What to do in Val d'Isère in winter

In Val d’Isère, winter revolves around a single mountain. The Face de Bellevarde towers over the village: you ski it in the morning, watch it from the ice rink in the afternoon, and the fireworks go off at its foot. Around it, a ski area shared with Tignes climbs to more than 3400m, and the Manchet valley, a short walk from the village, keeps the silence of the gateway to the Vanoise. Enough to fill a week, from the first chairlift to the last log fire.

Skiing, from the Face de Bellevarde to the glaciers

The Face de Bellevarde is Val d’Isère’s great run: a black of about three kilometres with 850m of vertical, raced at the 1992 Olympic Games, the 2009 World Championships and the Critérium. It is for confident, experienced skiers, and it is never better than on the first run of the day, on snow groomed overnight. Above it, the Tignes-Val d’Isère ski area runs up to the glaciers, at more than 3400m. For a gentler day, the Ski Tranquille routes on Solaise and Bellevarde, marked with a logo, can be followed in the Val d’Isère Ski app, and the Val Park, on the back of Bellevarde, has features for every level.

Away from the pistes, you go out with the Bureau des guides, which leads off-piste skiing and ski touring all winter. Two touring routes are marked for beginners, at La Daille and on Solaise, climbing through the forest, with transceiver, shovel and probe, and coming back down on the open pistes. Cross-country skiers head for the Manchet valley, where two loops run to the edge of the Parc national de la Vanoise, or circle the Lac de l’Ouillette, at 2500m, reached by the Solaise gondola. Our guide to the Tignes-Val d’Isère ski area covers its pistes in detail.

Days off skis

At the foot of the Face de Bellevarde, the Centre Aquasportif spreads across 5000m² of activities, including nearly 1000m² of pools: a 25m pool, a leisure pool with a lazy river and massage jets, late opening every Wednesday until 10pm, and a wellness area with three jacuzzis, three saunas and a hammam, for those aged 16 and over, accompanied by an adult. The pool reopens on 28 November. The open-air ice rink, in the heart of the village, looks straight across at Bellevarde, with skate hire on site. For sledging, the snow-front area is free to use from 10am to 5pm, bring your own sledge, and from 5.45pm on weekdays the Savonnette piste comes alive with linked sledges and snow bodyboards, free of charge.

The mountain is just as rewarding on foot. Paths from the village lead to the Manchet frozen waterfall or, from Le Fornet, to the pont Saint-Charles, at the gateway to the Vanoise, where with a little luck you will see ibex, chamois and bearded vultures. With a pedestrian pass, the lifts take you to the Lac de l’Ouillette or up to the Pisaillas glacier, at 3118m. A musher takes dog sleds out into the Manchet valley; places go quickly and can be booked from the Saturday for the following week. At the top of Solaise, at more than 2500m, paragliding instructors take off in tandem on skis, with the Lac du Chevril below.

When the weather turns, the Maison de Val brings together the cinema, the media library and the Val d’Isère museum; the museum, free to enter, tells the story of the move from a farming and pastoral way of life to an international ski resort. In the heart of the village, the Saint-Bernard de Menthon church, listed as a historic monument, raises its bell tower dating from 1664. And this winter, at the top of the Vallon gondola, at around 2800m, a small space tells the legend of Mont Iseran, and you can visit it on skis.

Val d’Isère for families

First turns happen on the snow front: the Savonnette drag lift, the Village chairlift and, at La Daille, the Lanches drag lift are all free, and parents who don’t ski can watch their children’s progress from the village. The ESF ski school takes the youngest in its snow gardens, from around 3 to 4 years old. Up on Solaise, ValKids, the area for 3 to 10-year-olds, has its own igloo, mini zip line and child-sized piste basher; during the holidays, free workshops introduce them to mountain jobs, avalanche dog handlers included. Strong skiers head for the Village Perdu, at 2000m, with its huts and walkways among the larches, on an ungroomed piste. For childcare, the Chalet des Aiglons takes children from 18 months: book as early as the autumn. Our guide to family ski holidays adds further pointers.

What’s on in winter 2026-2027

• Premières Traces: 28 and 29 November 2026, the opening weekend, with free ski and snowboard tests on the snow front, a brass band and a concert.
• Critérium de la Première Neige: a men’s World Cup giant slalom on Saturday 12 December and a slalom on Sunday 13 December, on the Face de Bellevarde, weather permitting.
• The festive season: the Magie de Noël from 21 to 27 December, the ESF show with a torchlit descent and fireworks on the 22nd, another descent on the 29th, weather permitting, and on New Year’s Eve, a DJ on the snow front and fireworks at midnight at the foot of Bellevarde.
• Classicaval: two series of classical concerts in the Saint-Bernard de Menthon church, from 11 to 14 January and from 8 to 11 March.
• February: a torchlit descent and fireworks on the 9th, then ESF shows on Tuesday 16 and Tuesday 23, weather permitting.
• Festival du film aventure et découverte: the 30th edition, from 12 to 15 April 2027, with the travel writer Sylvain Tesson.

AEC tip. Save the Face de Bellevarde for the first morning of clear blue sky, right at opening, when the piste has just been groomed. Then keep the afternoon for the Centre Aquasportif: the contrast between burning legs and warm water is part of the trip.

Where to stay

All our chalets and apartments in the resort are gathered in our rentals in Val d’Isère, and if you want to clip into your skis outside the door, see our ski-in ski-out chalets in Val d’Isère. To choose your hamlet, read our guide to where to stay in Val d’Isère; for the journey, see how to get to Val d’Isère, and if you are still undecided, our comparisons Val d’Isère or Tignes and Courchevel or Val d’Isère. For the festive week, see also our guide to New Year on the slopes.

The simplest way is to write to us: tell us your dates and what you have in mind, big skiing, family time or quiet days, and our agents will put together a selection in the hamlet that fits.

In the evening, the Face de Bellevarde fades into the night, and the village lights up at its foot.

Frequently asked questions