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Val Thorens - At 2,300 metres, Val Thorens is the highest ski village in Europe. Its height and North facing slopes guarantees that there is snow throughout the ski season and therefore a Val Thorens skiing holiday is a popular choice for those travelling late in the season.
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Skiing in Val Thorens takes place in the internationally renowned Three Valleys ski area, This purpose built resort offers doorstep skiing in Val Thorens’ own massive ski area, and links to over 600 km of pistes across the Three Valleys, linking to Meribel and Courchevel.
Val Thorens Skiing Resort
The apres ski is lively and varied, with the popular bars and restaurants close to the centre of the resort, along with 3 late night discos. There is also a sports centre featuring a swimming pool and squash courts. Evening skidoo rides are ever popular and are highly recommended by all those who have enjoyed a Val Thorens skiing holiday. For a more relaxing evening, check out the cinema, which has many films in English.
Skiing in Val Thorens
The range of slopes in Val Thorens skiing area is amongst the best in the world, with the testing mogul fields of the Cime de Caron and La Masse, further down the valley, and endless off piste opportunities on the Chaviere or Peclet glaciers for advanced adventurers. The virtually inexhaustible range of red and blue pistes provides the intermediate skier with endless opportunities during their Val Thorens skiing holiday. The long sweeping blues such as Genepi, and the more challenging reds, including the long descent down to the Maurienne valley, added to the vast terrain of the rest of the Trois Vallees, more than satisfies even the most mileage-hungry of skiers during their ski holiday. Val Thorens France has many runs back to resort, which is where the wide open gentle blue slopes favoured by the novice skiers and boarders are found.
Courchevel may be larger, Meribel prettier, but Val Thorens is highest among the resorts in the Three Valleys of France, the world's largest ski domain. In fact, the treeless village is the highest ski resort in the entire European Alps; the base elevation is 2300 meters. Much of the challenging skiing, including on glaciers, is nearly 1000 meters higher. Yet a comfortable run down to another purpose-built resort, Les Menuires, has a 1464 meter drop. The 54 groomed slopes run for 140 km, with lots of off-piste opportunities for powder skiers and snowboarders. Val Thorens has 34 ski lifts it can call its own, but like the other resorts in this huge area, it proudly offers its guests all 600 km of marked trails and 198 lifts of the Three Valleys. In the lively apres-ski scene you often hear skiers talk about the great day they had skiing from Val Thorens all the way over to Courchevel and back. A variety of lifts makes the connection with the other resorts easier.
Resorts close toVal Thorens include: Les Menuires (6 km), Valfrejus (11 km), Valmeinier (12 km), Meribel (13 km) and Mottaret (13 km).
Customer Tips:
Go to Val Thorens for some late season and cheap skiing. Snow is still good until May. Most resorts close on 22nd of April this year. Head out to ValThorens on that date for some excellent deals. The Skiing and resort will still be excellent but at nearly half the price of the previous week. - Gareth, January 2006
Not to sound exactly like every other guide but, yes, Val Thorens is the highest ski resort in Europe at 2300m. And yes, there are obvious pluses and minuses to this location. At such an altitude you are as likely as anywhere to enjoy snow all season and the Glacier de Péclet allows summer skiing. Because the resort is traffic-free and purpose-built, almost anywhere you stay will allow ski-to-your-door accessibility. When the weather turns you'll know it and skiing or even smiling can be a bit of a struggle with freezing temperatures and possible whiteouts. But there's normally plenty of sun, so you should be able to do both.
As part of the Trois Vallées domain, Val Thorens' extended skiing is excellent. Around the resort the skiing ain't too shabby either, with intermediates particularly well provisioned. Advanced skiers will love the big moguls and access to the Maurienne Valley for off-piste fun. Boarders will be left out in the cold for all the right reasons with the excellent Snowpark. Scattered around the resort are several gentle greens and, once these are mastered, beginners can easily start on the blues, many of which end up in the neighbouring resort of Les Menuires. Après-ski is limited to a smattering of bars and restaurants, while the list of non-skiing activities is a little short.
Overall, Val Thorens is a resort for people who want the guarantee of snow. You have Méribel and Courchevel to slide over to, varied terrain and incomparable convenience. And just who needs a raging nightlife when you're lost in the simple enjoyment of Val Thorens' snow?
Val Thorens, France: Best snow in the Alps.
For the enthusiast looking for the best snow in the Alps, it's difficult to beat Val Thorens - especially given that it's also one of the least unpleasant purpose-built resorts. But we still prefer a cozier base elsewhere in the Three Valleys. That way, if a storm socks in, we can play in the woods around Méribel or Courchevel; if the sun is scorching, we have the option of setting off for Val Thorens. The formula doesn't work the other way round.
New hotels and apartment résidences have been designed more in keeping with their mountain environment than the orginal buildings. Val Thorens is a completely pedestrian resort – you are allowed in to unload but must then park in one of the car parks on the edge of town.
On a sunny day after a fresh snowfall, few places are more inviting than Val Thorens. But when the weather closes in you quickly realise why the locals never chose to build a farming community at this altitude. In flat light the treeless pistes lack any point of reference.
Mountain
Sunbathing in Val ThorensA chair-lift and the swift Bouquetin gondola provide the link to the Col de Chambre and the long run down to Méribel-Mottaret. Pistes lead from the village to the Péclet Funitel gondola, which takes you up to the glacier and to a network of fast chairs and gondolas that criss-cross the mountainside below the ridge separating the Belleville and Maurienne valleys. A gondola and a cable-car, reached by a blue piste below the resort, rise to the 3200m Cime de Caron. This is the starting point for the Combe de Caron, one of the most testing black runs in the area. Wonderful long continuations lead down through 1400m vertical to Les Menuires. For other even longer off-piste runs, like the scenic Itinéraire du Lou, you need the services of a local guide.
From the far side of the Cime de Caron, two chair-lifts take you up to the 2300m Sommet des Pistes, which accesses two high-altitude runs down the Glacier de la Pointe Renod and a snowcross course. Val Thorens' main snow park is on the 2 Lacs piste just above the resort. It has a 110m half-pipe and an assortment of rails and other obstacles. Val Thorens has France's only toboggan course with a 700m verticial drop, reached by the Péclet gondola.
Learn
ESF, t +33 (0)479 00 02 86 and the ESI, t +33 (0)479 00 01 96 are the main schools. Reporters favour Ski Cool, t +33 (0)479 00 04 92 and Pros-Neige, t +33 (0)479 01 07 00. A number of other little schools offer specialist courses and guiding. These include Stages Patrick et Eric Berthon, t +33 (0)479 00 06 16, which offers bumps and freeride training.
Lunch
Try La Chaumière, t +33 (0)479 00 01 13, Chalet Les 2 Ours, t +33 (0)479 01 14 09, and Chalet Génépi, t +33 (0)479 00 03 28.
L'Oxalys, t +33 (0)479 00 20 51 offers the kind of full blown gastro lunch that precludes afternoon skiing. Etape 3200, t +33 (0)607 31 04 14, at the top of the Cime de Caron, has great views.
Dine
Celebrity chef Jean-Michel Bouvier's L'Oxalys, t +33 (0)479 00 20 51, and La Table du Rou, t +33 (0)479 00 04 78 in the Hotel Le Fitz Roy, are the most gastronomic establishments in town – during high season you need to book in advance. Auberge du Sherpa, t +33 (0)479 00 00 70 in Hotel du Sherpa and Le Bellevillois, t + 33 (0)479 00 04 33 in Hotel Le Val Thorens are both recommended. La Cabane, t +33 (0)479 00 83 84 is an old-style chalet with a warm atmosphere. La Grange de Pierrette, t +33 (0)479 00 00 88 is also praised along with Le Panoramic, t +33 (0)479 00 04 77 in Hotel Le Bel Horizon.
Party
Popular bars incluce Le Tango, Ski Rock Café, The Viking Pub and The Frog and Roast Beef. Le Malaysia and The Underground are the late-night venues. New Generation sports centre, t +33 (0)479 00 00 18 has tennis and squash courts, swimming-pool, gym, and spa.
Children
The ESF, t +33 (0)479 00 02 86, at Village Le Montana and Le Village Roc, cares for children from three months, with lessons from three years. Stages Zig Zag – Fabienne Pander, t +33 (0)479 00 02 66 takes groups of up to eight children (who have at least the ESF Three Star qualification) to a different valley each day.
Reviews
1 April 15, 2006 - 10:37 PM
Farbod from GERMANY
I was at the place last week. I have to say it was great(also the night life). The only problem the resort has is that you could get lost pretty fast. Once I got lost and landed in Le Meniure. Then I had to pay 6 € to get back to Val Thorens. Since it was already 5 o'clock I couldn't get back to Orelle. So I had to spend a night in Val Thorens with ski clothes
2 March 27, 2006 - 05:19 PM
Jon Jones from UNITED KINGDOM
Just got back from a week in Val Thorens (18th - 25th March). The resort is very good for skiing but night life is poor! Too many drunken Dutch guys so men out number women 10 - 1. If you want a more rounded resort, go for Austria, try Sol or Mayrhofen , the skiing is almost on a par and the night life is far better.
3 March 25, 2006 - 04:09 PM
Roger from UNITED KINGDOM
This last week was fantastic.
Great off-piste.
4 March 21, 2006 - 12:50 PM
laurence neumann from ISRAEL
The good: fantastic skiing/boarding - got lucky with perfect snow and weather 2nd week March. Nice hassle free town - who cares about architecture etc.
The bad: hotel/apartments that don't clearly state on website what is included and what is free. I stayed at Le Portillo which was fine as far as rooms etc go - but staff refused to call police to deal with noise - and be careful of rooms facing street and nearby pubs/discos.
The ugly: drunk, noisy, selfish dorks from selected European countries that made a racket at midnite to 4am and disturbed the sleep and peace of people that simply want to ski the next morning. The town should not allow this!
5 March 05, 2006 - 05:03 PM
Ron from NETHERLANDS
I don't go skiing for nice authentic villages etc. Just loads of fresh snow, big pistes & good lift network and some good restaurants and bars is what's needed.
Val Thorens (together with Tignes & Les Arcs) is one of the best to stay. Great skiing on & off-piste. Though it may be pretty cold in January & February. Also the French holidays are usually in last three weeks of February which means lot of queuing for the Cime de Caron which brings you to some exciting pistes.
So best time to go to Val Thorens is March & April.
6 January 22, 2006 - 02:17 PM
Ian Lancey from UNITED KINGDOM
Just returned from Val Thorens yesterday after what can only be described as one of the best weeks of skiing i have ever had.
Val Thorens offers a great mix of intermediate and advanced skking, with some challenging and exciting runs. Beginners fair less well with limited greens and easy blues, however, if you are willing to venture over to Meribel or Courcheval there are much better beginners opportunities.
A good dump of snow helped conditions throughout the 3 valleys area but even before this fall, VT's snow was still pretty good, showing year on year VT to be one of the most snow sure resorts in Europe.
Go for great skiing and boarding but not for a picturesque village that is quiet, the mix of English, Dutch and Scandinavian skiers and boarders results in a pretty good party town.
7 January 06, 2006 - 04:27 PM
Tim Frampton from UNITED KINGDOM
Val Thorens is not that pretty, better than when I first came 8 years ago, I have come for at least a week every year since, if you want to go shopping and look good in a cafe on the slopes, best head of somwhere else! if you want good boarding piste or of piste, I have yet to find anywhere that can keep you on something new everyday. I have been to Canada around Europe and I think Val Thorens offers the best all round boarding Boarding, allways seems to have plenty of snow. To those who think its ugly, look at the mountains instead, they are the big white things outside the bars and appartments!
8 January 04, 2006 - 02:16 PM
Daniel ter Maten from NETHERLANDS
When you want to go skiing or boarding Val Thorens is one of the best places to go. The snow is almost always excellent and there are slopes for every level. One of the best things in Val Thorens is the off piste. Really numerous possibilities. If you're looking for a quiet place and skiing/boarding is only one of the many components of your holiday, you'll probably have a better holiday at another resort. Apres ski in Val Thorens is there for sure, but it's mainly quite massive.
And of course the connection with the rest of the 3V is excellent. If you're a good skier you only need half a day, to go all the way to Courchevel in a relaxed way. When you do so, make sure you check the weather and snow conditions; they may really differ from those in Val Thorens.
Last but not least, I would recommend to go in the late season. Good chance to get some excellent powder and the runs are not that crowded.
9 January 01, 2006 - 11:46 PM
Tom Travis from UNITED STATES
I agree that the architecture of Val Thorens is unattractive. However, the Val Thorens is high so it has the best snow conditions of Les Trois Vallees. It also has excellent skiing on a variety of long runs with large vertical drops and the opportunity to ski on a glacier. I prefer to stay at Mottaret because it is in the middle of Les Trois Vallees with easy access to Val Thorens, Courchevel and the other ski stations. However, in a lean snow year I would stay at Val Thorens to maximize the chance for good conditions.
10 February 22, 2005 - 01:09 AM
curt whaymand from UNITED KINGDOM
I went to Val Thorens with 2 mates and their parents over half term and it was absolutely quality!!
We had 4 white outs in a row, making about 1 metre of powder off piste and nearly that on the pistes.
Then, 3 sunny days made for perfect skiing. Skiing over to Meribel is especially good.
I would recommend Val Thorens to anyone and i really wana go back!
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