The highest ski resort in the region (in the Alps, France) is Val Thorens. What is remarkable about this resort and how to get to it, you will learn from this article.

Where is Val Thorens?

The resort of Val Thorens is built on the slopes of mountains at an altitude of 2300 m. It can only be reached by car or buses from the airports of Geneva, Lyon and Chambery. If you want to go by train, you can only arrive as far as Moutiers (37 km from the resort), and then you still have to change to a bus.

But moving around the resort by car is prohibited, so you will have to leave it in a paid parking lot located nearby.

There are several reasons why this resort is popular. This:

1. Low prices. It is considered the most budget and affordable among all others in the Three Valleys area.
2. Good quality routes All slopes of this resort are always maintained in excellent condition. This is the only place where they guarantee that there will definitely be snow during your vacation. This is due to the fact that it is located high in the mountains and snow cannons are installed throughout its territory.
3. Diversity. The slopes are suitable for everyone: both beginner skiers and professionals. Separately, for lovers of park skiing, new school and freestyle, there is a large Val Thorens snow park. There is a cross-country ski track.
4. Hotels. There are no chalets familiar to the Alps; guests stay in multi-storey hotels.
5. Ski school. Its presence makes this French ski resort popular with families with children and suitable for beginner skiers.

Thanks to its excellent skiing conditions and other activities, Val Thorens is considered one of the best ski resorts in France.

Val Thorens in France has a special charm that combines Savoyard traditions, modern European service and stunning highland landscapes. It is no coincidence that it is called the “roof of the Three Valleys” - this is one of the highest ski resorts in Europe, located at an altitude of 2300 m in one of the world's largest ski areas, the Three Valleys. The modern resort has excellent opportunities for ski lovers - from snow slopes of varying difficulty and excellent infrastructure to comfortable hotels with “skiing right from the door.”

Business card

History and modernity

Val Thorens is a fairly young ski resort, founded in 1971 thanks to an unusual bet by visionary engineer Pierre Schneblen. Immediately after its opening, the resort began to develop dynamically and today offers the most modern skiing infrastructure for skiers of any level, for active and family recreation.

What to see, where to visit

Val Thorens hosts many cultural and educational events. Every Tuesday, the town's church hosts classical or jazz concerts, and twice a week you can dine in a traditional Mongolian yurt, followed by a magical torchlight descent from the mountain.

Trails, slopes, lifts

Val Thorens in France is part of the extensive Three Valleys ski region with total length routes 600 km. Val Thorens itself has a ski area with an altitude difference of 1800-3200 m, with 99% located at an altitude of more than 2000 m, as well as 78 ski slopes with a length of 140 km, of which 11 are green, 29 blue, 30 red and 8 black. The resort is served by 31 ski lifts. There are also 5 km of cross-country ski trails and an excellent snow park with an area of ​​70,000 m2.

Entertainment and active recreation

In Val Thorens, everyone will find entertainment to their liking. For lovers active rest Sleigh rides, snow scooters and dog sledding, Segway and snowshoe rides, snow bike rides, boarder cross and ice car riding, mountaineering and paragliding are offered.

The resort has a sports complex with swimming pools, sports grounds and a fitness center, several first-class SPA centers, a bowling alley and a cinema. In the evening, guests will enjoy the fiery rhythms of discotheques.

Local cuisine and wines

More than 60 restaurants and 40 bars of the resort will satisfy the tastes of the most discerning guests!

This includes haute cuisine, for example, the Michelin-starred restaurant l’Oxalys or the exquisite French restaurant La Table du Roy at the Fitz Roy Hotel, and traditional Savoyard dishes in the high-mountain chalet restaurants Chez Pépé Nicolas and Paillote. You can have fun at the Irish pub O'Connells, Le Saloon bar or the popular nightclubs Malaysia and Underground.

Val Thorens is a Christmas gift to the French. It was at Christmas 1971 that the station opened its arms to the general public. Initially, only a few lifts were launched here.
In 1972, the first ski school, sports club and Tourism Office appeared here.

Today we can enjoy the result of the work carried out during this period - Val Thorens has one of the best lift systems in the Three Valleys region.

The station is equipped with the longest toboggan run in France (6 km, with a drop of 700 m from 3,000 to 2,300 m above sea level), a huge snow park, and an ice racetrack. A large selection of different winter and summer active leisure options is offered.

Val Thorens is a semi-pedestrian resort where cars are allowed to travel, but parking is only permitted in designated areas.
Eleven hotels, two of which are 5 stars, and numerous residences and club hotels make up the main accommodation base.

Fifty restaurants are available to holidaymakers, including two with Michelin stars.
Bowling alleys, bars, pubs, clubs, cafes and bakeries, game rooms and other events are just a small list of leisure options.

Val Thorens is one of largest resorts in the world, every winter it is visited by more than 300 thousand vacationers, of which more than 70% are foreigners.

) is located in the upper part of the Belleville valley, at the foot of Peclet Peak (3562 m). This is the highest mountain resort in Europe, often called the “Roof of the Three Valleys” - the village itself lies at an altitude of 2300 meters, and the highest skiing point begins at 3300 meters. Such a high location provides the highest quality snow on the slopes, a wide variety of slopes and a long winter season. However, the winds here are quite strong, and without special clothing and experience, skiing may be uncomfortable.

The pistes of Val Thorens run down to the ski station and the village of Orelle from eight mountain peaks and six glaciers. In total there are about 66 slopes with a total length of more than 140 km (14% “black”, 37% “red”, 31% “blue” and 18% “green”), and almost all of them are at altitudes of more than 2000 meters, which means Mostly suitable only for experienced skiers. There are several routes through the high mountain passes (only “black” and “red”), allowing you to ride from Val Thorens to other resorts of the Three Valleys, and the slopes of the Pointe de Thorens peak (Pointe de Thorens, 3266 m) are famous for their spacious virgin fields . Only in the lowest part of the valley, at altitudes from 1800 to 2300 meters, there are about one and a half dozen “blue” and “green” slopes available for beginner athletes.

The slopes are served by 31 lifts with a total capacity of about 52 thousand people per hour. Moreover, it is in Val Thorens that the largest suspended lift in Europe is located - CARON (the cabin is designed for 150 people), lifting skiers to highest point the Cime de Caron valley (3200 m), from where a beautiful all-round view of the French, Italian and Swiss Alps opens - about a thousand peaks in total! A cable car Funitel, going from the valley to the foot of the Funitel glacier, lifts up to 3 thousand skiers per hour.

The village of Val Thorens was created specifically for skiers. Therefore, the slopes and hotels are located so that skiing is possible, as they say, “from the door”. And the number of other sports facilities is impressive - the longest toboggan run in France, Toboggan (length 6 km, has night lighting), children's and adult ski schools, a sports center with an indoor tennis and squash court, a gym, a fitness center, a playground rock climbing, a roller skating center, several areas for team games, a large playground for children from 2 to 6 years old, an aqua club, a well-equipped snow park, a boardercross track and about 4 km of flat ski tracks. At the same time, there is plenty of evening and night entertainment, and on Tuesdays (at 18.00) jazz concerts are held in the Val Thorens chapel.

In Val Thorens, great attention is paid to protecting the environment. The resort is being developed taking into account all environmental requirements. Hydrocarbon controls are implemented, vehicle traffic is restricted at the resort, and the Mountain Riders Association encourages skiers who visit the resort to take an active role in protecting the environment.

The estimated cost of accommodation and recreation in Val Thorens is slightly cheaper than in other resorts of the Three Valleys, and the hotels are located so that, having started skiing right at the hotel door, you can easily reach the nearest ski lift. A one-day ski pass Val Thorens - Orelle will cost 37 euros for adults (13-59 years old), 32 euros for pensioners (over 59 years old) and 26-28 euros for children aged 5 to 12 years, a six-day one - 178- 182, 151-155 and 125-127 euros respectively. The Vallee de Belleville ski pass (common for the entire Belleville valley, 330 km of slopes) costs 220-225 euros for adults, 187-193 euros for pensioners and 165-169 euros for children, and valid for 13 days - 455-475. 368-386 and 332-350 euros, respectively. The Trois Vallee ski pass, common to the entire region, is sold under general conditions. Renting a set of ski equipment or snowboard will cost 160-190 euros for 6 days for an adult, 100-120 euros for a child, 6-12 euros for visiting the swimming pool or bathhouses of the sports complex, 6 days of classes at a children's sports school (with meals) - 200 euros, for adults (half day) - 115 euros.

The ski season lasts from the end of November to the beginning of May, but already in November and until the beginning of July you can ski on the Pekl glacier.