Val d’Isere is one of the most iconic Alpine resorts in the world and part of the reason for that is that it did not just come into existence because of the booming ski industry, The resort dates back to 1664 meaning that unlike a lot of newer ski resorts, Val d’Isere has managed to retain some of its character and displays some true Alpine history in its architecture and culture.
Val d’Isere has only relatively recently become a trendy, luxury resort; ensuring that the resort is not completely over-run yet, and that the clientèle tend to still be fairly down-to-earth. It also means that you will still find some very lively après ski scenes that are not so common in the traditionally hot resorts such as Courchevel, Klosters and Lech.
Val D’Isere is a snow sure resort and tends to open slightly earlier than most of the big European resorts. Indeed it hosts the first European World Cup downhill races each season in December
The Skiing in Val d’Isere is absolutely phenomenal, especially for advanced skiers; and there is so much of it due to its conjunction with Tignes, making the Espace Killy ski area. Beginners and Intermediates will enjoy Val d’Isère too, with some lovely gentle blue runs on the higher slopes; it is nice that beginners are not limited to the boring baby slopes in town. However, it is advised for beginners and intermediates to take the gondola back down at the end of the day as the descent runs can be very testing. This being said, experts should most definitely have a go coming down La Face, which is iced at the start of the season for down-hill racing; the start of the day it is a steep, groomed piste, but by the end of the day it is a horror of ice for you to tackle if you dare.