At 3,230m above sea level, Val Thorens is the highest ski resort in Europe and is situated in the south of the famed Trois Vallees (Three Valleys) ski region – one of the world’s largest. This extreme altitude allows summer skiing on Glacier de Peclet. Val Thorens is a great place to learn, as most of the terrain is geared to beginners and is comprised of wide, treeless slopes.

The resort village is purpose-built and traffic-free with ski-in/ski-out accessibility. Even though the village lies at 2,300m above sea level, there are extensive services and facilities with 70 shops, banks and a post office; while childcare is available for children from two and a half to seven years of age.

Most visitors stay in hotels or self-catering accommodation and there are 23,500 beds available; slope-side lodgings are also on offer. Snowshoeing and swimming are among the non-ski activities and you will find typical Savoyard and Italian cuisine on the menu in the dozens of restaurants. Coffeehouses, bars, discos and a cinema provide après-ski entertainment.

The 54 groomed slopes run for 140kms, with lots of off-piste opportunities for powder skiers and snowboarders. Beginners and advanced sliders get the most of the terrain, and the longest run is just over two kilometres. An array of lift systems has an hourly capacity for 61,000 people, providing access to all slopes.

For alternative skiing, the Val Thorens ski pass gives access to the entire Trois Vallees region, with a total of 328 slopes over 600kms of perfect terrain, and 198 lifts. Slide over to Les Menuires, Meribel and Courchevel, the latter of which boasts fantastic terrain and incomparable convenience. For a daytrip, Chambery is a charming old town with some staggering architecture.

The ski season in Val Thorens runs from the early November to early May, with summer skiing to August on the Peclet Glacier. The most convenient way to get to Val Thorens is to fly to Geneva or Lyon and take a train/bus combination via Chambery and Moutiers, or Skibus or hire car.