Val Thorens
Val Thorens
Val Thorens is Europe’s highest resort and, if you’re looking for great snow, a good nightlife, and can ignore some of the less attractive aspects of the concrete jungle, its a difficult place to beat for your ski holidays.
Val Thorens is part of the Three Valley area along with Meribel and Courchevel and, with guaranteed snow from November until the end of May, has more than enough skiing to suit all levels. The compact car free centre has improved over the years with some smarter restaurant and accommodation options. Most of the accommodation is ski in ski out and you’ll never find yourself too far from what’s going on.
Val Thorens is one of the best ski resorts to find yourself in after a fresh snowfall, although if a storm rolls in you may find it all quite bleak.
Pros
- Val Thorens is the highest resort in the Alps and is guaranteed good snow.
- The skiing is extensive and varied and the resort has good access to the rest of the Three Valleys.
- The village is compact and car free with much of the skiing being ski in ski out.
Cons
- Some of the village is a bit of a concrete jungle, and there isn’t much to do off the slopes.
- If bad weather rolls in there’s not much sheltered skiing and much of the resort can close.
- Parts of Val Thorens can still get quite busy, in particular the Cime de Caron cable car.
The Skiing
The skiing in Val Thorens is far more appealing than the town itself. It is an area more suited to intermediates and experts than beginners with some of the more challenging pistes up on the glacier and some fine motorway pistes for intermediates.
There is also plenty of backcountry to explore, with the snow staying in good condition for longer than most resorts thanks to the altitude. The one disadvantage is the lack of trees, they’re non existent, which means that in bad weather there is nowhere to escape to, and some of the runs can get quite busy with people heading over from Courchevel and Meribel.
- Some of the village is a bit of a concrete jungle, and there isn’t much to do off the slopes.
- If bad weather rolls in there’s not much sheltered skiing and much of the resort can close.
- Parts of Val Thorens can still get quite busy, in particular the Cime de Caron cable car.
Facts And Figures
- Resort altitude 2300m
- Highest lift 3230m
- 165 lifts in the Three Valleys serving 600km of piste
- 29 lifts and 140km of piste
- Plenty of ski in ski out Val Thorens accommodation
The Town And Apres Ski
If you’re looking for activities off the slope then you might as well forget about it. There is a good sports centre with a pool, saunas etc and a new bowling leisure centre with bowling and pool. Other than that it’s not a good resort to choose if you’re not going to be skiing.
There are a lot of restaurants which overlook the mountains from the resort centre. Of these Le Galouvet is one of the best and has a great terrace. On the mountain there is a surprising array of choice. The Chalet Des 2 Ours is a good bet or The Chalet des 2 Lacs for a good piste side restaurant.
The après ski is Val Thorens is livelier than you might imagine. Start with the row of bars at the top of the town and work your way down through the likes of the Ski Rock Café, the Viking Pub, Le Tango and The Frog and Roast Beef. For late night revelry head to the Underground or Malaysia.
Useful resources
www.valthorens.com
www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Val_Thorens
www.valthonet.com
