Val d'Isere france
Review of snowboarding and skiing in Val d'Isere France.
Val d'Isere Ski Holiday Facts
Established in 1934 the French ski resort Val d'Isere lies at 3600 metres altitude in the Savoie region of the French Alps / Alpes. With the highest lifts and ski slopes above 2500m Val d'Isere ski area is snow sure. Over 300 snow cannons ensure artificial Val d'Isere snow making covers 30km of ski trails, which equates to around 10 of the ski slopes. The nearest airport transfer to Val d'Isere (France) is Geneva at a distance of 180km or approximately 210 minutes driving time. Val d'Isere ski season runs from November to May.
SNO-man says
Val d'Isère ranks alongside St Moritz, Stowe and Cortina in the "famous names of skiing" category and is one of the very few in the world to stage World Cup, World Chamionship and Olympic competitions.. However it is also in the world top ten for 'ski area size' as well as name-fame, sharing the huge Espace Killy with neighbouring Tignes. Add to that world class lift infrastructure and a vast array of apres ski activity and you have the archetypal world-class resort. 'Val' is very popular with the British, and has spawned purpose-built developments at out-of-town La Daille (1785m) , which boasts an ultra-modern funnicular, and le Fornet (1930m). Most of the men's downhill events were staged here for the '92 Albertville Olympics and the European leg of the World Cup season generally starts here in the first half of December.
alpine downhill runs to ski in Val d'Isere France
Beginner Trails
 22 runs ?km |
14% |
Intermediate Trails
 61 runs ?km |
39% |
Advanced Trails
 46 runs ?km |
29% |
Expert Trails
 25 runs 25km |
16% |
Skiing in Val d'Isere
Skiing Val d'Isere you'll enjoy 154 pistes and trails and that means approximately 300km of ski runs. Val d'Isere lifts number 90 with the capacity to uplift 64480 skiers up the mountain per hour. The longest ski run in the French ski resort of Val d'Isere is over 10km long. Ski Val d'Isere summer or winter as there is also glacier skiing in Val d'Isere.
SNO-man says
Val d’Isere skiing is in the vaste 10,000 hectares of the Espace Killy, shared with Tignes. There is something to attract all abilities of skier. In the Espace killy winter sports enthusiasts also have access to the glaciers for year round skiing. This makes Val d’Isere ski resort a dream destination for the advanced skier, whatever the Val d’Isere snow conditions. Ski Val d’Isere by accessing one of the three major areas: Solais, Le Fornet or Bellevarde.
Solaise is the most popular and the busiest, having the best beginner and intermediate pistes, providing sunny easy skiing. Solaise can be accessed from the Val d'Isere town centre or from the Fornet ski area.
The Le Fornet area has some nice cruisers and allows access to snow sure glacier skiing up to 3456m. There are blues running from the Glacier all the way to the resort, a 1500m descent. Easy access to the Espace Killy’s best off piste, try Point Pers and Col Per, which reward a 20 min walk with more than an hour of skiing. Get access from Le Fornet Village and the Solaise area.
Access to Bellevarde is from town centre or La daille. A wide range of skiing is offered with the slopes facing three different directions. East facing get busy and mogully by the end of the day. The South/ South West facing slopes begin shallow but become quite steep lower down. With beautiful views, the north-west/west facing intermediate slopes take you down to La Daille.
Check out the Val d’Isere piste map for more detail.
Val d'Isere Ski Area
Val d'Isere ski area has 14% beginner ski runs or nursery slopes, 39% intermediate, 29% advanced ski slopes and 16% for expert skiers - the most difficult Val d'Isere piste is the 2.905km La Face run, with a steepness/slope angle of ?%. You can't ski Val d'Isere after dark.
Val d'Isere for skiing gets 3 stars out of 5 overall 
Snowboarding in Val d'Isere
If you snowboard Val d'Isere you'll want to know that, of the 90 ski lifts in total, 34 are surface lifts or "drag lifts" - this gives a good indication of how modern the lift system is and well set up Val d'Isere snowboarding is - especially for beginners learning to snowboard. Val d'Isere snowboard facilities include 2 terrain parks and 0 half pipe (longest half pipe length is 0 metres), 0 quarter pipe and 1 boardercross courses.
SNO-man says
Snowboarding Val d’Isere has been popular for a long time with plenty to satisfy all abililities in the Espace Killy.With one of the largest snowpark’s in the world at, the 35,000 square metres Snowpark, take Val d’Isere snowboarding to a new level of excitement. The snowpark, with music along side, includes two boardercross courses, a half pipe, quarter pipes, bump and big air tables. Val d’Isere snowboarding is hugely supported by the number types of lessons and tuition available, try the Billabong Snowboard School if you are looking for specialist in off-piste. Snowboard Val d’Isere all year round on the Grand Motte glacier in Tignes or the local glacier open mid summer.
Val d'Isere for snowboarding gets 5 stars out of 5 overall
Val d'Isere Apres Ski
The apres ski Val d'Isere scene and off-slope or "non-skier" activities include:
17 apres ski bars 70 restaurants 0 bowling 2 night club 1 cinema 5 billiards / pool 1 games room 0 concert 3 indoor swimming 2 outdoor heated pools 3 saunas 3 hot tubs 0 solariums 6 masseurs 0 indoor ice skating 1 outdoor ice skating 1 indoor sports centre 0 indoor tennis 0 squash racquetball 0 sleigh rides 0 ballooning 0 horse riding 10 prepare winter walks 0 climbing 0 golf 0 fishing 0 museum 1 library Plus these additional apres ski facilities Torchlit Descents, Pedestrian Evenings, igloo evenings.
SNO-man says
Val d'Isère has the facilities of a major international resort. Outdoors these include husky dog-sledding trips, microlight flights, parascending, scenic helicopter flights (heliskiing also possible to Italy and Switzerland, illegal in France), snowmobiling, snowshoeing and ice driving on an ice circuit.
Indoors there is the Thérapéos health centre with sauna, steam baths, swimming pool and jacuzzi as well as many different health and fitness facilities and treatments. Some are duplicated by the Health Relaxation Suite at the Christiania Hotel and the Health Suite at the Brussels Hotel. There is also a sports hall, public swimming pool, weights room and high altitude sports training. At a slower pace there's a library, bridge club and the chance to visit a local cheese farm.
Val d'Isere for apres ski gets 4 stars out of 5 overall
More Val d'Isere Snow Ski Area and Resort Information
Val d'Isere resort - ski Val d'Isere by any other name
The French ski resort of Val d'Isere ski resort is also known as Val d'Isere and has the following common misspellings: Val D Isere, Val Dsere, Val-D-Isere, Val-D'Isere, Val'D'Isere, Val'Disere, Vald Isere, Vald'Iser, Vald'Isere, Valdesere, Valdiesere, Valdiser, Valdisere, Valdisere, Valdiseree, Valdiseres, Valdisire, Valdisre
Val d'Isere ski area has ski slopes which face N S E W
The direction which the various Val d'Isere ski slopes face can make or break your skiing or snowboarding holiday. If you want to guarantee good snow and ski conditions, you should choose a resort with ski slopes which face the right way for the time of year you're travelling.
- In the coldest winter months of January and February you need a ski resort with some sunny south facing ski slopes, so your days on the snow doesn't feel like a polar expedition. Conversely, in the warmest spring skiing months of March and especially April, a ski resort with some cool and shady north facing slopes will ensure you're not skiing on slush, but benefitting from best late season snow. The best ski resorts have ski areas and slopes which face in all directions so that you're guaranteed greating skiing whatever the weather. Val d'Isere ski resort has ski slopes facing N S E W.
Val d'Isere for snow gets 5 stars out of 5 overall