VAL D'ISERE
Ski & Snowboard Resort Review
Val d'Isere, FRANCE is affectionately referred to as the 'Kingdom of Skiing and Snowboarding' and it's easy to see why, as the resort has some of the best open powder fields of anywhere in the world.
Val d'Isere Skiing and Snowboarding Terrain
Val d’Isere is one half of the ski area Espace Killy sharing its lift space with the neighbouring resort of Tignes. Together the interlinked resorts cover 300 kilometres of fantastic skiing and snowboarding terrain; expect to find huge open treeless powder fields, steep descents, tight chutes, endless groomed trails and gentle beginner areas.
Most of the skiing and snowboarding terrain is above the tree line and supported by a fast and efficient lift system providing easy access to powder areas that are normally only found after a long hike or by helicopter.
Advanced Skiing and Snowboarding
Advanced skiers and snowboarders don’t miss the extreme steep and fast Olympic downhill run The Face leading from the top of the Rocher De Bellevarde down to the village.
The Manchet Express Chairlift is hidden from view of most chairlifts and can be a good place to head on fresh powder days as it is often one of the last to be discovered, it has some great steep groomed runs underneath the chairlift and fantastic fun rolling powder terrain options to the far right.
On fresh powder days head to the top upper areas of Le Fornet for deep powder runs off the Roches and Geant pistes, make sure to stay high to have the pick of the powder further along.
The Cugnai Chairlift opens up plenty of open powder possibilities, just a quick traverse and short hike will be required to access some dream powder runs.
Intermediate Skiing and Snowboarding
Intermediates at Val d’Isere can ski and snowboard across the entire Espace Killy area on long linked groomed trails. From the top of the L’Olympique Cable Car on the top of Rocher De Bellevarde you have the option to turn left and head towards Le Fornet or turn right and start the long trip to Tignes.
The lower slopes of Le Fornet are quieter and less crowded than the upper areas; catch the Fornet Cable Car then the Vallon De L’Iseran Gondola for long winding easy intermediate trails back down to the valley floor.
The Leissieres Express Chairlift is an interesting chairlift as it takes you up and over one valley then down into the neighbouring valley, it’s a weird sensation going downhill on a chairlift! From the Le Fornet side catch it to access the Glacier Express Chairlift which has some fun intermediate pistes surrounding it, from there ski or snowboard down L piste to the Val d’Isere village.
If you chose to turn right from the top of Rocher De Bellevarde take the Diebold trail, it winds down past the bottom of the Snowpark before branching off at the mid section into long winding wide trails suitable for all ability levels leading down to the valley floor in the La Daille end of the village. Once at the bottom catch the Funival train back up to the top of Rocher De Bellevarde.
Beginner Skiing and Snowboarding
In the Val d’Isere village first time beginners go to the nursery slopes at the base of the Solaise Cable Car serviced by the Village and Rogoney Chairlifts, the slopes are wide and gently sloping. All beginner chairlifts and drag lifts at Val d’Isere are free of charge, the Val d’Isere ski and snowboard school has lessons for all ages and ability level with both English and French speaking instructors.
Once beginner confidence grows catch the L’Olympique Cable Car up to the top of the Rocher De Bellevarde to access the very long and winding Verte piste ending in the La Daille end of the village. Once in La Daille catch either the Funival train up for another run or catch the shuttle bus back to the main village area.
Recent Lift Upgrades at Val d'Isere
In the 2006/2007 winter season the Laisinant Express Chairlift was completed. The new detachable 6 seater chairlift gives access to the slopes from the Le Laisinant end of the village helping ease some of the morning congestion at the Solaise Express Chairlift. The new chairlift also eliminates the need to catch the shuttle bus back to the Solaise Express Chairlift after skiing or snowboarding the L or Germain Mattis pistes.
Val d'Isere Terrain Park and Halfpipe
The Snowpark located at the base of the Borsat Express Chairlift, is scattered with big rails, jumps, hips and quarters as well as a well maintained half pipe and a boardercross course suitable for all levels. The Snowpark has four lifts, a repair bench and a viewing sundeck.
Other Activities at Val d'Isere
Other activities at Val d’Isere include cross country skiing, ice driving, snow shoeing, snowmobiling, husky drawn sleigh rides, ice climbing, parasailing, swimming, ice skating and helicopter tours. For more relaxing activities try a French cooking class, yoga class or have a massage or beauty treatment.
Shopping at Val d'Isere
The village at Val d’Isere is a shopper’s paradise; it has ski and snowboard equipment and rental stores, fashion boutiques, shoe shops, newsagencies, perfume shops and jewellers.
There are photography shops, art galleries, antique shops, souvenir and gift stores, beauty parlours and hairdressers as well as supermarkets, bakeries, chocolate shops and local produce stores selling regional cheeses, meats and wines.
Val d'Isere Restaurants
In general the food at Val d’Isere is sensational, chose from Savoyard cheese and meat dishes, gourmet fine dining restaurants and cafes.
For cheese dishes like raclette and fondue go to Le Canyon, they also serve tasty duck dishes and garlic snails.
The gourmet fine dining La Grande Ourse Restaurant has an open fireplace in the dining room and is open for dinner and lunch on the large sun terrace. The restaurant specialises in classic French dishes like roast stuffed chicken and roast lamb with fresh vegetables, all meals are complemented by an excellent international wine list.
For a quick snack go to Le Petit Danois they serve pizza and pasta all day and stay open late.
Val d’Isere has eleven on mountain restaurants, most with large sundecks, one of the largest and most popular is La Folie Douce serving quiches, beef stews, tarts and pies.
Val d'Isere Nightlife
Val d’Isere has an energetic nightlife with bars, pubs and nightclubs scattered throughout the village.
Dick’s Tea Bar kicks off the après ski drinks with live music and happy hour running from 3pm until 7pm, the disco starts at 10pm and the dancing doesn’t stop until 4am!
Café Face has serves tasty snacks on the way home with live music daily as well as theme nights throughout the winter season.
The English pubs, Pacific Bar and the Saloon have happy hour every night as well as live bands and DJs.
Le Graal serves delicious cocktails and plays 60’s 70’s and 80’s music all night long.
New for 2007/2008 at Val d'Isere
In Le Fornet the old Pyramides drag lift has been replaced with a new chairlift easing morning congestion.
In the Solaise area the old Cugnai two seater chairlift has been replaced with a faster four seater chairlift which will improve skiing and snowboarding turnaround times.
New hands free skiing and snowboarding has been introduced for the 2007/2008 winter season at Val d'Isere.The hands free ski pass automatically enables lift access without staff manually checking passes ensuring less crowd congestion.
More About Val d'Isere
Val d'Isere resort review VIDEO
Your Val d'Isere Ski & Snowboard Resort Reviews
Lara K, UK Dec 2007 As a first time skier Val d'Isere is not perfect but the views are spectacular and the variety of runs is wonderful, you can be out all day all over the mountains and even ski across to Tignes with ease. I'll definitely go again.
Fiona Welsh, USA Jan 2006 I enjoyed Val d'Isere because everyone speaks English, in fact most of the tourists are from England, so it makes it really easy. The skiing is fantastic, it's known as the 'Espace Killy' Val d'Isere and Tignes are lift linked together, I'm not sure exactly how big it is but it's way too big to cover over one day, way tooooo big. The trails were groomed each day and being above the tree line either side of the trails are powder fields, it's quite bizarre how many people just stay on the trails and don't go of into the deeper powder, all the more for me! The snow-park totally rocks, the air the boarders and skiers where getting was huge. It's like they were born with skis on! The main trail going back down to the village is called 'The Face' and it is really fast and steep and on an icy day you need to be really careful. (I think they may have world cup races on it) We had a couple of beers in the late afternoon before tackling The Face, it made the ski down certainly interesting, I had more confidence but the old legs seemed to turn to jelly!!!
Dave Meadows, UK. Feb 2006 PROS - extreme powder fields & cliff drops all accessed by lifts, no hiking necessary - spread over huge area - fast lift system moving crowds quickly - booming nightlife - good food CONS - expensive - more guys than gals - too crowded on weekends - long trip to get there by train and bus
Alison Liddell, Australia. March 2006 If you want to ski in Europe it is essential to go to one of the major resorts because even in a poor season you should get some reasonable skiing. I would recommend Val d’Isere as one of the best. It is a huge area linked to other resorts, eg Tignes, and there is a great choice of skiing for all abilities. Be patient getting up the mountain first thing as the access lifts are crowded but once up the top you can head off to where you want.
| Top 10 Resorts | Top 5 Videos |
|---|---|
| 1) Vail | 1) Aspen Terrain Park |
| 2) Aspen Snowmass | 2) Kitzbuhel movie |
| 3) Whistler Blackcomb | 3) Hakuba Japan review |
| 4) Chamonix | 4) Steamboat Worldcup |
| 5) Hakuba Japan | 5) Chamonix Resort |
| 6) Breckenridge | |
| 7) Squaw Valley | |
| 8) Steamboat | |
| 9) Zermatt |
|
| 10) St Moritz | |
Statistics |
|||||||||
Elevation |
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
Average
Snowfall |
|||||||||
Lifts |
|||||||||
90 |
|||||||||
Trails
- view map |
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
Terrain
% |
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
Halfpipe |
|||||||||
1 |
|||||||||
Terrain
Park |
|||||||||
1 |
|||||||||
Resort
Website |
|||||||||