Beginner-friendly slopes and wild off-piste skiing, Michelin-starred farmhouse and gastronomy cooking, unbridled nightlife, and soothing spas, you can find everything in Val d’Isère, 30km southeast of Bourg St-Maurice. Val d’Isère’s capacity to be together traditional, chic, relaxed, and fast-paced has pushed it to stardom as the resort of choice for boarders and skiers with cash to splash. Val d’Isère has all the magic of an Alpine village but with swanky hotels and world-class leisure facilities.
Here, you can watch morning cheese-making at this dairy farm – excellent Vacherin, Tomme, and l’Avalin (hard cheese and a strong-tasting made nowhere else) – or catch the 5.30 pm milking before enjoying the final product at the nearby restaurant, L’Étable d’Alain. Call ahead or ask at the dairy shop in the city, La Fermette de Claudine, to check its known visiting season.
Things to do in Val d’Isère
You can ski in Val d’Isère on the 165 trails of blue, green, black, and red runs (these are for distinct abilities) and pick the ‘Tommuses’ chairlift to move to Tignes, Val d’isere’s neighboring resort. Tignes is divided into various parts, including les brevieres, Le Lac, Val Claret, and more. There are two separate sections in Val, Bellevarde, and Solaise. You can pick the ‘Espace killy’ cable cars to move to the top of bellevarde or the lovely ‘Solaise express’ chairlift for solaise. There are two different ways of skiing down solaise: Rhone Alpes (a black run) and Piste M (a red run). There are six ways of coming down from Bellevarde, Josery (red), Le Face (black), Santons (blue), or the three runs in La Daille, Diebold (blue), Verte (green), or OK (red).
Where to eat in Val d’Isère
Prices are comparatively high, but you will get a high standard of service and good food in the main while you are in this part of France. For lunches, several mountain restaurants serve fresh home-cooked fare to maintain your energy levels up for skiing the rest of the day.
La Table de l’Ours establishment is set within Hotel Barmes de l’Ours, and has the rare accolade of a Michelin two-star rating. As you would expect, the food is beautifully presented, and the menus are inventive.
L’Atelier Edmond in Le Fornet is designed around three dining areas, each with its own unique style – you will feel involved in the traditional Savoyard culture. The menu is original and exceptional; shuttle service is provided for guests, and service is impeccable. This is a fantastic place, perfect for whiling away the hours with excellent food, good company, and exceptional wines.
Le Grande Ourse is deemed to be one of the most elegant restaurants in Val d’Isère, and prices indicate this. The restaurant opened in the 1930s CE when Val was setting itself as a ski resort. Meals here are as gourmet as they get in France.
