Lady’s Guide to Things to Do in Val Thorens

Today I want to bring you my guide to things to do in Val Thorens. When I was a child, I wanted nothing more than to ski in the Alps. I imagined traveling to a romantic and sophisticated land where chic women in fur-hooded onesies skied effortlessly down the mountains while speaking perfect French and sipping Swiss hot chocolate. I wanted so much to be one of those women, and now I am…

Things to Do in Val Thorens

…Well, not quite. I have a (faux) fur-lined hood on my jacket, but my ski wardrobe isn’t exactly from this season’s must-have alpine fashion collection.

And while my French used to be pretty fluent, the only word coming out of my mouth as I careen down the piste is “Attention!” as I warn my fellow skiers of my rusty skills—in both language and sport.

As for skiing gracefully down a black diamond while drinking hot chocolate, I think that dream died a quiet death around the same time my ambition to become a prima ballerina faded away.

But I’m still in the French Alps, and I’m determined to salvage whatever I can of my dream to become a sophisticated European ski goddess (I have skis and British citizenship; I’m halfway there!).

Thankfully there are a lot of things to do in Val Thorens that can help me.

Ski in Val Thorens

After checking into my hotel in Val Thorens, my first step in making said dream come true is getting on the slopes.

The nice thing about skiing in Val Thorens—the second stop on my ski trip in the French Alps after Tignes—is that it’s part of the 3 Valleys.

The 3 Valleys is a ski area that consists of Val Thorens, Meribel, and Courchevel. It’s one of the largest ski areas in the world—a good place to work my way up to goddess level if there ever was one.

Eat at the Best Restaurants

The second step is to do the things that glamorous European women do when they’re not on the slopes. Back home in California this would mean sipping Chardonnay by the fire while wearing a (faux) fur hat.

Here in the French Alps, we take things to the next level. That is, (faux—I hope) fur chandeliers.

La Maison restaurant in Val Thorens has no shortage of furry light fixtures, but the real treat is the food.

From tartiflette to prime rib, my press trip group from Crystal Ski Holidays and France Montagnes has an alpine feast fit for a pantheon of ski deities. It shows me that eating is one of the best things to do in Val Thorens.

Over at Restaurant Le Montana, we have an equally good lunch of local and regional French cuisine that I always dreamed of while scarfing down overcooked burgers at Lake Tahoe‘s mountain cafeterias as a kid.

And that’s to say nothing of hot chocolate. While we’re skiing, we take a lift up to the Caron Freeride Cafe, the highest restaurant in France, to have the best cocoa in the Alps (award given by me).

I may not be able to sip it while skiing down the mountain, but savoring the drink while taking in the views of the French Alps from the terrace is still one of the most enjoyable things to do in Val Thorens.

The fact that the world’s most adorable snow dog is sitting there with me is another added bonus. Behind every sophisticated European woman is a great dog (right?).

Go to a Val Thorens Spa

The third thing I need in order to accomplish my goal of becoming a graceful ski goddess is some time at the spa. Thankfully Val Thorens has just the thing: the spa at the five-star Hotel Koh-I Noor.

A relaxing massage and a rotation between the sauna, steam room, hot tub, and experience shower are more than enough to make my inner Californian kid feel like an alpine princess.

Best Things to Do in Val Thorens

Mission accomplished, I travel from Val Thorens to London secure in the knowledge that I have made my seven-year-old self very happy.

I may still have a way to go before I’m the quintessential European ski goddess, but that’s just one more excuse to keep going skiing in the French Alps until I achieve perfection.

And when I come back here, I’m sure I’ll find a lot more amazing things to do in Val Thorens.

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