant, bar and takeaway, near the small church next to the main carpark (Le Sellier) all baked in a wood fired pizza oven.  It is also an excellent fromagerie with heir cheeses made form their own farm produce.  It has a small informal seating area inside and a large outdoor areas for al fresco eating. All their products are local and everything is prepared in house. It has no website but can be found on Facebook.  We love this place as you can sit and have a beer before and during the preparation of your pizza order.   We recommend you order you pizza dough early as they have a limited supply and can be very busy.

Les Posettes is a small épicerie (grocery store / delicatessen) and a small café/bar, less than 1 minute’s walk up the hill form our house.  It is a lovely place to chill over a glass of wine or draught beer, and browse the local artisan delicatessen products.  There is a small external seating area which is popular in the summer as it is right in the middle of the ancient narrow cobbled medieval streets.

Where are the Ski Lifts in Venosc?

We are 10 minutes’ walk to the Venosc Télécabine.  It is a 10-minute ride from there to Les Deux Alpes.  Le Diable lift (Main Access) is 10 minutes’ walk form the top of the Venosc Télécabine.  Check out the Les Dux Alpes Piste Map form a more detailed orientation

What are the travel options to Venosc? 

Airports

The main Airports to fly to are Grenoble, Chambery, Lyon, and Geneva. Grenoble and Chambery airports are tourist orientated airports with limited flight days and tourist flights often stop two weeks before the end of the season.  Lyon is generally more accessible as a regional airport.  Geneva is a transport hub and has flights every day all year.

Taxi Transfers

Taxi transfers are very expensive.  There are several taxi companies in Les Dux Alpes and Bourg d’Oisans who provide his service.  All are readily contactable if you search on google.

Car Hire

We believe car hire is the best, most convenient and stress-free option to access Venosc,  Les Deux Alpes and Alpe d’Huez, when you consider everything involved. If you are flying to Geneva, then Car Hire is in the airport with multiple choices of rental companies.  Lyon and Chambery are similar but with less choice.  Grenoble only has one rental company (Avis) when we last checked in 2023.  Note: the tourist Airports Car Hire offices are closed between seasons. There is a shuttle bus (BlahBlahBus) from Grenoble Airport to the Railway Station where you have much more choice of car hire companies.

Train

Grenoble Railway and Bus station (1 Place de la Gare, 38000 Grenoble) is the nearest transport hub to Venosc , Les Deux Alpes and Alpe D’Huez.  It has TGV connections to the whole of Europe and the UK via Paris (Gare de Lyon) and has all the popular car hire companies on site. There is no railway into the Alps (Isère / Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes) beyond Grenoble.  You will need to transfer from your Paris arrival station such as Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon when arriving form the UK with Euro Star.

Geneva and Lyon all have SNCF services to Grenoble with a wide range of times and durations.  Direct journeys take 2 hrs; 1 stop journeys takes 3-5 hrs via Lyon.

Bus

The main connection point is Grenoble Train and Bus Station (1 Place de la Gare, 38000 Grenoble).  You can take the bus all the way to Venosc.

From Grenoble, Lyon and Geneva airports you have a few options depending on your flight arrival. Bens Bus and Transisère are the two options.

Bens Bus is linked to UK flights and train arrivals. If your timing is good, you can pick up Bens Bus at Grenoble and Lyon airports and go to Bourg d’Oisans and take a taxi from there to Venosc (15 minutes ride).  If you take the Bens Bus to Les Deux Alpes, you can access Venosc via the Venosc Télécabine.  From there it is 10 minutes uphill wall to our house

Unfortunately Bens Bus does not go from Geneva to Les Deux Alpes and Bourg d’Oisans. So you need to look at Flixbus or Ouibus to Grenoble and then change there.

Local Transport

Venosc is 14km from Bourg-d’Oisans via bus or Taxi (booked in advance). A taxi takes you to within 1 minute walk to our house. The bus takes you to the Venosc Télécabine which is a 10-minute walk from our house. Some of our guests have taken the bus from Grenoble to Les Deux Alpes, rented and stored their skis there, and then taken the Venosc Télécabine down to Venosc.

All the transport companies have websites with timetables and fares etc. Always book in advance and research timetable coordination. Local taxis in Bourg-d’Oisans are probably your best bet. Find their details on google and call them to can discuss times and fares.

Télécabine de Venosc

The Télécabine de Venosc opens at 07h30 closes at 19h00. During high season it closes at 22h30 on Thursdays.

Summer and winter Sports Equipment Hire

(Skis Boards, Boots, Snowshoes, Climbing Kit etc.)

There is a multitude of choice in Les Dux Alpes.  On key point to remember is to make sure your winter ski / board hire includes locker storage.  That way you can enjoy après ski and the very picturesque return to the house without cumbersome baggage.

We use Venosc Sports located on route between the Venosc Télécabine and the main Diable ski lift. They provide heated locker storage (included with the rental). We can give you a promo code so you can get discount in addition to your online discount. If that does not work, you can just tell them where you are staying with ‘Maison Cluaran’, and they will sort it for you.  You can’t reserve your skis until the autumn when they open for the winter season bookings.  Alternatively, Schusse Sports is a large store for buying and renting mountain gear. They will store your rented equipment, but you must tell them you are staying in Venosc.  They do not have lockers.  They also  provide a discount if you are staying with us which we can arrange for you.

If you are using the European Ski School, if you book through their website they can provide you a discount at the Aalborg Hotel which includes ski lockers and rental storage, which is worth considering.

Where can I buy my lift passes ?

You can buy and ‘recharge’ ski passes on-line or at the main Kiosks (Caisse de petite Aiguille.  Caisse de Mant de Lans, Caisse du Village 1800, Caisse. Caisse du Diable and Caisse du Venosc Village).  There is a kiosk at the start of the Venosc Télécabine next to the museum and tourist office. This can be very busy in the mornings as it is a very convenient popular local access to Les Deux Alpes.  You can recharge your passes in many of the ski shops in Les Deux Alpes.

Family and ‘Crew’ lift pass options are available along with more flexible ‘Freedom’ passes if you are not skiing every day. If you are using Ski School, they can get their student passes at a discount.

If you can, buy your passes early (before the end of October) to take advantage of good discounts.

It is very important to keep your ski passes online receipt, or ‘Justification’ ticket if you buy at the kiosks, just in case you lose them.

The ‘Ski Grand Domaine’ gives access everywhere. There are cheaper but more restrictive options to suit beginners, kids and those who don’t want to stray too far. Best check out the web site and research your options.  Grand domain gives you access to Alpe d’Huez and La Grave for a day.

We recommend you order your ski passes on-line.  That way you can skip the queues, which can be very large and very, very slow to move through.  You upload a QR code to scan or type in your order number and email at the automatic dispensers (multi lingual) at the main kiosks.  There is an automatic machine at the start of the Télécabine de Venosc.  If you are collecting your ski pass form the Ski Schools, then go to the entrance gate of Télécabine de Venosc and explain to the attendant that you need to go to Les Deux Alpes to collect your pass.  They should let you on to do this one time.

What are the ski / snowboard schools in Les Dux Alpes?

Whilst there is a large choice for ski / boarding lessons in Les Deux Alpes, we would recommend European Ski School.  Our kids learned ski and boarding there, and we took adult lessons there too to keep in trim. Group lessons are more economic. Private lessons are better focused and can be shared by two people. The kids group lessons give you a good chance to get some free adult ski time during the 3 hour lesson.  There is of course the French national school Esf which we have used a few times, however you really need to have a good grasp of French to make the most of this.

If you are looking for ski guides, most of the ski instructors and schools provide this, but we recommend you shop around.  Extreme skiing and boarding become much more specialist and should never be attempted without a guide.  Most ski shops can advise you on options for this, or if you contact us directly we can point you in the right direction. Some of the best locations are, as you would expect, not accessible via the ski lifts.

Map of L2A, Venosc and Mont-de-Lans