Val d'Isere
© Val d'Isere Tourisme
Resort
Val d’Isere is from 1850m to 3480m in altitude and has the most reliable snow cover in France. It is one of the best ski areas in the world and has suitable terrain for all abilities, it also links with Tignes and essentially creates one enormous ski resort covering 300km of piste area. It is located in the Tarentaise and whilst you may not have time to visit anywhere else while in Val d’Isere, it is within easy reach of many other fantastic French ski resorts, from truly enormous resorts to hidden gems, which are within a short drive of Tignes.
Val d’Isere is the world's largest fully interlinked resort, the 3 Vallees (Courchevel, Meribel and Val Thorens), huge Paradiski (Les Arcs and La Plagne) plus the smaller La Rosiere (linked to Italy's La Thuile) and the fabulous Sainte Foy are all close by.
There is great range of activities for non-skiers to do including snowshoe walks, husky-sledding, ice-climbing, ice-skating, ice-diving, and indoor climbing. Less active entertainment includes visiting the wellness centres, the casino, taking the cable-cars to mountain restaurants and viewpoints.
Getting there
Val d'Isere is in Tarentaise valley of the Rhône-Alpes region that is southeast France 5 km from the border of Italy. Chambéry (144km) is the nearest airport to Val d'Isère , then Geneva (GVA) (187km) & Lyon Saint Exupéry (LYS) (221km ). Regular buses serve all the airports and various airport transfers are available. Note that Chambery airport operates on a limited basis.
By train the Bourg St. Maurice train station is 30km away and is on the schedule of numerous ‘fast’ train lines such as TGV and Eurostar from London & Paris. Bus services run regularly from Bourg St. Maurice direct to Val d'Isere, or you can take a local taxi. Bus tickets are available at the Bourg St Maurice train station. Bourg St Maurice is a key transport hub for all Tarentaise ski resorts including Val d’Isere.