Val d'Isere Luxury Chalets

Val d’Isere is flat compared to a lot of ski resorts, so it’s easy to get around on foot. You can walk to most places in under 15 minutes. If you don’t want to trek in your ski boots, there’s a free bus service throughout town running between Le Fornet and La Daille.

Travelling by car

Thanks to excellent motorways, driving to Val d’Isere is easy. The last 45 minutes up the mountain can be winding and challenging if you’re not a confident driver. It might be difficult to find a parking space so consider finding accommodation with parking included.

Travelling by train

The closest train station to Val d’Isere is Bourg St Maurice. Many high-speed and international rail companies operate to here, including Eurostar. From here it’s a 45-minute drive which you can take by bus or private transfer.

Airports

The closest airport to Val d’Isere is Chambery. But Geneva is a bigger transport hub with more choices of flight times and airlines.

Chambery (CMF) – 144km
By car – 2 hours 15 minutes
By train – 3 hours 30 minutes

Grenoble (GNB) – 165km
By car – 2 hours 30 minutes
By train – 3 hours 37 minutes

Geneva (GVA) – 174km
By car –  2 hours 30 minutes
By train – 5 hours 35 minutes

Lyon (LYS) – 220km
By car – 2 hours 30 minutes
By train – 4 hours 50 minutes

Private transfer

There are a range of transfer options into Val d’Isere, including shuttles, taxis, and helicopter services.

With a long history of après ski and some of the most established clubs in the Alps, Val d’Isere knows what they’re doing when it comes to delivering epic alpine parties. But if the thumping music gets to be too much, there are lots of simple and cosy venues where you can curl up and have a conversation.

The party starts on the mountain at Folie Douce but the rest of the revelry continues back in town.

• It’s difficult to go skiing in France and not hear the words Folie Douce. These world-renowned après bars are famous for their post-slope revelry. And the original one is right here in Val d’Isere! Their cabaret parties are a true mountain experience. Thanks to the La Daille cable car, non-skiers can join in too.
• The huge terrace of Cocorico has live music every day from 2 pm. Stomp your ski boots on the table while flames shoot into the air. With no commute home to worry about, it can get a little wild.
• For a similar atmosphere, check out La Petit Danois. It’s smaller than Cocorico but popular with Scandinavians for its al fresco live music and table dancing.

Have a relaxed evening at one of the pubs and lounge bars. Or to keep the party going, just follow the music.

• You’ll find the locals sipping happy-hour cocktails at Victors Bar. They have a warm and friendly atmosphere and a resident DJ to get the party started.
• If you’re tired of glitzy bars and rowdy clubs, check out the eclectic Le Garage. The old garage-themed décor of this brewery offers a no-thrills space to unwind.
• The Saloon Bar is popular with the seasonaires for its rowdy atmosphere and great guest DJs.

If you have the stamina, you’ll find pumping laser-filled clubs to keep you going until the early hours.

• The status of Dick’s Tea Bar attracts famous DJs all season long. They have been bringing the party to Val d’Isere since après ski became trendy in the 80s. You definitely won’t be making first lifts after an evening here.
• Hidden under the nursery slopes, the legendary Daoudoune Club has hosted huge acts such as David Guetta and Pete Tong.

With one of the best snow records in Europe, skiing in Val d’Isere is an absolute delight. With 97 ski lifts linking 300km of piste, there’s something to keep everyone happy here. Beginners can learn in the security of a nursery slope in the town centre, intermediates have endless piste to explore, and experts will find steep slopes and accessible backcountry.

The ski area

The immense Espace Killy stretches across Val d’Isere and the neighbouring resort of Tignes. The intricate and efficient lift network will take you anywhere you want to go. They are modern and fast, so if you want to you could ski from Le Fornet to Tignes in one morning.

From Val d’Isere, there are eight major hubs for getting up the mountain, including a giant gondola and high-speed underground funicular. Reliable buses connecting the lifts are free with your lift pass. The Val d’Isere side has three main ski areas:

• Le Solaise is home to difficult blacks like the famous Rhone Alps run. But there’s great skiing for intermediates here too.
• Bellevarde has good intermediate and advanced terrain. Here you’ll find La Face, the most well-known black run in the resort.
• Le Fornet is mostly blue and red runs. It’s a quiet area that may be good for timid intermediates to build their confidence. It also gives you access to Pointe du Montet, the highest area in resort and home to the Pissaillas Glacier.
• La Daille has great runs for all levels. From here you can take the underground funicular into the wider ski area on the Tignes side.

Boarders

Val d’Isere is one of the best resorts for snowboarders in France. With excellent lifts, very few drags, and long wide pistes, newer boarders can come into their own. While accessible off-piste, miles of terrain, and reliable snow records make it a dream for freeriders.

Beginner snowboarders will be happy on the nursery slopes in the centre of the village. Once progressing, most people head to Solaise. When making your way home at the end of the day, avoid the Santons blue as it gets flat towards the bottom. Towards the later part of the day, most of the routes home get crowded and hard-packed. If you’re not confident or just feeling lazy, you can take the lift down the valley.

Get a workout on the choice of long runs down La Daille. But if you’re coming across from Bellevarde, try to avoid the flats. The routes from the top of the funicular in Tignes are popular with boarders. The runs are long and present a few challenges.

If you want to show off your moves, you’ll find a snow park with a half pipe in both Val d’Isere and on the Tignes side. The Val d’Isere park is under the Mont Blanc chair lift and has rails and kickers for a mixture of abilities.

There’s lots of backcountry for you to make fresh tracks but to get the most out of Espace Killy, it’s recommended you go with a guide. From Toviere take the Rocs red and cut back under the lift. This takes you to a huge stretch of off-piste before joining the Triffolet red back to La Daille. Or to to make La Face even more gruelling, cut off at the top and ride the unmarked terrain down. On bad weather days, the trees in Le Fornet give you some terrain to play with.

Beginners

Although hailed as an advanced resort, Val d’Isere is a fantastic option for your first time on the slopes. With a great choice of ski schools and excellent, snow-sure nursery areas, you can learn in a safe and relaxed environment.

There are beginner areas in Val d’Isere in La Daille, Solaise, and in the town centre. Here you’ll find free magic carpets, green pistes, and a play area for younger students. If you’re looking for childcare options for your little ones, the ski kindergarten is in an enclosed space on the nursery slopes.

When you’ve mastered your snow plough turns, there are exciting options for building your skills. There’s only one green run back into town and some of the blues can be harder than expected. If you’re looking for variety or get tired at the end of a long ski day, you can take the lifts out and back.

There’s a large Ski Tranquille zone in Bellevarde with several different green routes to try. You can take one of the lifts home or ski the long green that takes you back to La Daille. Take the Madeleine Express chairlift in Solaise for long and wide runs perfect for practising your turns. If you’re feeling confident, from here you can make your way to the quiet blue runs of Col L’Iseran.

Our recommended ski schools:

• Oxygene is a large independent school with an excellent reputation. They offer group and private ski and snowboard lessons for children and adults, as well as off-piste guiding.
• Progression Ski instructors are a mixture of previous national champions and highly qualified instructors. They offer small group lessons and clinics for children and adults in skiing, snowboarding and telemarking.
• New Generation are a British company established for over 20 years and operate across the Swiss, French, and Austrian Alps. They offer group, private, and off-piste lessons for all ages and adaptive lessons for people with disabilities.

Intermediates

While Val d’Isere is a great resort for intermediates, you should expect runs to be more difficult than their labelled colour grade. Many blues present the challenges of a red and some reds would be marked as blacks in other resorts.

For finding your ski feet, start in Solaise or Belelvarde. There are wide blues in these sectors to get you warmed up. Finish the day in Bellevarde by taking the Santons blue home. It has outstanding views and gets you to the centre of town just in time for après.

You’ll find slopes to progress on in Col d’Iseran. From here you can head up to Glacier du Pissaillas and enjoy cruising through the trees. From Le Fornet you can take the long red from the top of the Laisinant chair to the valley floor. It’s usually quiet so you can use it as an excuse to max out your speed.  Or for something gentler, take the long blue route back to the bottom of the Le Fornet lift. Make sure to stop and admire the stunning views across the valley.

The red run at the top of the Manchet Express is a quiet place to get a feel for the red runs.

If you want to make your legs burn, there are multiple long reds down from La Daille and Bellevarde with fast lifts back up to the top again. Before the end of the week, the red slalom slope on the way back from Solaise is a good way to test your skills.

If you’re looking for a challenge, there are off-piste routes suitable even for advanced intermediates in Val d’Isere, so hire a guide for the day and get exploring.

Advanced

With some steep red runs and demanding blacks, experts will find more than enough to challenge them in Val d’Isere. Whether you’re looking for steep piste, leg-burning moguls, or hair-raising couloirs, you’ll find some of the best skiing in the world here.

The most famous black run in the resort is La Face.  This was the 1992 Olympic Men’s Downhill slope. It starts easy and gets progressively challenging as you approach the last section. At 10km long, La Sache on the Tignes side is the longest run in Espace Killy. While the black from the top of Teleski des 3000 is the steepest. Other black pistes of note include Rhone-Alps, the FIS women’s Downhill course.

If you want to cover serious ground, challenge yourself to ski from above Le Fornet to Les Brevieres. These are the furthest two points from each other in Espace Killy and you get to include La Sache on the way. Make sure you allow enough time to get home before the lifts close.

It’s easy to get to incredible off-piste areas from the lifts, making Val d’Isere an excellent option for a lazy freerider. You’ll find excellent lift-served off-piste around Le Fornet and in the Manchet Valley. There are also accessible routes from La Daille, including the famous Vallee Perdue. Le Fornet is quieter and often less tracked. Col Pers is a popular route which takes you from the Pisaillas Glacier to Le Fornet.

The Espace Killy area is massive and it’s time-consuming even to suss out the best pisted areas. Steep valley sides, cliffs and concealed rivers can make the backcountry dangerous in Espace Killy if you don’t know the safe routes. To get the best experience, maximise your time, and stay safe, we recommend hiring a guide to show you around.

High altitudes, a microclimate, and two glaciers maintain huge amounts of snow in Val d’Isere throughout the winter season. And with excellent piste grooming and some of the best snow-making facilities in the world, this is an incredibly snow-sure resort. It’s blessed with one of the longest winter seasons in the Alps, with lifts often being open from late November until early May. For the best chance of powder dumps, visit in December and January.

December
December is the high season in Val d’Isere. It’s an expensive time to visit and attracts more exclusive guests. But if you want a lavish place to spend the festive season, this will deliver.
Average snowfall: 128cm
Snow days: 10

January
January is less busy in Val d’Isere, offering great deals and quiet uncut slopes. It’s a cold month with lots of dry, light powder.
Average snowfall: 114cm
Snow days: 9

February
Thanks to the school holidays, Val d’Isere in February is busy with families and children. Booking well in advance is recommended. It’s very cold but with lots of dry bluebird days.
Average snowfall: 94cm
Snow days: 9

March
The days are getting longer and the powder is still smashing. Make the most of longer days skiing or spend the extra hours in the sunshine at après.
Average snowfall: 76cm
Snow days: 9

April
There’s still snow on the ground and lifts often stay open well into early May. Val d’Isere can get busy over easter but outside of these dates are great end-of-season deals.
Average snowfall: 47cm
Snow days: 4