Ski resort Val d'Isere. France
The Val d'Isère resort is located at the foot of the French Alps and occupies exactly half of the Killy space, which got its name in honor of Jean-Claude Killy, a three-time Olympic champion.
Val d isere is located at 1850 m above sea level. It is often called the birthplace of champion skiers. And the fact that the Winter Olympics were held in Val d'Isère in 1992 and the World Ski Championships are planned for 2009 makes this place even more attractive for fans of this sport.
Today, Val d'Isere, like the Megeve resort, is a world-famous resort that begins its history in the first half of the twentieth century and has managed to become very popular among tourists from all over the world, and not only skiers. This is due to the fact that Val d'Isère has everything you need for a relaxing holiday. Excellent ski slopes, beautiful landscapes, a huge choice of leisure activities make it attractive for everyone. For non-skiers, there are mountain snowshoe hikes, thrilling snowmobile rides, even real dog sled available to those who wish.
All hotels in Val d'Isère offer the highest class service. Cozy rooms and excellent cuisine of restaurants and bars will allow you to relax and unwind after a busy day. In addition, hotels in Val d'Isère offer various additional services, such as visiting the sauna. You will also be pleased with the hotels of no less famous resorts.
Val-d'Isère - Val-d'Isère(Alpes, Savoie department) 1785 - 3300 m - this is a traditional ski resort, one of the best in France, a classic vacation in the mountains ...
Val d'Isère - the valley of the river Isere - is an area in national park Vanoise ( park national de la Vanoise) near the border with Italy. After the creation of the European Union and the destruction of the border zone, this area became completely open to tourists and a favorite vacation spot for vacationers from all over the world.
Ski resort Val d'Isere, Alps 
view of the Val d'Isère from the Olimpiysky ski lift towards Italy
Val d'Isère is the cradle of French skiing. In 2009, the Alpine Skiing World Championship was held in Val d'Isère. Located in the Espace Killy, the resort offers ski slopes of any difficulty, as well as an unusually friendly atmosphere for foreign guests who visit this ski resort every year.
The structure of the mountain resort of Val d'Isère
The resort of Val d'Isère includes several "villages" (village) located in the valley along the river:
- La Daille - at the entrance to the resort, closer to Lake Tignes, near the first lift to the bike park
- Le Cret - at the entrance to the resort center
- Central village central village, tourism office, aqua center and sports town
- Le Fornet - behind the central village closer to the border with Italy, where even in summer you can ski
- Le Laisinant - near La Fornet on the other side of the valley
- Le Joseray - deep into the Vanoise park
- La Legettaz - towards the lift "Solaise"
- Le Chatelard - towards the Vanoise park and a quieter and more peaceful place
- Le Manchet - sports town and park right in the middle of the ski and hiking trails
Lifts (Téléphérique = cable cars), most of them work year-round - in winter and summer, they serve to lift tourists to routes with skis, bicycles, mopeds ... strollers. On them you can smoothly find yourself in the neighboring resorts - Tignes or Plagne:
- narrow chair lift (télésiège des etroits) - at the entrance, the village of La Daille
- chairlift "Solaise Express"
- funicular "Solaise" towards Lake La Plagne
- large cabin "Olympique" (Olympic) towards the bike park and Lake Tignes
- lift from Le Fornet to the route of the Great Alps, in the gorge "Col de l'Iseran", where in summer there is snow and you can ski
- du Fornet - from here, but on the other side of the valley, where there is no snow in summer
- Laisinant Express from the respective village and sports center
- various small lifts operating on a special schedule
Map, plan of the resort of Val d'Isère
Popular recreational facilities in the central village:
- Aquacenter (central village) - sports and recreation
- Charles Diebold Sports Park
- green amphitheater
- Congress Center Henri Oreiller, where you can hold conferences and presentations
- children's town - sports and entertainment for children
Recreation areas within reach of the funicular:
- hiking trails in the mountains
- park for cyclists (velo-moto-bike park)
- ski slopes
- parkour
Suggested main sports and activities:
- ski slopes, winter and summer
- rental and sale of sports skis and sports equipment
- skiing lessons of various difficulty levels, for adults and children
- hiking independent or with an instructor hiking in the mountains
- training in mountaineering and rock climbing of different levels of difficulty
- cycling, bike trips, bike rental and sale
- aquasports, swimming, pool, diving, diving training with a wetsuit
- water procedures, SPA, massage
- children's sports club, football
- acrobatics on trampolines
- kayaking
- horse riding and equestrian sports (ay, "Cossacks" !!!)
- fitness, outdoor aerobics in summer
- skate, there is a whole skate park
- mini golf, game, training
- acrobatics on bicycles
- tennis, game and training
- parkour - entertainment in the style of "Mowgli"
- archery
- yoga, classes with instructors for beginners and professionals
- mopeds and racing on them on special tracks, karting, auto-simulators
- laser beatlon
- kettlebell lifting, running, athletics, etc.
- fishing, sports and amateur
- orienteering
- local history museum and guided tours
various sports in the summer in Val d'Isère
bike park
The resort of Val d'Isère is constantly expanding its Bike (Velo-Moto) Park and parkour zone for beginners, parkour for the "federal" level and parkour for extreme pilots of professional level.
Mechanical lifts will take you to all sites of the Bike Park in the Val d'Isère - Tignes area. There are equipped parking lots for cars, motorcycles and bicycles. Near the parking lots there are restaurants and everything you need. Near the Great Alps route there are beautiful villages at different altitudes for you to choose from
Moto-bike park in the resort
Orienteering course
Orientation courses on the map are held in the Central Sports Park. The resort of Val-d'Isère has five parkour courses of varying difficulty
Aqua center. Water park and sports equipment
Aquacenter is a favorite year-round vacation spot for tourists. There is not only a mini-water park, a swimming pool, a spa, but also fitness equipment and even car racing simulators. In general, everything for "M" and "F" in one place
aqua center, swimming pool, fitness equipment
Congress Center Henri Oreiller
Several halls up to 2000 sq. meters and a capacity of up to 300 people with all the necessary equipment (sound equipment, projectors, microphones, etc.) allow you to successfully hold conferences, business seminars, presentations, reports, corporate parties and various performances.
hall for corporate events and seminars in Val d'Isère
Accommodation. Hotels, holiday homes, villas, chalets
The Val-d'Isère resort has all types of places to stay in different parts of the valley from the central village to cozy remote detached houses. Multi-storey hotels modern type from panels and reinforced concrete structures, small wooden houses - holiday houses "a la winter / summer cottage", boarding houses, tourist houses, villas or detached houses for rent, chalets, as well as camping. You can find the full current list and price list in a search engine or on the page of the resort's official website. Large selection of chalets. Photos of some typical hotels (taken by M. Blinov in the summer of 2015), see the types of hotels also on the photo report “tour of the resort below
Modern multi-storey hotels at the entrance hotel Champs Avalins multi-storey hotels of unusual shape tourist house l’Aigle blanc
hotel five stars CRISTIANIA
Restaurants, cafes, bars, pubs and nightclubs
All these categories of establishments are present both separately and at hotels.
Official website of the resort Val d'Isère www.valdisere.com, although the Russian version is "buggy" and far from everything is described. It makes sense to watch information about concerts and news. It is better to use the French version, at least the English one.
Virtual Panorama Gallery www.valdisere.com/val360ete
How to get to Val d'Isère
Public transport from Geneva airport can be reached by train or express bus to Chambéry (two hours), then by train to Bourg St Maurice + bus to Val d'Isère (approximately 2-3 hours). Budget but problematic
Taxi with a Russian-speaking driver is the most popular transfer from the airport (usually Geneva) to the hotel in the resort. The price depends on the number of passengers and the amount of luggage (you need to choose the best option), and of course on the class of the car (mini-bus). The road is very beautiful and you can stop along the way to take pictures of the sights. Cost from 555 Eu for the whole company and luggage. Phone +33753612339 (Your duty Russian-speaking dispatcher for the Alps)
Personal travel experience. Resort Reviews
Visited with an "inspection" resort in the summer for one day at the end of July 2015 in order to identify the best and worst mountain resorts in the summer. The impressions were the best. This is really one of the best resorts French Alps especially in summer. Most of all I liked the long and beautiful funiculars (not all of them were checked in one day, but only a few), which will take you to various recreation areas and parks, where you can swim and sunbathe in some, and ski on natural snow in others. During the ascent on the funicular, fantastic views of the mountains and the natural national park Vanoise. Everywhere we met different groups actively involved in sports. Cyclists, bikers, pedestrians with sticks (more of a tourist tradition), football players and even horseback riders. A lot of sports equipment is sold and rented on the streets. Bar-restaurants managed to "check" only two and both turned out to be inexpensive, but with good tasty food (France!). It’s better to keep silent about the wine in the bar (France-2!) because of it we almost missed the bus “home”. It is the French who will order a glass of wine and sit all evening, while the Russians “taste” wines in other volumes. 🙂 I didn’t have enough time to see the Aqua Center and the sports town, but all the booklets were kindly provided at the tourism office, where you can get all the current comprehensive information. At the same time, the staff said that the resort has interesting things to see. Having been here for only one day for testing, we concluded that we need to come here again just to relax with friends. So the continuation of reports and reviews will be for sure.
Val d'Isere is a colorful French ski region. This place is unique for its Old Savoy architecture and layout.
At the same time, the resort is modern and developed, spilling the good nature and hospitality of the Alpine inhabitants.
The parameters of Val d'Isère correspond to high world standards. Therefore, this place is known among tourists as a source of sports entertainment and family vacation.
Location of the Val d'Isere resort
The resort lies in the luxurious Espace Killy valley, which is about 1,850 meters above sea level. To the neighbor - Italy from here 5 km.
Val d'Isère is located between two interesting places: "Vanoise" (national French park) and "Grand Paradise" (Italian park).
Interesting to know! Val d'Isère is often combined with another nearby resort - "Tignes", calling them "Killi Space".
ski season
The ski season at the resort starts from the first days of December and runs until April.
The climate is very mild. Average low temperatures do not fall below -5°C in winter.
Resort Features
- Ski area - 300 ha;
- Average height difference - 1900 m;
- Number of tracks - 135;
- The total length of the routes is about 300 km;
- The share of tracks for beginners - 15%;
- The share of blue slopes (medium difficulty) - 45%;
- The share of complicated red runs is 30%;
- Black slopes for professionals - 10%;
- Number of lifts - 100 (50 chairlifts, 40 ski lifts, 10 wagons);
- Number of fan parks -2;
- There are 2 halfpipes;
- The length of the cross-country (flat) ski track is 45 km.
It is important to know! The ski center is marked as a family one, marked "family plus". For children, there is a large complex of play areas, slides, schools and a special children's club "Children Holiday Village".
About snowboarding
In Val d'Isère, halfpipes and snowparks are available in the area where the "Face de Belle-varde" slope ends.
You can use (which many tourists do) the slopes and parks of Tiel.
Here the Grande-Motte glacier was equipped for a summer halfpipe.
In winter, snowboarders have fun near the Palafour track, where a modern fun park has been built.
For cross-country skiing fans
Val d'Isère is represented by the longest flat route "Manchet", its length is 6 km.
And the alpine winner is a three-kilometer light track. It is located at an altitude of 2650 m.
And the Brevieres cross-country ski track is considered the longest and at the same time high-mountainous in all of Tiele. Its indicator is 6 km and it is located at an altitude of 2900 m.
Riding lessons and babysitting
Val d'Isère has a wide range of services for teaching adult tourists and their children skiing and snowboarding. Here, 450 master instructors train guests in 12 schools.
In addition to training on the territory of the resort, there is a more exciting service: a helicopter flight to the far areas of the resort.
The instructor will show the most unusual, picturesque and interesting places skating.
If the guests are completely crumbs, then you can entrust the care of them to a nanny, nurse or kindergarten teachers.
Attractions
Val d'Isère is a very exceptional place. The town itself is one big attraction.
Here, in a strange way, the ancient architectural buildings of a typical Savoie village remained intact.
Tiled roofs, stone-trimmed walls of houses, cobbled and cast fences ... Tourists say that a walk along the streets of Val d'Isère turns them into inhabitants of the Middle Ages.
A must see is the ancient baroque 400-year-old church.
You can also look into the local history museum, use excursion services.
The guides will surprise you with the variety of interesting and interesting places in the resort and its surroundings.
For 12 months, Val d'Isère provides tourists with a bright variety of outdoor activities.
This is a skating rink, and romantic walks - both on foot and on snowshoes, extreme paragliding, helicopter excursions, mountaineering, frisky snowmobiling, playing tennis ...
Apres ski-service provides the following services:
- Sports complex;
- Sauna, jacuzzi, bathhouse, hammam, swimming pool;
- SPA and massage centers;
- Cinema;
- Bars, taverns, pubs;
- Bowling, squash courts, bridge;
- Discos and clubs;
- Library;
- Culinary master classes on the secrets of Savoyard cuisine. In particular, inimitable French pastries;
- Many recreational activities organized by the resort: French literary evenings, festivals of classical music and film festivals;
- A lot of restaurants and cafes with truly French, local Savoyard, American, Alsatian, Mexican, Italian and international recipes. Some of these facilities are located on mountain peaks.
Val d'Isère Hotels
The resort of Val d'Isère has big number housing options, including hotels, hotels, apartments, chalets.
It should be noted that some hotels have recently received a fifth star in their status.
For skiers who are ready to jump on skis from early morning right in their pajamas, Le Savoie, Hotel Altitude, Hôtel Le Parc, Hôtel l’Aigle des Neiges and La Savoyarde stand out.
The l’Aigle des Neiges hotel has equipped additional complexes with a spa, a swimming pool, a jacuzzi, and a sauna.
Also for tourists working day and night, there is a business zone for seminars and negotiations.
The hotel "Le Blizzard" has unusual zones. For example, a tea room with a warm cozy fireplace.
Hotel map
Resort Prices
The cost of Ski pass-tickets in Val d'Isère is as follows:
Per adult (14-64 years old) | For children and pensioners |
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Prices are for November 2015.
And housing costs vary. Still, there is a price to pay for popularity.
There are democratic and restrained options, but it is difficult to find them. As an example, one can imagine Standart room at the Langley Hôtel Victors at a price of 55 €.
How to get there
Most close airport from Val d'Isère - Geneva (220 km).
Tourists travel from airports by bus, taxi or rent a car. Can be reached by train from Bourg Saint Maurice. This city is only 30 km.
Val d'Isere is certainly an excellent skiing region, but the prices in this resort may not be affordable for many, but you can look for an alternative, for example, which is located in Bulgaria. Not bad service and fairly affordable prices contributed to the great popularization of this resort, both in Bulgaria itself and abroad.
The resort town of Val d'Isère is considered one of the oldest ski resorts, dating back to the end of the 19th century. Located at an altitude of almost 2000 m, Val d'Isère has exceptional natural and climatic conditions for riding. The slopes of the resort have repeatedly become a platform for national and world championships, which indicates their the highest class and quality of coverage.
And Val d'Isère is considered perfect place for family holidays, as separate children's ski schools are open here, in which children can learn to ski from the age of one and a half! The total length of the ski slopes in Val d'Isère is almost 300 km, so both beginners and advanced skiers feel comfortable here. Special attention is paid to the development of snowboarding, slalom and freeride in the resort.
Val d'Isère is located on the border of France and Italy, at a considerable distance from the French capital - Paris, so it would be wiser and faster to get to the resort from Swiss Geneva or Italian Turin. In relative proximity are also French cities Lyon, Grenoble and Chambéry, but there are no direct flights from Russia. You can clarify all existing flights from Russia to Geneva, Turin or French cities on search engines Aviasales , Buruki and other similar ones that analyze all possible flight options for all Russian and European airlines.
Micheal Evans/flickr
There is no direct railway connection between the listed cities and Val d'Isere, by train you can get to the neighboring town of Bourg-Saint-Maurice, which is located 30 km from the resort. Further from Bourg Saint Maurice there are regular buses to Val d'Isère. Altibus group bus shuttles also run from Geneva Airport to many ski destinations.
In addition, you can book services individual transfer(taxi) on various specialized services. These include, in particular, , and others similar.
one more convenient way to get to the resort for those who have a driver's license, there will be a car rental at the airport of arrival. You can find rental offices at a particular airport on specialized transport rental websites, such as rentalcars , and others. Directly to rent a car in Europe, you will need an international driver's license and a bank card to pay for services, the rental procedure itself is simple and does not take much time. The following is the approximate mileage, track numbers and travel times for specific routes to Val d'Isère:
| Where | Where | Mileage | track number | Travel time |
| Geneva | Val d'Isère | 220 km | No. A41 | 2 hours 50 minutes |
| Turin | Val d'Isère | 205 km | No. A5 | 3 hours 15 minutes |
| Lyon | Val d'Isère | 240 km | No. A43 | 3 hours |
| Chambery | Val d'Isère | 135 km | No. N90 | 1 hour 55 minutes |
| Paris | Val d'Isère | 705 km | No. A6 | about 7 hours |
Where to stay in Val d'Isère
Val d'Isère - popular tourist destination in winter. The resort is visited by both the French themselves and foreigners. In order to find the best accommodation option in terms of price / quality ratio, it is recommended to book accommodation in advance. In the resort you can find accommodation options such as hotels, apartments, guest houses, bed and breakfast hotels. The range of prices is quite large and directly depends on the class of the chosen hotel and the period of arrival.
Find more budget options for accommodation is possible in the neighboring towns of Tignes (6 km), Saint-Foy-Terentaise (20 km), Val Thorens (35 km), while it is worth noting that only Tignes has an infrastructure associated with Val d'Isère, including ski lifts and Access to ski slopes. In other cases, you will have to take care of the issue of transport and ways to get directly to the resort on a daily basis.
In Val d'Isère there are hotels for every taste, in all categories of stars. In 4 star hotels and above, you can find additional options such as spa and wellness centers, indoor pool, sauna, private parking, restaurants, bars. Almost all hotels, regardless of their category, provide ski storage (specificity of the resort) and breakfast included in the price. You can check the prices for all possible accommodation options in Val d'Isère and neighboring resorts on specialized sites Booking , Hotellook and other similar ones that allow you to generate all existing offers for specific dates.
There are also several apart-hotels in Val d'Isère. They differ from ordinary hotels in that each room is equipped with a dining / kitchen area, so the issue of food falls entirely on the shoulders of the guest. As a rule, the cost of a room in an apart-hotel is usually lower than in a standard hotel; this accommodation option is considered more budgetary.
Popular places to stay in Val d'Isère include
Hotel Auberge Saint Hubert (the hotel is located in the center of the resort, close to the ski lifts, the hotel has a restaurant, a bar, there is a spa center with a swimming pool nearby, you can stay in rooms of various sizes, including family-type rooms);
Hotel l'Aigle des Neiges 4* (the hotel is made in a traditional Alpine style, is located in close proximity to the slopes, there is a bar, a restaurant, a spa center and a swimming pool on the territory, there are rooms of various sizes);
Le Yule Hotel&Spa 5* (the hotel has direct access to the ski slopes, the hotel has a restaurant, a terrace, a bar, you can relax in the spa or pool, stay in rooms of various sizes, including family rooms).
More budget accommodation options can be found in neighboring towns.:
Les Chalet des Anges (location - Saint-Foy-Terentaise, the hotel has rooms of various sizes, hydromassage, sauna, Turkish bath, terrace for relaxation, parking and wireless internet services are provided free of charge);
Chalet Aline
(location - Saint-Foy-Terentaise, the hotel is decorated in Alpine style and has mountain views from the windows of the rooms, you can stay in rooms of various sizes, breakfasts are included, free parking and free Wi-Fi are also provided).
What to see in Val d'Isère
Ski slopes in Val d'Isere stretch for 300 km, 200 km of which are easy, 75 are of medium difficulty and 25 are difficult. The most difficult descent in the resort is often called the Bellevard descent, the slope of which is more than 60 degrees. You can also try your hand at cross-country skiing; 25 km of trails are allotted for this sport, incl. and high mountains. Fan parks and half-pipes are open here for snowboarders. In summer, you can ride on the glacier. The resort serves 100 lifts of various modifications.
The low season in the resort is the period from November 25 to December 22, the high season, in turn, is the period from December 23 to May 1.
In the city center you can find a huge sports complex, which is a wellness center for the whole family, is a great place to relax and have fun after skiing. The center is called "Aquasportif" and is located at: Route de la Balme, Val d'Isère. Here you can find a fitness room, spa areas, sports fields, a covered beach area with a swimming pool, massage rooms, relaxation areas, climbing walls, a yoga center and golf simulators. Rest in the beach area is suitable for the whole family, because. there is a swimming pool, water cannons, heated artificial beach, massage jets and currents, water bicycle, hot tubs, slides for children and adults. In the spa area, in turn, there are jacuzzis, infrared saunas, steam baths and lounge areas.
Andreas Bjärlestam/flickr
In the summer, the resort is also not idle and becomes a center for mountain bikers. In addition, in the summer it opens its doors here. rope park entertainment for the whole family "Parcours Aventure Solaise", and for adult tourists who prefer outdoor recreation, there are opportunities for fishing, off-road driving, horseback riding, archery. In addition, rock climbing, rafting on mountain rivers, paragliding, trekking and other types of physical activity in nature are popular.
In general, the resort of Val d'Isère can be called year-round, although its main specificity is skiing. skiing. Val d'Isere is a resort known for a long time, and therefore the infrastructure of the town fully meets all the needs of tourists, in addition, the resort itself impresses with its well-groomed and architectural authenticity.
Ian Gratton/flickr
Going on a trip to ski France, do not forget to take out a travel insurance policy, which is mandatory already at the stage of applying for a tourist visa. You can take out insurance on your own without leaving your home. For this, there are special services, such as Tripinsurance , other. You can buy a policy online and then print it on a regular printer. When choosing a suitable policy, ask if the option “ leisure”, it is suitable for insurance of skiing.
Jerome Bon/flickr
Practical and eventful travels for you!
The Val d'Isère region (including Tignes) is one of the top ten European resorts in terms of the length of connected pistes (300 km, which you can navigate without removing your skis). The holding of the Albertville Olympiad in 1992 clearly benefited these places - the infrastructure underwent a total modernization. With all its appearance, the resort, as it were, emphasizes the difference from more democratic neighbors - Tignes, Les Arcs, La Planie: solid-looking buildings lined with impressive stone tiles, bright night illumination, a large selection of hotels and apartments of a decent level, good restaurants. And very cheap prices. True, at the top, on the slopes, all this does not count - only the mountains and your ability to cope with them remain. Perhaps the resort is less suitable for beginners than for advanced skiers (come here with 2-3 skiing seasons under your belt), but for freeriders it is a complete expanse. Val d'Isère is a very reliable resort in terms of snow: it usually falls a lot, and the season is due to good heights lasts a long time.
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Interesting Facts
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Story
Start
Traces of human presence in Val d'Isère appeared before the Christian era. The first inhabitants here were the Ceutrons, one of the tribes of ancient Gaul. They inhabited much of the Tarentaise Valley (in the modern department of Savoie), today including cities such as Albertville, Moutiers and Bourg Saint Maurice. Pliny the Elder called them "border" - the people living on the western border of the Alps. These people knew how to take care of themselves. The Greek historian Polybius described how aggressively the cetrons attacked Caesar's army during its campaign through the Alps to Lake Bourget (Lac du Bourget): they dropped huge stones from mountain passes, causing significant damage to the Roman troops. Polybius also describes the meeting of the envoys of the cetrons with Hannibal. Roman records of cetrons from Axima (Axima, Aime) have been preserved.
One of the important cultural centers was Darantasia, which gave the Tarentaise valley and the region its name. The clergy made this city an important religious center, which it remained until the end of the first millennium. They called it Monasterium (Monasterium), currently it is the city of Moutiers (Moutiers). The village of Montgirod, also known as the "Forum Claudii Ceutroneum" in Roman times, has retained its original name.
View in a larger map
From the Middle Ages to the ski era
The history of Savoy (now divided into two parts - Savoy and Haute-Savoie), on the territory of which Val d'Isère is located, is complex and interesting. In the Middle Ages, it was called Sabaudia (Sabaudia) and was from the 11th century a county of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1416, Savoy became a duchy, whose capital for a long time was Chambéry (later Turin became the capital). Between the 11th and 18th centuries, Savoy expanded and contracted, periodically adding and losing land in the territories of modern Italy and Switzerland.
For the first time, Savoy was annexed to France in the period from 1792 to 1814 (as the so-called department of Mont Blanc), and in 1815 it was returned to the Piedmontese-Sardinian kingdom. In 1860, it was again annexed to France along with Nice under the Treaty of Turin.
During all these historical upheavals, a community began to form in the Isère Valley. Val d'Isère, the upper village of the valley just below the source of the river Ysere, found it increasingly difficult to remain under the control of the parish of Tignes (today the historic village of Tignes lies at the bottom of the artificial lake Lac du Chevril, created in 1952 after the construction of a hydroelectric dam; once every 10 years water from the lake is drained for maintenance work and you can see the remains of the old village (a copy of the original Tignes church can now be seen in the village of Tignes les Boisses). In 1637, the Pope gave them independence, because. traveling to the parish church of Tignes through the Daille Gorge was an extremely dangerous undertaking. After gaining independence, the parishioners built their own church on the remains of a Roman building.
Life in Isere, located far from major transport routes, was measured and subject to the changes of the season. The inhabitants "hibernated" during the long winter period lasting 8 months. Lace weaving remains one of the crafts that local housewives were engaged in in winter: even now on the windows, especially of old houses, you can see white lace curtains, pay attention to this during your trip. During the short summer period, the inhabitants worked in the fields, herded cattle, and made cheese. This way of life did not open up great prospects for the younger generation, and gradually the inhabitants began to leave the village. And ahead was the era of the origin and development of skiing...
Val d'Isère as a ski resort
Three factors predetermined the development of Val d'Isère as a ski resort. Firstly, initially this place was considered as one of the most suitable and promising routes for laying. The second factor was the construction of a road connecting France and Italy through the Iseran Pass (Col d'Iseran, the highest mountain road pass in Europe). The road was inaugurated in 1937 in the presence of the President of France. And, as always in cases of great success, it was not without great enthusiasm of individuals, in this case it was Charles Diebault (Charles Diebold), Jacques Mouflier (Jacques Mouflier) and Mayor Nicolas Bazile (Nicolas Bazile), who believed in the potential of the resort and invested all their energy in the construction and development of infrastructure. On the way to becoming, many problems had to be overcome: lack of electricity and running water, difficult weather and isolation from the valley by high altitude and difficult road.
The first ski lift started operating on the slopes of Mount Solaise in 1936. But the real resort appeared on ski map in 1937, when, ironically, two ministers of the French government, who arrived on an official visit, were locked in a trap: 4 meters of snow fell and there was no way to quickly get out of Val d'Isère. And already in 1938 the construction of the first cable car on Solais. At the same time, support was far from unanimous: the president of the French Ski Federation, Jean Matter, said that it was crazy to build a ski station here and the event would be a complete failure. History has proven otherwise.
In the 60s, an agreement was reached between the owners of the cable cars Val d'Isere and Tignes to unite the regions, and in 1972 a third independent sector, Fornet, was added. At the 1968 Olympiad in Grenoble, Val d'Isère-raised Jean-Claud Killy achieved resounding success, winning three gold medals (and thus winning all three ski disciplines). Quite naturally, the unified region was named after him and has since been known as the territory of Killy (l'Espace Killy).
In 1992 Albertville hosted the Winter Olympics and part of the skiing program was held on the slopes of Val d'Isère. At the initiative of Mayor Andre Degouey, in preparation for this event, during the 80s, a program was implemented to completely remake the resort and give it a Savoyard style, for this, in particular, special stone mined in the Manchet valley was used in the construction.
And this is exactly how the resort welcomes guests in our time: solid, solid, New Year's dressed up in the winter, where everything is aimed at ensuring that you can ride well in a day, and then relax, take spa treatments and taste wonderful Savoyard cuisine in one of the many (and quite expensive) restaurants.
Restaurants and cuisine
The region has a large selection of good restaurants (albeit relatively few located right on the slopes) with a cozy atmosphere: decorated with wood, with fireplaces, all sorts of ruffles and trendy rustic decorations (somewhat reminiscent of Austria in spirit). Some establishments have their own, rather long and rich history as evidenced by the photographs hung on the walls.
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Almost everywhere you can find fondue , raclette and tartiflet . We definitely recommend trying another local specialty - a complex dish that you partially cook yourself. It is usually called braserade and looks like this: they bring you a special mini-barbecue with coals and a grate on top. For meat, you can choose thinly sliced beef or chicken, and you yourself cook right at the table to the degree of roasting that you like. The side dish is served with potatoes baked with cheese (divinely delicious), a plate of green salad and several sauces. The resulting combination is simply delicious, and the ritual of self-cooking gives the process of eating a special, magical charm.
If you decide to have a bite to eat during a skiing break, then of course, almost everywhere there is pizza, sandwiches and baguettes, pancakes with various fillings, mulled wine and hot chocolate - a standard choice for a skier who does not want to burden his stomach too much. Just remember that the resort is not cheap and the prices may surprise you a little. For example, hot chocolate costs 6 euros, mulled wine - 7 euros, pizza - from 12 euros.
For those who live in apartments and who prefer to cook on their own, there are two Spar stores in the city (one right in the center of the resort), with a very good selection of products (you can even buy a live lobster from an aquarium) and reasonable prices.
Sightseeing route of one day or how to see the whole territory of Killy in one day
If you came to Val d'Isère for one day and want to get an idea of the slopes, landscapes and landscapes, or, for example, only one fine day out of 6 holiday skiing was given to you by nature, or you just want to arrange a great ski safari for yourself, so that you can be proud of it later tell your friends about it, it's quite real. Despite the impressive-sounding figure of "300 kilometers of connected trails", the region is relatively compact and well connected by lifts and descents. An additional plus is that many slopes have doubles and you can almost always choose the option of descending according to your strength (or even descend on the lift; for example, not everyone decides to go down the black Face Cup slope, they offer a descent into the city in l'Olymique cabins) .
So, we present to your attention a one-day route that will allow you to drive through the region along a conditional ring from edge to edge and see all the main sights of the Killy territory, including both glaciers. It is quite capable of intermediate skiers when skiing at a pace without a “sticking out tongue”, although it will take up the entire skiing day and require good physical endurance. Since the route is focused on maximum accessibility, the simplest route options were chosen as the descent. Again, which is good - if you feel tired, you can change the plan on the go and quickly return to the hotel. Of course this is not the only option, you can easily build your own tracklist.
We start from Val d'Isère (point 1, 1850 m) no later than 9 am, so as not to get stuck in the morning queues. We climb the Olympic cabin lift to the top of Roche de Bellevarde (point 2, 2827 m), tighten the bindings of the boots and, admiring the surrounding panorama, we rush along the blue Diebold route to the Tommeuses transfer chair lift (point 3) in Tignes. We climb Toviere (point 4, 2704 m) and descend along the blue Piste H to Val Clara (point 5, 2100 m). Two descents, two ascents - and we are already in Tina.
We take the local metro - the Grande Motte funicular (point 5): after 6 minutes in a narrow tunnel we find ourselves at an intermediate station (point 6), then another Grande Motte lift - and we are on the "roof of the world", at an altitude of 3456 m (point 7 ). We take a breath, because then there is a long many-kilometer descent of Val Claret (point 8) with a drop of almost 1.5 kilometers. To do this, choose either the long blue Genepy or the red run under the chair Les Lanches - shorter and steeper. In the case of Genepy, be careful - there are quite deep dives and long gentle sections in the middle part of it, in front of which you should gain good speed in advance in order to slip through them without problems.
Further along a bunch of four lifts and two short blue slopes (points 8-14) we climb to the top of L’Aiguille Percee (point 14, 2748 m). It is here that, perhaps, the main local attraction is located - a very beautiful rock, in which a rather impressive hole several human heights high has been made by the forces of nature. In order to get close to the arch and take a picture in the opening, you will have to leave the track and walk a short stretch across virgin soil. However, as a rule, there is already a ski trail there, laid by dozens of other connoisseurs of beauty.
We admired it, took pictures and moved on to the upcoming lunch in Tignes Le Brevieux - the extreme right edge of the Espace Killy map (point 15, 1550 m). The descent is long, but the lunch is worth it. In addition, along the way they open up very beautiful views on Lake Lac du Chevril.
Depending on the pace, the queues for the lifts and the number of photos taken, you will end up in Le Brevieux around 1 pm (maybe even earlier). 45 minutes for lunch-mulled wine-toilet in one of the cozy local establishments (indoor or outdoor - choose for yourself, depending on the weather) and set off for the second part of our ski trip to the left side of the map.
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The return to Val d'Isère is relatively short. A bunch of cabin and chair lifts, a blue descent (points 16-18) and we are in Tignes Le Lac (2100 m) - the second Tignes, lying on the opposite shore of the lake from Val Claret. The cabin lift takes us to the top of Toviere, already passed in the morning (this time point 19), from which we descend along the blue track with the "original" name Edelweiss. In order not to repeat ourselves, we will not go up on the Marmottes lift to the beginning of the Face slope (although if you feel a lack of time or energy, you can do it), but we will make a small detour: the Mont Blanc and Borsat Express chairs take us to Col de Fresse (points 20- 23). And along the blue-green link Genepy-Santons we go down to the meeting point, which cannot be changed - the central roll-out of Val d'Isère (points 24-25).
On one of the few chairs in the region with Solaise Express caps, we climb to the top of Solaise (point 26, 2560 m). A short transit to the rather long lift Glacier Express (points 27-28), from which we drive along the upper segment of the Liessieres route to another express train of the same name (points 29-30). The express is cross-country and at the moment of the pass through the top causes a sinking heart, something similar to a roller coaster. After the express, we cling to a very nimble Col tablet yoke, then another chair, a mop yoke (points 31-34) - and we are at the top of the second glacier (Glaceier de Pissaillas).
Other three-thousanders have even more interesting views (for example, Marmolada in the Dolomites or Augille Rouge in the nearby Les Arcs), but this does not detract from the advantages of skiing: wide blue and red pistes that do not force you to seriously work, but give a pleasant feeling of flight and freedom. In addition, the descent will be long - we roll to the extreme left point of the map, the place Le Fornet (1930, point 35). Again 1.5 km of elevation change, continuous descent, which is especially good in the lower part before rolling out to the lower funicular station. This is where you can let go of your skis and enjoy the speed with might and main (if, of course, you still have strength after a whole day of travel).
Well, the sun is setting, the map is over, it remains to close the circle and return to the starting point. If the ski lifts are already closed, you can return by skibus, which regularly go through the valley, but we still have time (and we have a sports spirit). We go up the Fornet funicular and the Vallon de l'Iseran cabins and again onto the Liessieres Express roller coaster, this time in the opposite direction (points 36-39). Passing through the summit, we greet the setting sun, flooding the spacious couloir with its warm light.
Ahead is a long blue-red-blue descent to Val d'Isère along the link Leissieres, Germain Mattis (alternative - blue Piste L) and the last, in some places forest, blue traverse du Laisinant, on which you will have to push a little with sticks (points 40-42). And here we are again at the meeting point, the point from which all the routes of Val d'Isere begin and end. The sun has already left the valley, only the tops of the distant peaks are highlighted in yellow-pink - the last impression of such a large and bright ski trip.
