Maurienne Valley - Valloire

In the 'Golden Valley', Valloire and its 17 hamlets (including Les Verneys, Les Clots and Les Granges where some of our accommodation is located) is a reasonably large traditional village with 1300 inhabitant and is located between 1400m and 1800m. At the foot of the famous Galibier Pass, Valloire is accessed via the motorway exit and TGV station at St Michel de Maurienne (17km and 4 hrs from Paris by train).

In Valloire there is a good selection of bars, discos, shops, ice rink, bowling and fitness centre. Alternatively visit a working farm in Valloire to buy the local Beaufort cheese or try spotting the chamois on snowshoe outings, go parapenting or try a microlight flight. There are 5 kindergartens while teenagers (10 to 99!) will be keen to visit Valloire’s Adventure Park.

Each year a snow and ice sculptures contest takes place in Valloire ski resort. Sculptors from all over the world meet during three days and three nights...

Galibier Pass – the pass is the natural frontier between the south and north Alps. It has been made famous thanks to the Tour de France. You can admire other summits such as ‘Aiguille d’Arves’ and see the ibexes. Also not far from here are the national parks of ‘la Vanoise’ and ‘les Ecrins’.

Rated by Peak Retreats’ clients in 10/11 amongst the top 10 resorts that they would recommend a friend.

Valloire Resort Opening Dates

GALIBIER-THABOR ski area: 17/12/2011 - 13/04/2012
Valloire only: 10/12/2011 - 16/12/2011 and 14/04/2012 - 21/04/2012 (Partial opening of Valloire area) * Depending on snow conditions

Why Valloire?

·          A 'real' French resort

·          With Valmeinier, it has 150km of piste – 70% of which is above 2000 m (6,500 ft)

·          Excellent après-ski with a good choice of things to do and places to relax

·          Well-suited for non-skiers

·          Only 17km from motorway exit

Childcare in Valloire

Valloire has acquired the Famille Plus label for its childcare facilities. Please view here for more information on the Famille Plus label.

Les Aiglons nursery (6mths-6yrs) +33 479 59 03 98

Open from 18.12.11 till 20.04.12 from 9 am to 17 pm (closed on Saturday).
5 competent and qualified persons will take care of your children while you are skiing. Managed by "Crèches de France".
Located near the “Sétaz” Cable-car, in Tigny

A room of 250 m² + a terrace of 77 m²
It is highly recommended to book a place in advance and to give a deposit (25%)
For the inscription, call the kindergarten during season. Off season, call the "Crèches de France".

Rates 2011/2012

Connection with ski schools

Ski-instructors can bring your child from the ski-school kindergartens to the day nursery.

Halte-Garderie "Les Aiglons" - +33 4 79 59 03 98 - garderie@valloire.net

Outside the opening dates of the day nursery, contact "Crèches de France"
+33 6 11 62 95 27

Ski-passes are free for chidren aged less than 5 years old during the whole season.

Recreation centre (Les Loupiots)

For children aged between 3 and 11 years old - during school holidays and on Wednesdays. Closed during week-ends.

Opening time
1/2 day: 8h30 - 12h or 13h30 -18h
Day: 8h30 - 18h

A certified staff will take care of your children. They will do leisure and relaxing activities related to the week theme.

For more information:
Claire-Joie
Rue des Grandes Alpes - 73450 Valloire
Phone. +33 4 79 83 39 85 - e-mail. lesloupiotsvalloire@orange.fr

Activities in Valloire

Microlite, flying centre, paragliding, snowshoeing, snowpark, fitness centre, ice rink, snow-scooters…

Ice-rink, dairy farm visits (with cheese tasting)…

Valloire Ice rink

Artificial and open-air ice rink. Open every day except on Saturday, from 18.12.11 till 20.04.12 (depending on weather conditions).

Activities: initiation circuit, ice games, little cars for children.
Service: Ice skating courses with a certified instructor.
Rates:
1 ticket + rental adult > 7,10 euros - child > 5,60 euros
5 tickets + rental adult > 28,50 euros - child > 22,50 euros
Free for children under 5 years old and for senior from 75 years old.

Adventure park

Minimum height 1m30

Open every Thursday afternoon (12 person minimum, opens on demand)

2 ½ hours session.

From 10-18€

0033 479 59 02 41

Bowling

Open everyday from 4pm – 2am.

6 lanes, bar, billards, pool

Tél. 04 79 83 30 20 - www.mafayo.com

Wellness centre

Open everyday except Saturday from 19/12/10 - 25/04/11

Sauna, hammam, jacuzzi

Tél. 04 79 59 03 90

Cinema

334 places, 2 to 3 films per day

€5-€7

Paragliding and speed riding

Paragliding:

Small flight - €65

Large flight - €80

Speed riding:

Day discovery - €150

Day progression - €90

2 days - €180

5 days - €450

Tél. 06 10 82 01 69 - e-mail : loulou_uts@yahoo.fr

www.parapente-envergure.com

Dog sledding

Learn to drive a little dog team!
Children too! From 8 years old your dream comes true! A unique experience with a certified instructor.
Rates:
Initiation - 1 hour: adult > 50 euros - child > 40 euros
Iniatiation - 1/2 day (+/- 3 hours) : 90 euros for adults or children
Discover (+/- 30 min): 32 euros for adults - 27 euros for children
Information: Mickaël, subscriptions: Kosa Kruta
Michael
Tel: 06 19 52 11 19 - 04 79 59 00 73

Ladriot Farm

In the hamlet "Les Granges" (near to our residence Le Hameau de Valloire), peasants welcome you and propose:
> Direct selling at the farm: beaufort, Tommes, blue cheese, milk, raclette... From 9.30 to 1 pm and from 4 pm to 7pm (except on Fridays)
> Direct selling on the market every Friday from 9 am to 7pm
> Shepherd snack: lunchtime or in the evening on booking.

Pré Clos Farm

In our farm, located in the hamlet "La Borgé" (closest residence is Les Chalets du Galbier in the next hamlet), discover our mountain cows, in the evening during milking.
> Cheese selling (tommes, raclette, Borgé, meule de Valloire, bleu du Pré Clos... and fresh products) every morning from 8.30 am till 12 pm and in the afternoon from 2 pm; except on Friday morning, we are on the market!
> Farm aperitif at 6 pm on subscription.

Eating Out and Après-Ski in Valloire

Bars,+20restaurants, cinema, bowling, 2 night clubs.

Clubs:

Le Village: Open every night from 11pm. Free entry

www.myspace.com/levillagevalloire

• Le Slalom/Odyssée : Bar - Discothèque,

Open from 12pm (midnight) – Free entry

www.leslalom.com

Other amenities in Valloire

Mini-supermarkets, several cash points, doctors, pharmacies, physiotherapist and dentists. Library, fitness centre, beauty parlour, 3 hairdressers, launderettes/dry cleaning, bakeries… 

All the above information is for information only. For the most up-to-date information please visit the resort tourist office website

Valloire Tourist Office

Valloire tourist information

Open everyday in season

e-mail : info@valloire.net    

Tel +33 479 59 03 96

www.valloire.net

Accessto Valloire      

By Road: Driving distance from Calais 580 miles (8hrs30)

From Calais, take A26 Motorway towards Reims and Troyes, then Dijon, Lyon, then A43 Motorway Exit no9. Follow signs to Valloire (17 km from the motorway exit).

By Rail: St-Michel – Valloire (17 kms).

• TGV directs :

Paris/St Michel - Valloire (4h30)

Sat and Suns during Christmas, Feb and Easter holidays.

Bus transfers from rail station to the resort of Valloire.

See 2010/2011 Transdev Savoie timetable. Booking on www.mobisavoie.fr  

Airports:

Chambery is 118km from Valloire (1 hour)

www.chambery-airport.com

Grenoble is 179km from Valloire (1 ½ hours)

www.grenoble-airport.com

Turin Airport is 147m from Valloire (1 ¾ hours)

www.aeroportoditorino.it

Geneva is 190km from Valloire (1 ¾ hours)

www.gva.ch/en 

Lyon Saint-Exupery is 189km from Valloire (2 ½ hours)

www.lyonairport.com

Chambery, Grenoble and Lyon airports. Bus shuttles run from the airport to the resort during the winter season for 10/11. Please contact the Valloire tourist office for more information about timetables and prices (contact details above by logo).

Covered parking de l’Église:

91 places, 2 hrs free, 7€/24h.

Getting around Valloire

Different shuttles lead you from the town centre to the hamlets:

- Hameau du Col > Valloire roundabout Brive / Valloire roundabout Brive > Hameau du Col
- Les Verneys > Valloire centre / Valloire centre > Les Verneys
- Les Charbonnières > Valloire roundabout Brive / Valloire roundabout Brive > Les Charbonnières
- L'Archaz > Les Clots / Les Clots > L'Archaz
- La Curia > Valloire roundabout Brive / Valloire roundabout Brive > La Curia

As well, a little train is driving around the town-centre - everyday except on Saturdays.

SHUTTLES AND LITTLE TRAIN ARE FREE!

Access Plan

Valloire France

Click on maps to enlarge

Resort Map

Valloire France

SKI AREA

On the Valloire side, there are 4 points of which to access the ski area.

- The Cret de la Brive gondola goes from centre of resort right by the church. This takes you up to the Crey du Quart area of Valloire. There are all types of runs on this sector and the resort runs are green or red. You can drop down into Valmeinier from this side of the mountain. Accommodation close by are Grand Hotel de Valloire (next to gondola), Les Valmonts, Vallee d’Or, Alpages d’Auguste and Hameau de Valloire (further down the road).

- The Setaz gondola goes from another point in the resort centre and takes you up to the Setaz mountain area and the Thimel mountain. Again it is a mix of runs with some great black runs for the experts off the side of the Thimel mountain. The resort runs are green or red.

- The Moulin Benjamin chairlift heading out of the main Valloire town into another hamlet links up to the Thimel mountain area. The resort run back to the Moulin Benjamin area is blue. Les Chalets du Galibier is opposite the chairlift.

- Les Verneys chairlift further away from Valloire in another little hamlet called Les Verneys past the Moulin Benjamin chairlift takes you again to the Thimel mountain area. Also in Les Verneys is a FREE drag lift for beginners. The resort runs down to Les Verneys are green or blue. Les Fermes du Planet and Le Planet are close by and l’Alpe apartments are opposite the chairlift and next to the free drag lift. Le Mont is a little further down the road.

The lightly wooded terrain is varied and some of the runs are as long as 1,000 vertical metres.

BEGINNERS

There is an above average choice of runs for beginners both for starting and progressing. They can quickly get a 'feel' for the peaks on the nursery slopes around the 'Thimel' mountain restaurant. Which ever area you choose to ski there are also green and blue slopes and a free drag at Les Verneys.

INTERMEDIATES

Intermediates have a good choice of runs from wide reds to gentle blues.

EXPERTS

The blacks like the long 'Cascade' will test many experienced skiers.

There is also a Snow Park & half-pipe.

VALLOIRE PISTE MAP

To see the Valloire piste map for 11/12 please see the resort guide panel on the top right hand side of the current page.

VALLOIRE SNOW REPORTS

To see Valloire snow reports please see the resort guide panel on the top right hand side of the current page.

What’s new with the ski area for 11/12?

See VALLOIRE RESORT NEWS

Valloire Lift passes

Save Time in resort and budget ahead by pre-booking your Valloire lift passes. See below for prices.

PRE-BOOK* your Galibier Thabor Valloire/Valmeinier

Lift-Pass with PR

FREE PASSES!

Children under 5 and seniors over 75 receive a FREE lift pass.

Note: Proof of age will be required for reduced price passes.

Other lift pass on offer (to buy locally in resort in Euros):

Galibier Thabor ski pass – ½ day and daily rates:

½ day - €22 children, €27 adults

Day - €26 children, €32 adults

Valloire Ski Schools

PRE-BOOK* your 6 Half-Day GROUP SKI/BOARD LESSONS

Please note that a booking fee of £9 per party will be charged

Times and Schedules (ALL TIMES TO BE CONFIRMED, SUBJECT TO CHANGES).

All lesson are Sunday-Friday.

Ski lessons 09.00-11.30 or 14.15-16.45

Snowboard mornings only 09.00-11.30

Midday lessons only available 12/02-09/03

Please note that lesson times are subject to change right until the last minute. Outside French school holidays the ski school reserves the right to cancel group lessons should numbers be insufficient. For peak periods (18/12-2/1, 13/2-13/3 & 9/4-24/4) we strongly recommend that you book as early as possible and in any case at least 6 weeks prior to the required dates. Morning lessons tend to get booked up first and therefore we may only be able to offer afternoon classes within 6 weeks of departure. In some resorts English speaking instructors may not always be available, particularly at peak times.

Valloire Individual tuitions

(11/12 prices, NOT pre-bookable)

Please note that prices are an indication only and are subject to change

Between 12pm and 1pm or 1pm and 2pm.

Individual tuitions can only be purchased directly from the ski school. Peak Retreats cannot pre-book these.

Ski school Valloire contact numbers:

Valloire ESF +33 479 59 00 73

Ski Hire Valloire

Valloire ski hire prices start from £37 for children (skis and boots) & £54 for adults (skis and boots) for 7 days. View here for Valloire ski hire prices.

Mountain restaurants in Valloire

4 mountain restaurants - Château Ripaille (Access for skiers only, on the Crey du Quart area), Les Mérégers (Access from the Crêt de la Brive cable-car, on the slope "Les Selles"), Thimmel (Access from the Sétaz cable-car) and Le Chalet de la Brive (Access from the Crêt de la Brive cable-car).

Freestyle/snow park

1 snowpark

1 half-pipe

1 ski cross

1 zone chrono

1 ARVA park

The snow park ‘Lac de la Vieille’ welcomes freestyles in Valloire. It enables the majority to discover and practice free-style and new ways of skiing: half-pipe, ski-cross, an expert slopestyle and a medium park to progress safely.
Often classified as one of the best snowparks in European magazines and it has X-tra Large Size.
Maintained daily by 4 snow professionals, the Valloire snowpark is there for snowboarders of all levels and freestyle experts.

For beginners and younger ones, easyparks are located on the 3 areas of the Galibier-Thabor ski area. These play zones are fitted with whoops, curves and jumps for everyone.

Access: €16/day

The snowpark offers different access and zones:

- The Expert zone (red and black level moduls): for advanced – this area propose a slopestyle with big airs, handrails…

- The Ski cross (blue level): for everyone

- Easy Zone – Easy park: across the green slope “Escargot” a play zone with whoops, curves and jumps for everyone

- The Medium zone:  located across the half-pipe

- The Half-pipe

- The Cool zone:  relaxing area with music, picnic areas and a set of tools

- ARVA Park (next to the Snowpark)

Open: 10h00 - 17h00 everyday (depending on weather conditions)
2 hours or more of ramming and maintenance every morning.
(Tricks and handrails are consistent to the AFNOR standard)

ARVA Park

Attracted by big spaces and the virgin snowfields? To carry the material of safety (ARVA, shovel and probe) is essential. But can you use it? In the ARVA Park, at the top of the chair-lift of Sétaz 2 in Valloire, improve your technique of search for victims of avalanches.

Cross-country in Valloire

To complement its alpine skiing domain, Valloire offers Nordic skiing trails of all levels 2, 3, 5, 10, 12 and 20km long depending on the quality of snow.  On the Verney Plateau, the trails are quite suited to the beginner or intermediate-level skiers.

The ‘Balcon de Valloire’, at the start of the Pre-Round cahirlift will suit the needs of the more expert skier.

At the end of the season, the skiers can go up to the Plan Lachat, 2000m high, facing the Galibier pass.

Shoeshoeing

2 snowshoe paths are marked at the top of the two cable-cars BRIVE and SETAZ in Valloire.Activities for everyone, skiers or not, at the top of BRIVE cable-car: Igloo Village, panoramic path “La Séa”, safe sledge slope, picnic areas. Maps of the snowshoe paths and ‘La Séa’ path available at the Valloire tourist office or at the ski lift office.

"Altitude Trek", the Best of snowshoeing, only once a week.
Visit of the Pré Clos farm, once a week.
New: - Day hikes in the "Vanoise National Park"
Via ferrata during Easter holiday
Langlauf and off-piste skiing on demand.
Weekly detailed program available at the ESF desks and at the Tourist Office.

DEGRESSIVE RATES
1st 1/2 day child > 16 euros - adult > 22 euros
2nd 1/2 day child > 13 euros - adult > 18 euros
3rd 1/2 day child > 13 euros - adult > 17 euros
Every following 1/2 day child > 11 euros - adult >16 euros
1 day child > 22 euros - adult > 35 euros

Snowshoes and sticks supplied, transport supplied in the limit of available seats.
English spoken.

*ALL PRE-BOOKABLE EXTRAS ARE PAYABLE TO PEAK RETREATS IN STERLING PRIOR TO DEPARTURE. PRICES ARE IN £.

ANYTHING IN EUROS (€) WE ARE UNABLE TO PRE-BOOK AND

WILL BE PAYABLE LOCALLY.