45.1655, 6.4287
006°25'72"E | 45°9'93"N
Valloire, Valmeinier
Pays de Maurienne,French Alps.
Altitude: 1430 - 2600m
Downhill ski terrain: 150km
85 Pistes:
22 Green | 24 Blue | 30 Red | 9 Black
Snowpark | Half-Pipe | Ski-Cross
33 Lifts:
2 Gondolas
14 Draglifts | 17 Chairlifts
Beginners/Families- Intermediates
Advanced/Expert
Valmeinier’s terrain is on both sides of a deep valley spanned by the Armera chair-lift.
NB: Freeride potential is more limited than it appears, owing to a heightened avalanche risk in the steeper off-piste terrain.
- Value
- Accommodation
Dining Out- Nightlife
NB: Our review is based on Valloire, a traditional mountain village with a long history and a loyal following among mainly French family skiers. The mood is cheerful, friendly and upbeat, although quieter further up the valley (served by regular free shuttle buses).
- • Extensive terrain for intermediates plus gentle return runs for novices.
- • High altitudes for a high proportion of the combined ski terrain.
- • Tree-sheltered lower runs.
- • Plenty of accommodation to suit most budgets.
- • Friendly, traditional village with a welcome in all seasons.
- • Frequent free ski buses.
- • Not the most intuitive lift system - but things are slowly improving.
- • Getting around the large area can be confusing for newcomers.
- • Higher, exposed areas can lose snow-cover during high winds.
- • Long, winding access road can be icy for those coming by car.
- • Find peace and solitude by skiing further from Valloire, working your way around towards Valmeinier.
The Armera piste passes through
spectacular scenery.
After the lifts have closed
the village comes alive.
- Seen, tried and tested.
Résidence Lagrange Prestige
Les Chalets du Galibier
Route du Galibier
73450 Valloire
Comfortable, well-equipped self-catering apartments in a quiet location right opposite the Moulin Benjamin chair-lift.
Guests can enjoy 2 indoor swimming-pools, lounge with open fire, pool table (payable) and tea-making facility, sauna and steam room (1 free session per apartment, then €39/apartment/week), left luggage room, laundry room (payable). The residence has free outdoor parking and its own covered parking (£25/week, payable at time of booking). WiFi internet access in reception (payable).
Regular free shuttle buses stop outside for access to all ski departure points and the shops, or a few minutes' walk will take you to the village centre.
Enquiries and bookings:
Peak Retreats
0844 576 0170 (UK)
or +44 23 9283 9310
reservations@peakretreats.co.uk
We recommend discovering the ski area with an ESF instructor. Perfect your technique, boost your confidence and really get to know the slopes.
Prices for an hour from 38 euros for 1 or 2 people.
Visit the website for information and contact details.
Le Fournil des Bergers
Rue des Grandes Alpes
73450 Valloire
Tel: +33 (0)4 79 59 00 74
Visit website
Quality authentic regional produce beautifully and mouth-wateringly displayed. Don’t miss the tempting slabs of hand-made chocolate and slices of nougat - buy by weight. Absolutely delicious...
L'Equipe
73450 Valloire
Tel: +33 (0)4 79 59 00 57
Bar/restaurant with a great atmosphere on the corner of Le Christiania Hotel and close to the Cret de la Brive gondola and ESF school. Home of the Jean-Baptiste Grange fan club!
Le Kôsa Krûta
Place de la Mairie
73450 Valloire
Tel: +33 (0)6 81 58 28 01
Small and friendly central snack bar serving sandwiches, soups and salads and regional dishes to eat in or take away. We applaud the fact that they use fresh local produce and everything is made to order. Vegetarians should not be put off by an apparent lack of options; just ask. Best (and largest) panini we've ever had... Open daily 10am until 6pm.
Les Chalets de l'Armera
73450 Valmeinier
Tel: +33 (0)4 79 59 29 41
Situated at the foot of the Grapil piste, this bar/restaurant has a sunny terrace with views over the ski terrain and valley of Valmeinier. Serves hot meals and snacks with daily specials at reasonable prices. Open evenings.
terre & matières
Le Chalet
73450 Valloire
Tel: +33 (0)4 79 83 26 99
Artisan potter and creator of fabrics Véronique Massinon has created a treasure trove for lovers of Alpine decoration and attractive, useful ceramic tableware.
RECENTLY REBRANDED AS GALIBIER-THABOR, the linked ski areas of Valloire and Valmeinier, located above the Maurienne Valley en-route for the legendary Col du Galibier, are easily accessible from the budget-flight destinations of Chambéry and Grenoble. Valloire, largest of the villages, sits at an altitude of 1430m, while Valmeinier comprises two villages set at 1500m and 1800m. The latter is purpose-built. Very much aimed at young and budget-conscious family skiers, the area nevertheless offers surprisingly extensive skiing for all levels. Highlights include long Blue-graded scenic cruises which start high and end among pine forests, or follow the course of a river. It can take some getting to know, but repays the effort with great skiing. 
Driving to Valloire involves powering up the long, winding route over the Col du Télégraphe, one of the most gruelling classic climbs of the Tour de France. Ordinarily we'd take it in our stride, but after fresh overnight snowfalls we could be pushing our luck arriving before things have thawed and softened a little. This had better be worth it.
Fortunately, the first sight of the snow-laden village rooftops cheerfully backlit by the pale morning sun, suggests that we might just have come to the right place at the right time. There’s a distinct buzz as we drive through the heart of the old village, where a new influx of visitors takes in the sights and regulars meet up with old friends. It’s also a big week for Valloire, which is hosting its annual International Snow and Ice Sculpture Competition, the raw materials for which are aligned in huge blocks at the roadside.
Brand new skiers in the safe hands of a local ESF ski instructor.
There’s more snow overnight, setting a pattern for the week, and we lay the of our tracks here the next day amid the kind of fairytale scenery we'd choose for our Christmas cards. Particularly dreamlike is the gentle run down through the trees to the Settaz gondola, which hauls us up smoothly to the intermediate terrain below La Settaz-des-Prés (2538m). It’s clearly a popular spot, particularly on Sunday mornings, when the local skiers swell the numbers on the pistes, but things are considerably quieter in the next valley. In the days to come taking the Crêt de la Brive gondola, rather than Settaz, will put more distance between us and the terrain above village. For now, though, we press on via the Montissot chair-lift, which gives us time to take in the wild-looking scenery in which we find ourselves.
Passing the Cornafond téléski, en-route for the Montissot chair-lift.
At the top we cruise lazily over to the nearby Brive 2 lift, on which we finally reach Le Crey du Quart (2534m). From here on we’re in the Valmeinier sector, the purpose-built village becoming visible in its sensational location at the head of the next valley spread before us. We decide to take a closer look at the valley and take Grapil, one of the Blue-graded trails which snake down the valley side. This doesn't go as smoothly as planned — on a narrow, icy section half-way down we encounter lots of small stones, which are impossible to avoid. Result: some unwelcome scratches on our skis. A few minutes later, though, things look up when we chance upon a chalet-style restaurant right beside the piste and offering warming food and sweeping views across to Valmeinier 1800. Perfect timing.
More fresh snowfalls...
After a reviving break we fumble our far-from-instinctive way back to Valloire and spend some time getting better acquainted with the piste-map. This rewards us the following day with the kind of skiing which we'll long remember. This time we board the Crêt de la Brive gondola and Brive 2 chairlift direct to the Crey du Quart ridge and take Armera, a long, Blue-graded scenic cruise which after fresh snowfalls really is the stuff of dreams. It also fires us down through the forest to the sensational chairlift spanning the valley.
The Armera chair-lift spans the valley, to link Valmeinier with Valloire.
It’s quite a ride, with a free vertigo test thrown in along the way. Once across we spend some time on the mainly Red and Blue-graded runs of the Gros Crey area, before heading back over to meet Christophe Michelet, an ESF ski instructor who will take us on a tour around Valloire and Valmeinier sectors. There’s nothing quite like skiing with someone who has known the terrain since childhood to instantly make sense of your surroundings. Freed from the need to guide ourselves, we follow in his elegantly-carved tracks like fledgling fighter pilots before taking a breather on the serene drag-lift haul up to Le Grand Plateau. This rite of passage opens up unimagined riches, including the Combe Orsière, a long and exhilarating swoop which clings to the side of the Neuvache Valley, above a gently flowing river. It’s a different world over here.
The Neuvache river valley, with the distinctive outline of l’Aiguille Noire.
And so it continues, a glorious afternoon’s skiing which gets us back to Valloire just as the lifts are about to close. Christophe is a true pro, and has not only shown us things we’d barely imagined; somewhere along the way we had begun to share his obvious love with this place.
© MountainPassions.com
By car
Take the A43 autoroute to Saint Michel de Maurienne then exit towards Valloire (17kms) on the D902. The 9 hour drive from Calais will cost about 65 euros in autoroute tolls.
N.B. The Galibier pass is closed October - May.
By air
The nearest airport is Chambéry, about 100kms distance. Transfer times vary according to traffic conditions on this busy route. Grenoble (130kms) would be a good alternative airport. Valloire Tourism Office offers a booking system for shuttles from the airports which you can book online.
By train
There are direct trains from Paris Gare de Lyon to St Michel / Valloire at weekends during the ski season. There is a regular service from Paris to St Michel de Maurienne via Chambéry every day.
services from London offer regular services to Paris to pick up your connection.
Bus connections to Valloire are with Transavoie - see www.altibus.com for details.
Take the train...
Rail Europe, the UK subsidiary of SNCF French Railways, provides rail travel right into the heart of the French Alps.
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