Vars Sainte-Marie

Vars Sainte Marie is the main gateway to the ski area and immediately immerses you in a ‘SKI’ atmosphere: a hire shop and ski lifts – including a brand-new chairlift – will whisk you straight onto the slopes, but that’s not all!
A few fine dining establishments with vaulted ceilings offer a glimpse of life in days gone by, combined with modern comforts: charming hotels with ‘relaxation and spa’ areas, traditional or bistronomic dining, a bakery, a mini-market, as well as administrative centres such as the post office and town hall, not to mention the library. A cosy village life where ‘everyone knows each other’, offering lovely narrow streets where modern-style chalets blend with old farmhouses, and a large play area along the Chagne stream for young and old alike.

A bit of history

Since the winter of 2004–2005 and the installation of the new 6-seater detachable chairlift at Peyrol, the village of Vars Sainte Marie has taken on an increasingly important role in providing access to the ski area, hiking and mountain biking, a trend reinforced by the completion in January 2021 of the 6-seater chairlift at Bois Noir: the village has thus become the main gateway to the ski area, offering quick and comfortable access to the heart of the ‘ Forêt Blanche ’. Sainte Marie is the hub for community life and administration, home to Vars Town Hall and the post office. It is also a place of worship, thanks to its ever-active ecumenical centre.

Here you’ll find the first hotels, most of which were created in old buildings featuring local, traditional architecture. The restaurants welcome you beneath the vaulted ceilings of restored barns. The upper floors, once used for storing hay, are now the hotels’ guest rooms.

It was at Vars Sainte Marie that the first ski lifts were installed in 1938. The resort’s expansion extended as far as Vars les Claux from 1939 onwards, with development work resuming at the end of the Second World War.