- The villageThe highest village of the 55 resorts we cover.
- 2,300m
- Top of the skiing457m above the median of 2,697m across the 55 resorts we cover.
- 3,154m
- SeasonThe joint longest season in France. Longer than the December to April season that 42 of the 55 resorts we cover run.
- Late November to early May
Is Val Thorens right for you?
Val Thorens sits at 2,300m, the highest ski resort in Europe, so snow is about as reliable as the Alps get. The skiing tops out at 3,154m, and the season runs late November to early May. On the piste it is a real strength for first timers, improvers moving from blue into red and confident intermediates.
Val Thorens at a glance
- Area
- Three Valleys
- Best for
- Snow sure · Après · Groups of friends
- Fly to
- Geneva, Chambéry or Lyon
- Transfer
- About 2h35 by road from Geneva
- Doorstep skiing
- Widely available
Who Val Thorens suits, and who it suits less
Best for
- Snow sure. Val Thorens sits at 2,300 metres, we measure 96 percent of its piste above 1,800 metres, and the skiing climbs above 3,100 metres.
- Après. La Folie Douce tips lunch into an afternoon of dancing in ski boots, then the party rolls down into village bars that keep going well past most resorts.
- Groups of friends. Generous terrain, quick lifts and some of the liveliest nightlife in the Alps have long made it the home of groups who ski hard and go out hard.
- Mileage chasers. You can ski straight out into the Three Valleys towards Méribel and Courchevel, with 600 kilometres of piste and around 150 lifts on one pass.
- Beginners. Beginners learn on wide, gentle, high pistes right by the village rather than being shipped up a mountain, and we measure 64 percent of the piste as easy.
Less good for
- Couples. Couples dreaming of old stone chalets and church bells will find a compact cluster of modern buildings high above the tree line instead.
- Families with young children. Nightlife is central to the village and it can feel busy and loud at peak times, so families with small children should stay well away from the bars.
Skiing from 2,050m to 3,154m, village at 2,300m.
Where these heights are
- Lowest skiing
- 2,050mLowest point of the Val Thorens to Orelle domain.
- Village
- 2,300m
- Top of the skiing
- 3,154mOur measurement of the highest marked piste.
- 53 runs green16%
- 136 runs blue41%
- 108 runs red32%
- 37 runs black11%
Counted by the resort, covering Les 3 Vallées, the whole linked area. No official kilometres by colour are published.
- Black piste
- 16km, 8% of the pisteThe eighth smallest share of black of the 55 resorts we cover.
- Off piste itinerary
- 8kmMarked routes, not pistes, and never added to the piste figures.
- Ski area
- Les 3 Vallées, 600km
Sources
- Village height: les3vallees.com
- Lowest skiing: auvergnerhonealpes-tourisme.com
- Runs by colour: press.les3vallees.com
- Ski area: press.les3vallees.com
- Top of the skiing: our measurement of the highest marked piste
- The steep end: our measurement of the OpenStreetMap piste map
The published figures were read on 29 October 2026.
211km of graded piste, measured ourselves.
- 134km green and blue64%
- 61km red29%
- 16km black8%
Of the 134km green and blue, 22km is green.
Plus 8km of off-piste itinerary, kept out of the piste total. The longest is Le Lac de Lou par la Masse, 3.5km with 748m of vertical. It is an itinerary, not a piste.
- First timersA real strength
- Improvers, blue into redA real strength
- Confident intermediatesA real strength
- Strong skiersFine
The spreadA resort that knows what it is. 64% of the piste is green and blue, and it scores 0.77 for evenness, where 1 is a perfect three way split between green and blue, red and black. Wonderful if that is your speed, and worth knowing if your group is mixed.
Longest pisteCombe du Vallon, 3.1km of red with 947m of vertical.
Measured from the run geometry, Val Thorens has 211km of graded piste: 134km green and blue, 61km red and 16km black. We do not print the resort's published kilometres until we have checked what they count.
The highest village of its French peers
Of these five, Val Thorens has the highest village, 2,300m. The median across the 55 resorts we cover is 1,350m.
Know the mountain before you go.
The skiing
The terrain is mostly above the tree line, wide and open, and there is a huge amount of it before you even leave the resort. Snow sure early and late season conditions make it a favourite for December and April trips.
The village and the evenings
The village is compact and almost entirely ski in and ski out, and it has a well earned reputation for a lively evening scene. It is high energy rather than quaint, and it suits groups who want to ski hard and then celebrate.
Beyond the skiing.
Free, and worth knowing
The Montagnette trail. The walk to do if you want the mountain without paying for a lift. It starts from the village, it is signed the whole way, and it is roughly three kilometres and a bit over an hour there and back. Proper boots rather than trainers, and take a layer more than you think you need, because it is a lot colder standing still than it is skiing.
La Piste aux Etoiles. A short toboggan run in the middle of the village, 250 metres with a few proper turns in it, and the two covered carpets that carry you back to the top are free. It runs into the evening on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from the middle of February, which makes it a good hour before dinner if you have children who are not tired yet.
Peclet by Night. The Funitel de Peclet stays open on Wednesday evenings and it costs nothing on top of a lift pass you have already bought. One run down in the dark with the village lit up underneath you is the sort of thing people put on their phone and then talk about at dinner.
A few of the rest
La BEE. Three linked zip lines running 1,800 metres in total, up to 65 metres above the pistes, finishing right in the middle of the village at Place Caron. You can go on your own or side by side with somebody, which is what most people end up doing. One price whether or not you ski, and the chairlift up is included in it. 20 to 50 euros.
Cosmojet. Five kilometres of toboggan run starting at 3,000 metres at the top of Peclet, and it is the longest in France. Three quarters of an hour down. The evening descents on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday are the ones to go for, and the second descent costs about half what the first one does, which is usually the point at which people decide they are doing two. 20 to 50 euros.
Moon Xperience. Inflatable rings down a groomed lane at the top of the Campagnols carpet, which you get to from the village on the free carpets, so nobody needs a lift pass for it. Half an hour is plenty for most people and an hour is for the ones who are competitive about it. Trainers or snow boots are a lot easier than ski boots. Under 20 euros.
These are our own picks, not paid placements. Prices and opening times change, so it is always worth checking before you set off.
18 places we would send you to
The highest place on our list and one people plan their week around.
Dinner rather than a quick bite, and the cote de boeuf is what to come for.
A British pub at 2335m, and everyone writes about the people behind the bar, which tells you what sort of night it is.
These are our own picks, not paid placements. Opening times and ownership change, so it is always worth checking before you set off.
Getting there
Fly to Geneva or Chambéry and transfer in around three hours, with the final climb up the valley part of the fun.
- Genevaabout 2h35 by road
- Chambéryabout 1h25 by road
- Lyonabout 2h20 by road