Travel to Val Thorens with ski insurance from Essential Travel

The village/base elevation is 2,300m, and the top is at 3,230m. The 54 groomed slopes run for 170kms. There are 34 ski lifts in Val Thorens and a total of 200 lifts in the Trois Vallees area, which includes the ski resorts of Courcheval and Merival. Cable cars connect to the other resorts.

There is a wide variety of services, including restaurants, nightclubs, shops and childcare facilities. The runs and trails cater for every level of expertise, with 66 per cent for beginners, 21 per cent intermediate, 30 per cent advanced and seven per cent expert. The ski lifts include a 150-passenger cable car, three bubble lifts, three funitels, 16 chairlifts, five draglifts, five moving carpets and one moving cord. Ski runs are comprised of 115 red, 56 green, 120 blue and 37 black. The ski school has 200 instructors.

There are even free jazz and classical music concerts weekly. Bars, discos, cafés, coffeehouses and a cinema provide après-ski entertainment. Services include parking garages, gas station, radio station, banks, medical centre and post office.

The ski season in Val Thorens runs from the beginning of November to early May. Summer skiing is possible on the Peclet Glacier in July and August, depending on the weather conditions. Val Thorens is about three hours from the gateway airports of Geneva or Lyon. Eurostar offers a choice of direct service to Moutiers, Aime La Plagne and Bourg St Maurice, or a non-sleeper service to the same destinations via Paris.

Skiing in Val Thorens

The highest among the resorts in the Trois Vallees of France (the world’s highest ski domain), Val Thorens has a base elevation of 2,300m and a top elevation of 3,230m. The 54 groomed slopes run for 170kms, and the resort boasts 34 ski lifts, with a total of 200 lifts in the Trois Vallees area, including the ski resorts of Courcheval and Merival. Cable cars connect to the other resorts to Val Thorens.

Val Thorens’ pistes cater for every level of expertise, with 66 per cent dedicated to beginners, 21 per cent for intermediates, 30 per cent for advanced and seven per cent for expert skiers. The longest run is 2.25kms. The combined resorts of the Trois Vallees total 328 marked runs, and there 132kms of cross-country skiing. The many ski lifts include a 150-passenger cable car, three bubble lifts, three funitels, 16 chairlifts, five draglifts, five moving carpets and one moving cord.

Non-skiing activities are well catered for with a range of good facilities. Off the slopes, visitors can enjoy indoor swimming, three indoor tennis courts, mono-skiing, sauna, sports centre, gymnasium, whirlpool, golf simulator, snow scooters, rollerblading, squash, Turkish baths, badminton, wall-climbing, paragliding and snowshoe trekking. Weekly, there are free jazz and classical music concerts.

Val Thorens is one of the most pleasant of purpose-built resorts, and is the world’s highest ski domain. Along with the other ski resorts of Courcheval and Merival, the Trois Vallees offer a huge choice of ski domains. Ski season runs from November until early May. Access to Val Thorens is provided by car from Geneva or Lyons airports, train from Moutiers, regular bus services from train stations and airports.

Après-ski in Val Thorens

Accommodation ranges from luxury hotels to private residences, with a total of 23,500 beds available. Activities and facilities away from the slopes include: indoor swimming, three indoor tennis courts, mono-skiing, sauna, sports centre, gymnasium, whirlpool, golf simulator, snow scooters, rollerblading, squash, Turkish baths, badminton, wall-climbing, paragliding and snowshoe trekking.

In addition, the resort boasts a toboggan piste unique in France; it is six kilometres long with a height difference of over 700m. Après-ski facilities include bars, discos, cafés, coffeehouses and a cinema. Services include parking garages, gas station, radio station, banks, medical centre, post office, change office and a booking centre.

Nearby attractions include the Trois Vallees’ other ski resorts of Courcheval and Meribel. Chambery is the closest provincial city (112kms) and offers stunning architecture. Val Thorens is known for having the most beautiful and challenging off-piste terrain in the Trois Vallees. Hiking, climbing and mountain biking are popular in the summer.

Transportation in Val Thorens

The nearest airports are either Geneva or Lyon (St Exupery) and the transfer takes approximately 2.5 hours from either one. The Trois Vallees has easy access by road and is approximately 980kms from Calais; all but the last 25kms is by motorway or express dual carriageway. From Moutiers, you can get a bus to make the 37-kilometre journey to Val Thorens. Rail travel is also convenient.

Self-drive is a popular method of getting to Val Thorens, with good roads all the way. If you are coming from the UK, the fastest and most efficient route from Calais goes via Reims, Dijon, Lyon and Chambery. From there, take the A-43, A430 and N-90 to Moutiers and a series of minor roads south for Val Thorens (1,000kms; 10 hours).

By train, the most convenient option is to take the overnight snow train from London, Waterloo station, right through to Moutiers, from where buses and taxis carry on to Val Thorens ski resort. There is also a high-speed TGV from Paris to Moutiers.

Geneva-Cointrin Airport is the nearest major airport with good flights. Planes arrive from all over the UK and Europe, including the budget carrier, Easyjet. Choices of transfer from the airport include: taking the Skibus, train and bus transfer (via Moutiers), or car hire. If you take the latter option, the journey involves many road changes, going via Annecy, Ugine and Moutiers, and finishing on the D-117 for Val Thorens.

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