La Thuile

Snow reliable La Thuile is a small village with a decent sized skiing area with the added benefit of a link at altitude to the neighbouring resort of La Rosiere in France. La Thuile is a confidence building resort which timid intermediates or those of a more cautious disposition will love. Those who are looking for more demanding terrain have several black runs to try and of course La Rosiere where the skiing is a little more challenging.

From the village of La Thuile a gondola or chairlift takes you to the main Les Suches region. The terrain here is dominated by gentle blue runs which are ideal to warm up on. Those who enjoy long cruisey blues will love this area, which despite being the main area remains relatively quiet. Beginners from the nursery slopes in the village should make for this area second.

Head further up the mountain to Chaz Dura and there a number of red runs. These runs are quite short and would definitely be classified as blue in other resorts. However they are wide and well groomed and are ideally suited to those intermediates who are looking to progress. These red runs then join the blue runs lower down at Les Suches making a decent amount of skiing possible.

At the top of the mountain there are a number of red runs on the back side of the mountain between Col de Fourclaz and Belvedere. These red runs are more challenging than those on the frontside of the mountain and are often much quieter to. From the top of the mountain several very long reds skirt either side of the main skiing area and lead back down to the village. For those wanting a more direct route back down to the village there are some seriously steep black runs from Les Suches.

La Thuile is a quiet resort with a selection of friendly, low key bars and isn’t renowned for its nightlife. Most bars are within the hotels but there are also a few scattered in the town too, enough for many, but not enough for party seekers.Check out Bar La Buvette at the bottom of the gondola and La Bricolette for its tasty wines and cocktails, or cosy Italian Bar Berthod. For something a bit livelier then there is La Cage Aux Folles which and also shows sporting events, it also has good music and a wide range of beers and wines. Then there is the Fantasia nightclub at the Planibel complex if you fancy a boogie.

For something far more sedate then there is Chocolat – a wonderful cafe serving all things chocolate related from fondue, cakes, to hot chocolate and ice cream…getting the kids out of here is the hardest issue! La Thuile has a good variety of different eating out options serving everything from pizza and pasta to more tradition Italian specialities, Aostan Valley favourites, fondues and raclettes. Of course pizzas and pasta are widely available here, along with the famous fondue and raclette – make sure you try Taverna Coppapan, La Grotta and of course the extra special La Fordze to sample the best. La Lisse is also worth a visit, as is La Bricole and La Raclette too.

More regional specialities can be found at La Lune, Brasserie du Bathieu and La Rascard with plenty of grilled meats and pastas. La Rascard also offers a range of different pizza dishes cooked in its wooden stove including a chocolate pizza and then there is the Pepita Cafe offering something a bit different too – Tex Mex.

Although La Thuile is a fairly quiet resort, it does have a good variety of different options to keep you amused off the slopes.There is of course the traditional dog sledding, ice skating and climbing, snow shoeing, tobogganing, heli skiing and also snow tubing. The Planibel Complex has a fitness centre, gym, swimming pools, sauna and steam room – all open to the public rather than just its residents. The Hotel Miramonti also has a pool and spa facilities too. Then there are the thermal spa baths in neighbouring Pré-Saint-Didier which really are worth a visit – there is a great range of indoor and outdoor pools to be sampled, various massage treatments, saunas and Turkish baths – you can even see Mont Blanc from here too.

Accommodation really offers two options, apartments or hotels.There is a decent choice for both and prices here and in La Rosiere are competitive with other resorts so give us a call or drop us an email to find you perfect accommodation for a week or even a short break, which is popular, with easy access from Geneva.