Val Thorens is a village in the Tarentaise Valley of the French Alps. Situated at an altitude of 2,300 meters, Val Thorens is the highest ski resort in Europe. Nestled within the Belleville Valley, it is part of the larger 3 Valleys ski area. Val Thorens is one of France's most well-known ski resorts, popular with skiers and snowboarders worldwide.
Val Thorens ski resort - 3 Valleys ski area
Val Thorens, real name Belleville, is the third valley that makes up the Three Valley Ski area. It is the highest valley in the ski area and home to the Val Thorens ski resort, the highest in Europe. Surrounded by 6 glacier, the Val Thorens domain offers a large choice of ski itinerary to ski on the sun all day long. High altitude gives the perfect natural snow which allows Val Thorens to be open from mid November until the beginning of May. Mountain lovers will love the gorgeous 360 landscapes on the mythical Glacier of Péclet from the Cime of Caron and on more than 1000 peaks (french, swiss and italian).
Ski pass combinations available for the 3 ski areas accessible from the resort:
The ski area of Val Thorens-Orelle has a total of 150km of slopes and offers, in addition to access via the Belleville valley, access from Maurienne via the Orelle station.
The areas of Val Thorens and Les Menuires (La Vallée des Belleville) combined have approximately 65 lifts that offer access to roughly 300km of piste.
Made up of 7 ski resorts (Courchevel, Méribel, Brides-les-Bains, Saint-Martin-de-Belleville, Les Menuires, Val Thorens and Orelle), all connected on skis, the 3 Valleys ski area totals 600 km of slopes.
Val Thorens is the most international ski resort in France as 70% of its visitors are not French and mainly British, Scandinavian and Dutch.
Val Thorens skiing
Val Thorens’ wide range of slopes makes it a ski resort for all levels of skier and snowboarder. You can expect some lovely blues runs to cruise around, an abundance of red runs and some of the most challenging black and off-piste runs in the Three Valleys.
Apres ski
Val Thorens is a party town, and après starts early. A popular venue is 360 Bar located at the foot of Moraine & Portette chair lifts. Here you can expect DJ’s and bands entertaining the crowds before the bar closes just after the lifts.
A must for any visitor to Val Thorens is La Folie Douce. This is basically a nightclub on the slopes during the day. It attracts party-goers from 2 pm to 5 pm every day and is located under the Plein Sud chairlift. Book a table to be sure to get a good vantage point for all the entertainment.
If you prefer to start your après in resort rather than on the mountain, check out Café Snesko for live music and seriously good times. This is a Scandinavian bar, so expect cheesy sing-a-long-music, lots of shots and the bar being set on fire. Le Saloon is regarded as one of the best après bars in Val Thorens.
A must for any visitor to Val Thorens is La Folie Douce. This is basically a nightclub on the slopes during the day. It attracts party-goers from 2 pm to 5 pm every day and is located under the Plein Sud chairlift. Book a table to be sure to get a good vantage point for all the entertainment.
If you prefer to start your après in resort rather than on the mountain, check out Café Snesko for live music and seriously good times. This is a Scandinavian bar, so expect cheesy sing-a-long-music, lots of shots and the bar being set on fire. Le Saloon is regarded as one of the best après bars in Val Thorens.
Val Thorens village