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An independent guide to Val Thorens
There are lots of mountain restaurants in the Val Thorens-Orelle ski area where you can stop for coffee, hot chocolate, vin chaud or lunch.
The stylish Chalet de la Marine on Les Dalles blue run, and the Chalet des 2 Lacs on the piste of the same name, are both accessible to skiers of modest ability. The Chalet des 2 Ours in the Boismint sector is reliably good.
The Chalet Chinal Donat in Orelle is very popular, and the Folie Douce on Plein Sud is party central.
Read about Val Thorens mountain restaurants here.
At the top of the Plein Sud and Pionniers chairlifts, La Fruitière and La Folie Douce are amongst the attractions of Val Thorens. La Fruitière is a prestigious restaurant and La Folie Douce a well-known party/dance bar.
The original Folie Douce is in Val d'Isere, and as well as the Val Thorens version there are now others in Méribel, Avoriaz and Chamonix.
La Fruitière is one of the smartest, chic-est mountain restaurants in Val Thorens. Prince William and Princess Kate were seen having lunch here in 2012.
The décor has a dairy theme, with milk churns. In the Jura and Savoie regions, a fruitière is the name for a place where dairy farmers take their milk to be transformed into cheese.
It serves excellent food at fairly high, but not outrageous, prices. Reservation recommended. Open 12 to 3pm.
Tel: +33 479 00 04 27
The Folie Douce calls itself an open air club. From around 3pm until the lifts close about 5pm there's a DJ, a singer, and musicians often including a saxophonist on the balcony. People dance on the terrace and tables below.
The original Folie Douce is in Val d'Isère, but the Val Thorens version has quickly become a favourite in resort, and is popular most days and in most weather. Even if you don't want to join in with the madness, it's worth a look from the chairlift.
Inside, there's a bar that's open from 9am until the lifts close, and a self-service restaurant serving food from 12 to 3pm (La Petite Cuisine). There's also a burger van/piste machine outside (Folie Food Ratrack).
Finally, there's a shop selling T-shirts, hoodies and woolly hats.
Chalet de la Marine is one of the best mountain restaurants in the Val Thorens ski area. They have a self-service restaurant downstairs, called the 'Bistro de la Marine', and the restaurant proper upstairs.
There's a marine theme to the chalet, with life-rings part of the decoration. Their website states, 'Our decoration, between sea and mountain, will remind you of the diversity of the meals.' Well, in any case, the décor is beautifully done.
The bistro is for drinks or a quick lunch. The prices are fairly high, even for a big coffee or chocolat chaud - not that that's unusual for Val Thorens.
The restaurant upstairs is very expensive but very good, with the desserts particularly mouth-watering. The head chef is Mathilde Mattera. Generally, you need to book a table at the upstairs restaurant in advance.
Chalet de la Marine does Savoyarde meals with torchlit descent in the evening (must be booked in advance), and you can also reserve the yurt for an evening meal.
Tel: +33 479 00 01 86
Built by Camille Rey, one of the pioneers of Val Thorens, Les Aiguilles de Péclet sits at the top of the Funitel Péclet.
Downstairs, there's a restaurant. Upstairs, there's a bar. At times it feels as though it's rather too busy and the service suffers as a result.
It's accessible to people with pedestrian passes.
Tel: +33 479 00 03 76
Le Caribou is a red building part-way down
the Génépi piste, in the Moraine sector. It's in a good location.
TripAdvisor reviews suggest that the service is not always impeccable when it's busy, but equally there are people who like it a lot.
The advantage of the Chalet des 2 Lacs is that it is accessible to anyone who can do a green run. Take the 2 Lacs lift, follow the Traversée des 2 Lacs piste, and you arrive at this restaurant.
In 2017 it was taken over by the Gorini family who also own Chalet de la Marine and Hotel Pashmina. As a result, everything is well-organised and the service is excellent, but with prices to match.
Tel: +33 479 00 28 54
Les Chalets du Thorens are also accessible by green-run skiers or boarders. Take the 2 Lacs lift then the Traversée des 2 Lacs, heading for the Combe de Thorens.
Les Chalets du Thorens is a sprawling complex with eight different food options including a waffle stand, burger counter, a pizzeria, self-service restaurant, and a proper restaurant with waiter service.
The service can be poor at times.
Le 360 is is an après-ski bar at the Chalets du Thorens, along the same lines as the Folie Douce.
It is popular all season, but especially during the British University weeks in December, when the Festi'ValTho event is on in March, and in Dutch week at the end of April.
Tel: +33 479 00 02 80
La Moutière was one of the first mountain restaurants in Val Thorens. It sits at the bottom of the Plateau piste.
It has quite a large terrace, and the real fire inside makes it cosy on a cold day. It serves straightforward food. There's also a snack hut outside.
Tel: +33 479 00 02 67
In the Rosaël sector, at the bottom of the Rosaël chairlift, the Chalet Chinal Donat makes an excellent coffee stop. It has a large, sunny terrace, so is very popular in good weather.
There are free carafes of tap water (to the right of the bar), and you can help yourself which is unusual and very welcome. The restaurant is self-service, and the food not bad.
Tel: +33 479 56 53 01
New in Winter 2024/25 is Caron 3200 which has a wine bar, shop, restaurant and rooftop bar and panoramic terrace.
I'm somewhat underwhelmed by all the development at the top of the Caron. They have managed to ruin most of the views, which was really the main point of the Cime de Caron. Instead, we have some travelators and a building which wouldn't be out of place at an airport car park.
This is the old Panoramic Café Caron, now gone.
Tel: +33 479 00 80 20
Le Chalet de Caron is on the right hand side of the Cairn piste, close to the Caron bubble station. It has a bar and a self-service restaurant. There's a large, sunny terrace.
Tel:+ 33 479 00 01 71
A ValThorensGuide favourite, the Chalet des 2 Ours is in the Boismint sector.
It is quite spacious inside, and has a good view down the Belleville Valley especially from the 'conservatory' extension. All the food is home-made.
There's also a big terrace, and a snack hatch outside with picnic-style tables and deckchairs.
There are no bears, in spite of the restaurant's name, but there is (or was) a nice dog which wears a harness - a Malamute, I believe.
Tel: +33 479 01 14 09
There are two Igloo bars in the Combe de Thorens.
The first (pictured above) is just below the departure station of Moraine, and the second (pictured below) is a little further down towards the resort of Val Thorens.
I hope you find the perfect hot chocolate in one of the Val Thorens mountain restaurants.
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