Skiing Holidays Val d’Isère

Resort Information

Snow cover in Val d’Isère is guaranteed but what’s also important is the ambience of staying in an authentic mountain village.

At the centre is a fine Baroque church and a cluster of ancient chalets built in traditional style using stone, wood and slate. This gives the resort a welcoming warm atmosphere that borders on the magical. Take a stroll through the village, do a bit of shopping, meet up with your friends, linger over a coffee in one of the numerous enticing cafes and drink in the lively atmosphere.

Located in the middle of a valley, Val d’Isère is, above all, a village of considerable authentic charm that it has managed to maintain as it has grown in size over the years. The accommodation varies from budget apartments to luxury chalets. There is a well-equipped leisure centre, outdoor ice rink and swimming pool close to the Solaise ski area. The aim is to provide all the facilities to make your holiday a complete success. A number of the chalets are ski-in, ski-out, but wherever you choose to stay there is a regular free bus service during the day and evening for getting to and from the slopes and about the resort with ease. Val d’Isère is a truly unique place for a holiday.

Val d’Isère offers a vast ski area with great snow and optimal weather conditions for skiing. Temperatures are regularly sub-zero during the day and/or at night during the entire winter season, as well as in April. This maintains snow cover, even without new snowfalls. The snow is always there.

Throughout April spring skiing here is at its very best. You can spend the morning on the mountain in superb conditions before enjoying a relaxed lunch on a sunny terrace and then indulging in a bit of serious après-ski.

View the Val d’Isère resort map.

Accommodation

Photo credit: Eric Bergoend.

Skiing Val d’Isère

Val d’Isère offers a vast ski area with great snow and optimal weather conditions for skiing. Temperatures are regularly sub-zero during the day and/or at night during the entire winter season. This maintains snow cover, even without new snowfalls. The snow is always there!

The idea that Val d’Isère is for experts only is not true. There are several good nursery slopes and a number of ski lifts that are free for beginners in La Daille and Solaise. When you are ready to progress, a modern lift system with easy to use chairlifts will take you to specially arranged beginner areas higher up the mountain. The most notable is the Solaise area where the chairlift has been replaced by a gondola making it safer for beginners, children and parents to access the higher ski area. Here you will find speed controlled ‘Tranquille’ zones which are monitored to ensure safety. The snow conditions and views are a lot nicer at this higher altitude making learning to ski more pleasurable. There is a large new restaurant at the top of gondola with great views across the Alps. At the end of the day if you don’t want to ski all the way down you can take the gondola back to the resort.

For intermediate skiers there is a large selection of blue and red runs in the Bellevarde, La Daille and Le Fornet glacier sectors. A quick chairlift to Tignes gives access to the Grande Motte glacier area and endless choices of routes to suit every level.

For the more advanced skier Val d’Isère must be included in the list of the best skiing in Europe for its giant moguls, steep black runs, couloirs and not least for its sensational off-piste. Try the Olympic Men’s Downhill run, the waist high Solaise bumps just above the village or the powder bowls of the Tour de Charvet. A lovely run all the way down the Pissaillas Glacier ends at the Fornet cable car where there is a great traditional restaurant for lunch or just a drink. You can catch the gondolas/chairlifts and ski back or take the lazy option and take the free shuttle bus back to the resort.

Off Piste – With both the Grand Motte and Pissaillas glaciers to choose from Val d’Isère offers a great choice of high-altitude and off-piste skiing. On the Grand Motte Glacier there is also a fantastic 20km of piste for all abilities, whereas the Pissaillas Glacier offers a range of blue and red runs starting from a height of over 3,100m.

Snowpark – On the main mountain called Bellevarde at 2,500m altitude the Snowpark has easy access. From the village take the Olympic Gondola or from La Daille the Funicular. There are approximately 40 kickers with 6 lines including some small ones for beginners. There are boxes, rails a double bowl and a mini-pipe shred.​

Photo credits: Eric Bergoend. Val d’Isère Ephoto Administrateur. Val d’Isère Mélinda Pfohl. Val d’Isère Laura Cumin.

The Tignes ski area – If you’re looking for high-altitude, snow sure slopes and a lively resort there is no better choice than Tignes.

Tignes shares the huge ski area with its neighbour Val d’Isère. Between the two resorts there are 300km of pistes for all abilities, ranging from long gentle greens to seriously steep off piste. The lift system is very good after a lot of investment in recent years and when natural snow is lacking, a powerful snow making system and the Grande Motte Glacier ensure that snow reliability is as good as it gets.

The slopes that make up the Tignes ski area offer great options for all abilities. There are good learning areas in both Val Claret and Le Lac. For intermediate skiers the options are almost endless across the entire Tignes-Val d’Isère area and is home to some of the best off piste terrain in France.

Total Pistes: 150km (300km in Tignes-Val d’Isère)
Green: 14%. Blue: 43%. Red: 26%. Black: 17%
Additional Ski Routes: 20 km
Lifts: 47 in Tignes (78 in Tignes-Val d’Isère)
Altitude: 1,550m – 3,456m

For beginners – convenient learning zones are located in both Val Claret and Le Lac, as well as down at Les Boisses. Progression on to longer greens is possible but this is best on the Val d’Isère side of the hill, where piste Verte from the Bellevarde and the entire Borsat area offer long, easy greens. The wide blue beneath the Grattalu chair is good for moving further forward, just take care on the resort return as there are a couple of steeper sections.

For intermediates – Tignes provides some of the Alps’ best intermediate terrain. A good slope is the long and undulating Génépy run down from the glacier and for quieter slopes the long blue from the top of the Aiguille Percée is a great option. Keen intermediates will want to cross over to Val d’Isère – just note that the descent into the resort can be tricky, especially in icy conditions. But once you are in Val d’Isère, there are some great intermediate slopes on the Solaise sector.

For advanced/expert and off-piste – there are some great options both on and off piste. For a long, steep descent on piste, ski the Sache all the way from the Aiguille Percée down to Les Brévières. Most of the other blacks have been converted to un-groomed ski routes, of which Golf & Campanules are popular. Across in Val d’Isère the options are vast, from the Banane off the Bellevarde to the trees above Le Fornet – the ski area offers some fine off piste terrain.

View the Tignes and Val d’Isère piste map.

Ski Passes

The Val d’Isère and Tignes ski area is open from 28 November 2026 until 2 May 2027.​ Ski passes are valid for 6 days starting on Sunday and ending on Friday. If you require your ski passes for a shorter/longer duration or to start/end on different days of the week please ask us for an amended price.

6 free entries to the Centre Aquasportif swimming pool with every 6-15 day ski pass purchased.

Adult: 19-64 years. Children: 8-18 years. Senior: 65-74 years. Proof of age will be required for children’s, senior and free passes.

6 day main season rates 12 December 2026 – 23 April 2027

Adult: 468€
Children: 378€
Senior: 378€

Skiing as a family? Save 330€ off the total cost

• Buy a minimum of  4 ski passes at the same time
• These ski passes must be of the same duration and valid for the same period
• The minimum of 4 ski passes must include 2 adult ski passes (aged 19-64) and two children’s ski passes (aged 8-18)

Please ask us about full rate information including pre-season and end of season prices.

Ski pass rates are in Euros and will be converted to Sterling at the current exchange rate on the day of enquiry/booking.

Travel Advice

The latest travel advice from the Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) including security and local laws, passport and visa information can be found here.

Further travel and health advice can be found here.

Booking Conditions

It’s very important you read our Booking Conditions, you can find them here.

The information, images & maps on this page are non-contractual. The images are for illustrative purposes only.

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