Eating & Drinking in Val d’isère
03.
Après in Val d’isère
In many ski resorts, “après” begins when you get back to the village, dump your skis and boots and head for the nearest bar.
Not in Val d'Isère.
Our après ski starts right on the mountain.
Whether you love it, hate it or just think it's completely bonkers, no trip to Val d'Isère would be complete without a visit to the Folie Douce. It's become one of the best-known après ski venues anywhere in the Alps—a cross between a mountain restaurant, a cabaret and a packed open-air nightclub.
DJs, singers, dancers—even their very own Fiddler on the Roof. You literally can't miss it. You ski straight past it on your way down to La Daille at the end of the day, but the party actually gets going in the early afternoon and you can hear the music from what seems like miles away.
Of course, the fun doesn't stop there.
As everyone makes their way back down the mountain, the party does too.
Locals and seasonaires love the Rosée Blanche at the bottom of La Daille for its more relaxed atmosphere and sun-soaked terrace. Grab a cold beer or a hot vin chaud, sit back and watch the entertainment as the Folie empties out and everyone piles onto the buses back into town.
Once the queues have died down, jump on the bus yourself and head to Cocorico, right beside the bus stop at Rond Point des Pistes.
"Coco's" is hugely popular and offers a more traditional style of après ski. Live bands and DJs belt out everything from 80s and 90s classics to the latest chart hits, with everyone singing along at the top of their voices and dancing on tables, barrels—or anything else they can climb onto.
The Petit Danois (PD’s to the young, the Danois to our generation!) is also super popular for après, right in the middle of town with live bands playing everyone’s favourite tunes, happy hour and free shots.
As dinner time approaches, après gradually begins to calm down. The hardcore stay until the bitter end, but most people head back to their hotels and apartments to eat, get changed and start partying all over again... not necessarily in that order.
Not everyone, of course, wants pumping music and dancing on tables.
One of the nicest things about Val d'Isère is that there isn't just one style of après ski. If you'd rather relax with a glass of wine or a hot chocolate, chat about the day's skiing and decide where tomorrow's adventures will take you, there are plenty of quieter bars where conversation is still possible.
Chez Jules (officially Le Coin des Amis, though hardly anyone calls it that!) is one of our favourite spots on a sunny afternoon.
It's probably the tiniest bar you've ever seen, yet somehow it has one of the biggest terraces in town, spilling right across into the Tourist Office square. On a warm spring afternoon it can seem as though half the village is at Jules'.
The Experimental Cocktail Club in the Experimental Chalet serves excellent signature cocktails in stylish surroundings and is surprisingly reasonably priced for the quality on offer. Meanwhile, the bar at the Blizzard Hotel has been a favourite with both visitors and locals for years.
However you choose to spend it, après ski is one of those traditions that turns an ordinary ski day into a proper ski holiday.
And remember—if you say you're only going to stay for "just one drink", you're probably not fooling anybody.
