Travel
Where to today? Val Thorens – ski in & out
Where is Val Thorens?
If you have never heard of Val Thorens, the village is located in Savoy at an altitude of 7545 feet (2300 meters). It is the highest ski resort in Europe. At that altitude there is guaranteed snow. So, you can ski in and out of your accommodation and all around the station. Despite the snow, the resort has invested in more than 350 snow canons.
Val Thorens credits T.Loubere OT Val Thorens
The panorama from your window is just breathtaking. When you ski up, at a high altitude you have a glimpse of the village surrounded with snow. All around are six glaciers like Chavière and Péclet, where you can ski in the summer. Sometimes you are skiing above the clouds.
COCOON SALON credits OT Val Thorens
Val Thorens belongs to the region of the famous Trois Vallées (Three valleys). You can ski and snowboard up to 10498 feet (3200 meters) at the Cime de Caron. You can buy a ticket to ski in Val Thorens-Orelle, Belleville or Les Trois Vallées; so you can ski on 86 miles (140 km) of slopes, 186 miles (300 km) or 372 miles (600 km).
La BEE Tyrolienne – T.Loubere OT Val Thorens
Skiing, snowboarding and transportation:
If the resort is not good for cross-country skiing (only 3 miles/5 km of slopes), it is perfect for every other type of skiing. There are many blue and green slopes, however intermediate and excellent skiers will have more choice of slopes.
sunbathing in Val Thorens – credits OT
_ValThorens_PTournaire
In recent years, much money was spend on installing new cable cars, chair lifts, gondolas and funiculars. Wintersport is now even funner as you can be on the slopes faster. The cables are said to have enough room for 53,000 skiers per hour.
Val Thorens Ski Cross World Cup – credits OT val thorens
For the snowboarders and freestyle skiers there is a 70,000 m2 snow park. The park and the Jump Air feature are much appreciated.
Also Val Thorens recently spent much time improving the slopes for the beginners. It spent up to 1,5 Millions Euros for buying magic carpets, which are covered and move quickly. Beginners also have the option to buy a cheaper pass giving them access to 9 lifts and slopes of their level.
You can rent snowmobiles in Val Thorens, take Telemark and freestyle mogul courses and do some off piste skiing with professional guides.
What to do in Val Thorens if you are not skiing or snowboarding:
If you don’t care too much for skiing or snowboarding, you can try snowshoeing. Many organizations like the following propose interesting walks:
- Raquette nature www.raquettenature.com
- French Ski school www.esf-valthorens.com
- Ecole de la montagne www.ecoledelamontagne.fr
Sometimes, it snows so much you can’t even go skiing. What can you do in Val Thorens?:
- go shopping
- go to the cinema
- go bowling
- go to the sport center
Tartine-Montana-A.Cottarel-PF.Couderc. OT Val Thorens
The village has a night life and lots of pubs, bars and discotheques to choose from. If you want to go out and eat, it has many restaurants.
You can shop at the weekly market or at the Savoy specialties shop for sausages, cheese and wine. If you want to eat out, there are many raclette, fondue and tartiflette restaurants. If you prefer eating in your own rental, you can rent the fondue and raclette machines where you buy the cheese and meet. If you plan ahead you can bring your own if you travel by car.
Luge – T.LOUBERE OT Val Thorens
Children activities in Val Thorens:
Children will not be bored in Val Thorens. Activities for the little ones can go from: going to the Aquaclub, sledging on the toboggan, going to the fun park and junior park. If you need daycares, the resort has three and a mini club for ages from 3 months to 6 years old.
Where to stay:
There are many rooms available to rent from private chalets, apartments, affordable hotels to luxurious clubs and hotels like Club Med, Village Montana, Fritz Roy. Three stars accommodations like Pierre Vacances and Cheval Blanc are nicely located.
Rentals and hotels are mainly rented from Saturday to Saturday.
COCOON exterior – Credits OT Val Thorens
Driving there:
The village is a car free village. There is a large parking garage at the entrance of the village. You are allowed to drive into the village only to deposit your luggage and equipment. You can also take the train to Moutiers and then take a shuttle or taxi.
Most people,who come to Val Thorens,are foreigners, mainly Dutch, British and German. Only 30 percents are French!
Val Thorens hosts lots of winter sport competitions and is open for skiing at least until end of April 2020.
Fireworks – credits T.Loubere OT Val Thorens
