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Bars
and Clubs
Val d’Isère boasts a whole host of lively bars for all your après-ski needs. Val is reputed to have some of the best nightlife in the Alps, so check out some of the following places:
The Pacific Bar – A great bar for sport lovers with the large plasmas and many drinks offers for seasonaires.
Moris Pub - Big and buzzing, this popular bar sees live music most nights of the week from various local bands – the favourite being Mullit – and offers a great atmosphere.
Le Petit Danois - Lively
Scandi bar with hot staff and breakfasts
Bananas - Set at the foot of the slopes, this Tex Mex bar is a great stop for some après-ski action
The Saloon Bar - good for apres-ski and late night messiness
Bar Alexandra – Run by Phil the Kiwi, friendly with new restaurant.
Café Face - Stylish cavern bar with the cheapest beers in town from 16.00. Starting at 2€ and going up 20 cents per hour, this is certainly the place to head for an early beverage.
Dicks T-bar - The original alpine nightclub with international DJs and famous artists including Chesney Hawkes! Even provides a hangover cure in the form of an all you can eat, Full English from 9-12.30. 100% English crowd and overly priced drinks.
The Graal -cheesy French night club on the edge of town.
The Doudoune – cheesy French night club out of town.
Blue Note - seasonaire’s choice of bar with fabulous staff and great music.
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Skiing in Val D'Isere
The Espace Killy has some great riding for all abilities. For those who are just starting out and want to build their confidence on the Val d’Isère side there is nowhere better than the rolling greens that Ski Tranquille offers. There are some great areas of blue slopes just beyond the Solaise, best accessed from Glacier Express and Madeleine Express. The Glacier itself is also a fantastic area of blues and reds and, due to the height (3488m), it boasts some of the best snow conditions in resort.
On the Bellevarde side, the O.K Orange has to be the favourite red, and one which you can really let the skis run. La Daille also offers some great tree skiing, although bear in mind it can get very icy down here. If you fancy a challenge there is no run more famous than the men’s Olympic downhill, la Face, an incredibly steep run leading into Val d’Isère 1850 - well worth doing even if it is just for the bragging rights in the pub. Arguably the hardest run in resort is Foret, a steep black through the trees, great if moguls are your thing, although bear in mind that once you get onto this run you are committed.
For those who love air time hitting the jumps there is a world renowned board/ski-park on the Bellevarde at the top of the Mont Blanc chair. This park offers something for everyone from the small green jumps to the massive blacks.
Off-piste
Getting off the beaten track in the Espace Killy is both easy and highly rewarding. The area has such a wide choice of off piste but can be incredibly dangerous. Safety is of paramount importance; never put your life on the line in search of that illusive perfect run- workers have died even on that perfect bluebird day. Always wear an avalanche transceiver and take a rucksack with shovel and probe, and know how to use them.
Henry’s Avalanche Talk in the Moris Pub highlights avalanche safety and how dangerous and unpredictable the elements can be.
There are too many great off-piste routes to name but here are five favorites on the Val d’Isère side (which shouldn't be tackled without a guide).
Vallée Perdue – A dramatic gulley with a cave to climb through about half way down, a very popular and well known route due to its location. Take a left off Verte, directly below the Tommeuses chair. There are numerous options to cut back on to the Trifollet red - think about hopping on the Daille bubble after completion and celebrating with a drink at Le Folie Douce. Great tree skiing can also be found in this locality.
Tour de Charvet – A massive back country powder bowl, with a small empty chalet about halfway down offering an ideal location for a packed lunch. To get there take the Grand Pré chair go straight ahead and eventually take a left through the valley, long traverse through the valley to the Manchet Express.
Col Pers - Stunning back-country skiing with long run-out following the Isère river, with over 1250m of vertical descent, it is a phenomenal run. Take Montets T bar to top of Val d’Isère glacier and traverse far right of Roches.
Le Grand Vallon - Lower section of Col Pers. Take Fornet and then Signal and traverse right before selecting a pitch.
Super L – Short section of off-piste which is easily accessible - just watch out for the trees. Access from Germain Matis, just beyond the Datcha chair, and pick your line from anywhere along the side of the track. Exit onto Piste L.
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Moguls
Bellevarde – the famous Olympic
run down La Face is usually mogulled from top to bottom
Solaise - the infamous Solaise bumps are a steep
route down to the village under the lifts
L'Epaule - south-facing and sunny moguls -
hit it at about 11.30!
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Speed
Bellevarde to La Daille (1050m vertical) - race the Funicular!
Solaise to Val (700m)
Fornet to base camp
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Snowparks
The terrain around Val is so good you rarely
need a man-made environment. However, there is a world renowned board/ski-park on the Bellvarde at the top of the Mont Blanc lift.
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Events
Val d’Isère is a buzzing resort with great entertainments throughout the season. Various ski and boarding competitions take place on the Val slopes, from the alpine World Cup ski racing in December to the Polo Masters championships to the Valpark competitions week the first week in March. Street parties, parades and concerts take place during the peak season and guarantee a large gathering of people and a great vibe.
Natives makes several appearances in the resort throughout the year. Look out for the team in Le Petit Danois on January 13 for the Natives Show Love Tour party and also at the Workers Challenge Natives Mini Olympics on 3 February.
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Famous
visitors
People come to Val to
be seen on the mountain not off it! Jean-Claude
Killy remains a famous son. Damon Hill has been
sighted, as has Zoe Ball-Cook, Fatboy Slim, Bono and the Edge, Gerard Depardieu, Helene Christianson, and many other luvvies. It's home of the beautiful people.
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Away
Days
Although Val is on the large side for a ski resort, you will still want to escape on occasion. For a skiing day out, try Ste Foy. Just 30 minutes away this rustic resort has reams of off-piste potential.
Bourg St Maurice is not the most exciting town, but is large enough to provide a distraction. Towards the end of the season, consider a trip to La Rosière and over the Col du Petit St Bernard into Italy.
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Shopping
There's a shop for everyone in Val. Some of the favourites
include Billabong, Misty Fly, Quiksilver, Poudreuse, Napapijri and
Hors Limites. Fat Face and White Stuff also feature.
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 Internet
Cafés
Powder Monkey – Internet café in Le Galerie des Cimes, directly opposite the main bus station next to the infamous Tocard burger bar.
Mediathèque - for subscribers only, 15 days costs just 5€. A six month period costs just 10€. Located opposite the church.
La Gourmandine – on the Rond Pont des Pistes, at only 5€ for one hour, this is one of the cheapest internet cafés on resort.
Free wifi is available at many of the pubs such as the Moris, Warm Up Bar and Dick’s T Bar.
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Eating
Out
On those occasions when your need to get away
from the kitchen, you can still get good value for money
about the resort:
Le Lodge - good value pizza
Le Canyon - Traditional French dishes
Billabong Cafe - American diner style
The Melting Pot - great
curry night!
Perdrix Blanche - Excellent but on the pricey end
Tocard - the best way to finish a night out is with a Tocard burger- including fillings such as hash browns, this is a fantastic hangover buster joint.
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Mountain
Restos
There are some fantastic mountain restaurants in Val d’Isère if you have an unlimited budget, most of which have fantastic mountain views on a good day. If you are hosting your guests out there, here is a list of some of the better ones:
Folie Douce -Arguably the most famous is La Folie Douce (top of Daille bubble). Chill out on the white sofas, with views over Mont Blanc listening to the tunes pumping. Folie Duce is an expensive self service restaurant; the Plat du jour is usually the dish to go for. This place gets even better at around 4.00pm and as an excellent Apres Ski bar with live music, feel free to dance on the tables. The champagne is flowing and the only place that I have witnessed bag pipes being played along side house music, brilliant. If you are a seasonnaire I promise you will visit this place a few times in the season.
La Fruitière - Next to la Folie Douce, a much more civilized location serving similar fare to Folie Douce at twice the price can only be described as a civilized mad hatters tea party if that was ever possible. Worth visiting just to experience a great place to visit if you have something to celebrate, or if you have tips to burn!
Tête Du Solaise - A reasonably priced self service restaurant located at the top of the Solaise Express chair with some great views back into Val d’Isère 1850. Try to arrive early or late in the peak weeks to get a table and avoid the queues.
Looking for something a little cheaper is a great excuse to make the day trip over to Tignes head over to Bagus bar on the Rue de la Poste next to the Palafour chair. There is a set menu for around 12 euros for a drink and a large dish or pizza and drink. The Calzone Montonarde, a small beer and the sun terrace, looking back up at the Trolles black you have just completed makes a great combination. Le Coffee in Val Claret, just below the Tufs chair offers fast food on a budget with a really cool vibe.
English Medical Centre 04 79 06 13 70
For when things go wrong! Dr Griffiths has run the English medical Centre for the last 10 years. If you have done a season in Val d’Isere before you might know him as he's the one who gives the ‘Do as I say not as I do’ health talks at the start of the season to all of the tour operator staff. It covers all aspects from what to do in an emergency in France (dial 112), to how to stay healthy and avoid a dose of something unpleasant. He is also the man to send your clients to (or go yourself, if unlucky) when injured on the mountain. The French ambulances deliver to his Surgery back door so request the English Medical Centre or end up at the French one…!
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McDonalds
The nearest 'Royale with
Cheese' is in Bourg St Maurice (30 mins).
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Shopping
Day
Options in town include Casino and Spar though they are exceedingly expensive so shop down the valley at Super U when you can. For wholesale items, you'll probably take the occasional visit up to Bob's Cash 2000 on the way to Fornet.
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Transfer
Day
Located as far up the
Tarentaise valley as you can get, Val d'Isère is consequently
at least an extra hour of transfer time on top of the
Three Valley resorts. Private transfers are an increasingly popular way to get up the mountain as they are well over an hour quicker than the coach. However throughout the season you will do well to beat any of the following times - Bourg 30min, Chambèry 2.5hrs, Lyon 3hrs and Geneva 3hrs. There are many new roads and a motorway in progress which will speed the journey from Geneva.
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Après-ski
Events
If you are a Rep, Val d'Isere offers a number of popular après-ski offers you can put out to your guests and boost your income. The following suppliers and ideas should help you put together a programme:
Tarentaise Tour – Everyone loves this 'haute montagne' ski day. Takes in Val, Tignes, Les Arcs and La Plagne.
Speciality Evenings – Cheesy as it may be, traditional Savoyarde nights out can be great fun. Try Le Casserole or Table d’Alain for Fondue.
As well as the usual skidoos, parapenting, snowboarding lessons etc why not try out ice racing in cars or quads. You can even helicopter up the mountain at the end of the day, spend an evening in an igloo being served cheese and then chocolate fondue, then ski down in the dark. Expensive but an awesome experience, talk to Alaska Moto-neige on +33 (0)6 15 194629.
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Living
Val isn't as bad as some resorts,
in that it's fairly compact and flat. If you're working for
a tour operator you're always going to be fairly close to the action.
It's a fair walk into town from Chatelard, but the only call that's
likely to affect your social life is La Daille and even then you
can walk back within 30 minutes (next to nothing with a few demis
inside you!). Don’t live in Le Fornet however, as it is a 45 min walk.
There is an association called Vie Val d’Isère that gets you discounts as a seasonaire, around town, and the best value insurance. The card costs only 18€ and with it you get your carte neige- insurance for off-piste- which normally costs in the region of 50€. It also gives you reductions at many bars, ski shops, the cinema, Spar and Casino.
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MyNatives
Search
If you’re thinking of doing a season in Val d'Isere then why not search through MyNatives to see who else has worked there and what advice they may be able to offer.
Join
Anyone can join MyNatives, where you join in the chat in the chatroom, post pictures in the gallery and blog your heart out about what you're up to.
Thanks to Natives Rep Anne Smellie for updating the page. |
