Val Thorens. The highest resort in Europe, with the climb up the Belleville valley arranged for you.
Two thousand three hundred metres, above the tree line, at the head of the Belleville valley. Nothing passes through Val Thorens on the way to anywhere, which is both its charm and the thing to plan around.
At a glance
What you need to know
- AltitudeAbout 2,300 mThe highest ski resort in Europe, and the reason the season here runs longer than almost anywhere in the Alps.
- The ski areaLes 3 ValléesSeven linked resorts including Courchevel and Méribel, with around 600 km of pistes on one pass.
- The access roadAbout 37 km from MoûtiersA single climb up the Belleville valley past Saint-Martin and Les Menuires. Roughly 45 minutes to an hour in normal winter conditions.
- Vehicles in resortStrictly managedThe village is largely pedestrianised. Cars unload and then park in the official car parks, which are booked in advance in season.
Checked in September 2026 against resort and Les 3 Vallées sources. Parking rules are set by the commune and change, so we confirm them for your dates.
The resort
Purpose built, high, and entirely above the trees
Val Thorens is not an old village that grew. It was built for skiing, in one piece, at the top of the Belleville valley in the Tarentaise, and it looks like it: a compact bowl of buildings with lifts leaving from the edge of almost every street and no forest anywhere in sight. That altitude is the whole proposition. Snow arrives early and stays late, the runs come back to the village rather than to a bus stop, and in a poor winter this is where the skiing still works.
It sits inside Les 3 Vallées, which links seven resorts across the Belleville, Méribel and Courchevel valleys on a single pass. From Val Thorens you can be in Courchevel by lunchtime on skis and back by the last lift, which is worth knowing when a group cannot agree on where to stay. Below it on the same road are Les Menuires and Saint-Martin-de-Belleville, both quieter and both a shorter drive from the valley floor.
Getting there
Airports and typical transfers
| Airport | By road to Val Thorens | Why you would choose it |
|---|---|---|
| Chambéry Savoie Mont Blanc (CMF) | About 1 hour 45 to 2 hours | The closest airport that takes business jets. A mountain approach with weather minima, so an alternative is agreed before departure. |
| Geneva (GVA) | About 2 hours 45 to 3 hours 15 | The dependable choice. More aircraft, more handling capacity and far fewer weather closures, at the cost of the extra hour. |
| Grenoble Alpes-Isère (GNB) | About 2 hours 15 to 2 hours 45 | Useful in the winter season, with less congestion on the approach than Geneva. |
| Lyon Saint-Exupéry (LYS) | About 2 hours 30 to 3 hours | Motorway for most of the way and rarely closed. The sensible fallback when the Alpine airfields are marginal. |
| Moûtiers (by rail) | About 45 minutes to 1 hour | The valley railhead, about 37 km below the resort. Where every road transfer begins the final climb. |
Realistic ranges in normal winter conditions, not promises. On a February Saturday the run from Albertville through Moûtiers can add an hour or more, because Courchevel, Méribel and the Belleville valley all change over on the same day. Outside London and Manchester our cars are arranged through operators we know, with winter tyres and chains.
Arriving
The village does not want your car
Val Thorens is semi-pedestrianised and takes that seriously. A vehicle can come in to unload at the accommodation, but it then goes to one of the official car parks on the edge of the village or underground, and long stay street parking is not permitted. For a transfer this is straightforward as long as the driver knows it: the car pulls up, the bags come out, and the car leaves. For anyone planning to keep a vehicle in resort for the week, the parking has to be arranged in advance, and in the busy weeks it genuinely sells out.
The practical consequence for a chalet arrival is that the drop-off point and the front door are not always the same place. Some addresses are on the lift side of the village with no vehicle access at all in deep snow, and the last fifty metres are done on foot with a porter or a sledge. Tell us the residence or chalet name when you book and we will have the driver briefed on where the car can actually stop.
Local realities
What the drivers will tell you
- Avoid Saturday if the dates allow. Three valleys change over on the same day through one road at Moûtiers
- There is no airfield in resort and no helipad you can count on in bad weather. The road is the plan, and everything else is a bonus
- Above the tree line the weather is felt, not just seen. A closed road or a delayed plough moves an arrival by an hour, not five minutes
- Count the skis, boards, boot bags and cases. It decides the aircraft and the number of vehicles
- Late season here is genuinely good. Val Thorens is still skiing when the lower Tarentaise resorts have given up
- Coming home, leave earlier than feels necessary. The descent to Moûtiers is as slow as the climb when it snows
Around the trip
Related pages
Routes and airports
The other valleys
Request a quote
Tell us the week and the residence
Dates, how many of you, the chalet or residence, and how many sets of skis. We come back with aircraft options, the transfer plan, the fallback airport and where the car can actually stop, so you can see the whole trip in one reply.
Prefer to talk? +44 2030 048300 or WhatsApp, at any hour.
Questions people ask
About Val Thorens
Is there an airport near the resort?
Not in it. Jets use Chambéry, Geneva, Grenoble or Lyon, and the last stretch is the climb from Moûtiers by road. There is no reliable all weather air link into the village itself.
Which airport should we choose?
Chambéry for the shortest drive, accepting that mountain weather sometimes closes it. Geneva when certainty matters more than the extra hour. We plan both and tell you which is being used.
Can the car drop us at the door?
Usually at or very close to it. Some addresses on the lift side have no vehicle access in deep snow, in which case the car stops at the nearest permitted point and the bags are carried. We check the specific address before the day.
Are these your own cars?
Our own cars and chauffeurs are in London and Manchester, and a trusted global network covers everywhere else. Alpine transfers are arranged through operators we know and run to the same standards, and you deal with one contact at Odyssey from the front door to the chalet.
One contact, wherever you are