If you’ve been dreaming of taking a sleeper train to the Alps, then good news: the Travelski Night Express which launched last season is back – with now not one, but two routes to the French Alps. it’s double the night track options!
In its inaugural season, winter 2025–26, the Travelski Night Express ran between Paris and Bourg-Saint-Maurice accessing many of the top resorts in the French Alps with an easy Eurostar connection from London St Pancras. For winter 2026–27, the Travelski Night Express will also run another train from Amsterdam and Brussels to Bourg-Saint-Maurice. Trains depart on Friday nights and returning overnight each Saturday, giving you two extra days on the slopes. The first departure is Friday 18th December 2026, running every week until Friday 26th March 2027. Tickets have just gone on sale.
Skiers travelling from the UK can connect to either route by taking a Eurostar to Paris or Brussels. You can book the Travelski train as a ticket-only option or as part of a Travelski package with transfer, accommodation and ski pass included. The Eurostar must be booked separately.
The Travelski Night Express is run by French tour operator Travelski, itself owned in turn by the huge French ski resort operator Compagnie des Alps. If you haven’t heard of the Travelski Night Express, that may be because Travelski doesn’t proactively promote its sleeper trains to UK-based. Indeed, the website for the sleeper train is only in French.
The Night Express at Bourg Sainte Maurice CREDIT Daniel Elkan
Travelling from London, a 17:30 Eurostar on a Friday will reach Paris Gare du Nord in time to switch stations and catch the Travelski Night Express, which departs from Paris Gare de Lyon just before 11pm. Skiers arrive at Moutiers at 07:36, Aime-la-Plagne at 07:55 and Bourg-Saint-Maurice at 08:09.
If travelling via Brussels, you’ll need to take the 15:04 Eurostar to Brussels-Midi. That gives time for moules mariniere or Belgian beer before taking the Travelski Night Express from the same station at 21:00 to arrive Moutiers at 07:55, Aime-la-Plagne at 08:15 and Bourg-Saint-Maurice at 08:30.
These journeys give access to a vast range of ski resorts, all within a 20 – 50-minute transfer. These include Courchevel, Doucy, La Rosière, La Plagne, La Tania, Les Arcs, Les Menuires, Méribel, Peisey – Vallandry, Sainte Foy, St Martin de Belleville, Tignes, Val d’Isère, Val Thorens et Valmorel.
The friendly ambience on the night train. Image credit Daniel Elkan
When I reviewed the Travelski Night Express in January, I was impressed by the friendly ambience on board. The café-bar-restaurant was a great place to hang out and socialise, adding a sense of adventure and camaraderie to the journey. Having a flat couchette bed to sleep in means that you can get the shut eye you need to advantage of an extra day on the slopes when you arrive. And of course, on the final Saturday of your holiday, you can again enjoy an extra day on quiet slopes – while many skiers are grinding their way towards airports – before taking the Travelski Night Express homeward bound overnight.
With SNCF’s own sleeper train only projected to make a comeback around 2030, the Travelski Night Express is a much welcome addition to the range of rail options for skiers. And the fact that there are two routes instead of one…well, so much the better!
FIVE RESORTS ACCESSED BY TRAVELSKI NIGHT EXPRESS
Sainte Foy
Snuggled at the heart of the Tarentaise is Sainte Foy: a small, local resort, often overlooked for the much bigger Val d’Isère and Tignes down the road. However, don’t let size fool you; what Sainte Foy lacks in quantity, it makes up for in quality. Owing to its quiet slopes, the resort has some of the best powder in the region, and for that reason has become steadily more popular with ski-lovers seeking seclusion. While the lifts can be a little slower and the nightlife gentler, you can enjoy blissfully quiet slopes and untouched off piste. The relaxed pace is one of the things that has skiers singing the resort’s praises.
Sainte Foy CREDIT St Foy Tourist Office
As one might expect from a smaller resort with locals at heart, Sainte Foy has gorgeous on-slope dining, mostly in stone-and-timber chalet-style buildings. For après-ski, Lama Llama and Cairn are your best bet, both with sun terraces; Le 1580m, an on-piste microbrewery, is also worth a pitstop – and a pint. Non-ski activities include mountain karting in the snow, stargazing walks organised by Snocool, and children’s lessons in husky-dog sledging at Tanaka Camp.
Alight at: Bourg-Saint-Maurice
Transfer time: 25 minutes
Les Arcs
Thanks to the direct funicular from Bourg-Saint-Maurice station, Les Arcs is one of the easiest resorts in France to reach by train. As part of the immense Paradiski Domain (alongside neighbouring La Plagne, reachable by the Vanoise Express), it’s got some of the largest terrain in the Alps and plenty of slope-side accommodation. The villages make a great starting point for a high-altitude network of superb pistes.
Les Arcs – Aiguille Rouge CREDIT Juliette Rebour
Winter 2026–27 will see the opening of an observation terrace at the top of the Transarc lift. And recent developments include a new high-performance gondola running from Villaroger to the top of Plan des Violettes as well as La Table de la Coop, a traditional restaurant in Bourg-Saint-Maurice focusing on local produce. Les Arcs has a jam-packed winter schedule, too, including Christmas markets,house music festivals, and freeride competitions.
Alight at: Bourg-Saint-Maurice
Transfer time: Seven minutes to Arc 1600 (by funicular), with onward free buses (15-25 minute ride) to other villages from there.
Les Menuires
Arguably the most affordable resort in the huge Three Valleys domain is Les Menuires. Built with French families in mind, it has a range of accommodation styles and leisure complexes. Les Menuires makes a good starting point for explore the vast 600km of ski terrain. Beginners will benefit from the learner slopes located close to the centre. Intermediates and above will enjoy the La Masse area, with its high-altitude, scenic runs, such Dame Blanche. The secluded position at the far end of the domain leaves these pistes relatively untouched.
Les Menuires CREDIT David ANDRE
Favourite dining spots include La Marmite, a family-friendly restaurant serving the best in local fare and La Terrasse de l’Ours for gourmet dining with panoramic mountain views. In winter 2026–27, the resort will host its 11th edition of Yogiski, a week of high-altitude fitness and meditation as well as the 5th annual Complètement à la Masse: a 5km slalom-obstacle fancy dress race, designed for all ages and levels.
Alight at: Moutiers
Transfer time: 45 minutes
Méribel
Thanks to après-ski institutions like Le Rond Point and Sully’s, Méribel has earned a reputation as one of the Tarentaise’s best places for post-slope party times. However, before the nightlife begins, it’s also an excellent base for exploring the immense Three Valleys domain, comprising 600km of slopes.
Meribel CREDIT Sylvain Aymoz
The resort has recently improve its connectivity further: the iconic Côte Brune chairlift to Val Thorens has been replaced by a modern gondola, capable of carrying 10 skiers together in comfort. While Méribel’s local piste is best-suited for advanced intermediates and experts, easier slopes within the Three Valleys are only a lift ride away, helped by Méribel’s École de Ski Français instructors.
Accommodation ranges from two-star hotels to luxury chalets. Similarly, you’ll find a wide range of dining for all tastes and budgets (Le Tipi is a favourite), as well as seasonal food festivals and Christmas markets.
Alight at: Moutiers
Transfer time: 25 – 40 minutes
Tignes
One of the best-known resorts in the Alps, Tignes villages were designed with the snow-obsessed in mind. There’s plenty of world-class high-altitude slopes and glacier skiing – hitting a lofty 3,456m at the top of the Grande Motte cable car – and ample freeride terrain, too. The resort has some well-loved après-ski venues, such Cocorino, where dancing is ski boots on tables is very much part of the fabric.
Tignes CREDIT Daniel Elkan
There’s plenty to do for non-skiers here. The Adventure Park in Val Claret now boasts a winter version. It has two different courses and three high-flying zip lines for thrill seekers, from 60 to 150 metres. The resort hosts zorbing, husky-sledding, climbing and has a range of spa and swimming facilities.
Each spring the resort hosts Mountain Shaker, a week of festivities based around three major events: the FISE Xperience Series, ski Big Air World Cup and the ski Slopestyle World Cup.
Alight at: Bourg-Saint-Maurice
Transfer time: 45 minutes
FACT BOX
Travelski Night Express review on InTheSnow: https://www.inthesnow.com/travelski-night-express-review
Travelski Night Express website: https://www.travelski.com/travelski-night-express
Eurostar: https://www.eurostar.com/uk-en
Snowcarbon – an independent guide to ski resorts by train: https://snowcarbon.co.uk
Seat61 – useful independent guide to rail travel into Europe: https://www.seat61.com