All skiers dream of virtually endless slopes and trails at any resort where they plan to vacation.

The Trois Vallées is about as close as anyone can come to that dream chance to wake up each morning and choose a different village to explore, mountain to schuss or scenic vista to capture. If it is the call of an endless ski safari that you hear, then the epicenter of that siren song is France’s Trois Vallées region.

Click to download a Les Trois Vallees detailed trail map in pdf format.

Since each of the four resorts in Les Trois Vallees is large enough to be treated as a separate resort, we deal with each resort individually. The four main villages comprising Les Trois Vallées, all purpose-built for skiing, are Courchevel, Méribel, Les Menuires and Val Thorens. Newly-built La Tania near Courchevel and the traditional town of St. Martin de Belleville near Les Menuires are also important parts of this region. .

On paper the area is overwhelming; in person it is mind-expanding. Two hundred ski lifts on a single pass, 600 km. of ski runs, 130 km. of cross-country trails, 1,500 snow cannons, 360 ski patrollers, 1,200 lift attendants.

Even with all the lifts providing access to virtually every point in the valley, the region is so vast that intrepid skiers can head off into the hinterlands and ski for thousands of vertical feet without ever seeing a lift and in some cases without seeing another skier. If you are someone who feels comforted by lifts within sight, you will have your fill. If you are the type of skier or snowboarder who wants to feel you are alone in the winter wilderness, the Trois Vallées has plenty to offer.

Skiing just doesn’t get any better served than that found in this region. When you gaze at the mountains from any valley, what you can see you can ski—and it is most likely lift-served to some degree. Mountain restaurants are plentiful and the food is as good as anyone imagines when they conjure up French cooking. Make sure to test the tasty local specialties such as tartiflette, fondue and raclette.

Another way to look at the expanse of this region is to take a look at how many of the largest ski resorts in the United States can fit into the Trois Vallées region. The former Snow Country magazine concluded that the six largest ski areas in the United States could fit inside Les Trois Vallées. That means that Killington, Vail, Heavenly, Steamboat, Squaw Valley and Park City could all fit inside the space covered by Les Trois Vallées with almost 10,000 acres left over. So you can throw in Jackson Hole, Taos, Sun Valley, Keystone, Crested Butte, Alta, Solitude, Cranmore and Stowe and still have room. The expanse is breathtaking. The scenery is spectacular. And the overall skiing is unmatched.

Photos courtesy of Ski France International.

Courchevel Office du Tourisme, Le Coeur de Courchevel, B.P. 37, 73122 Courchevel, France
Country code: 0033
Telephone: 04 79 08 00 29.
Fax: 04 79 08 15 63.
Internet: www.courchevel.com
Email: info@courchevel.com

Courchevel Réservation, La Croisette, BP 33, 73122 Courchevel
Telephone: 04 79 08 14 44 Fax: 04 79 08 33 59
E-mail: info@courchevel-reservation.com

Méribel Office du Tourisme, 73550 Méribel, France
Country code: 0033
Telephone: 04 79 08 60 01
Fax: 04 79 00 59 61
Internet: www.meribel.net
E-mail: info@meribel.net
Telephone reservations: 04 79 00 50 00
Fax: 04 79 00 31 10
E-mail reservations: info@meribel-reservations.com

Les Menuires Office du Tourisme, 73440 Les Menuires, France
Country code: 0033
Telephone: 04 79 00 73 00.
Fax: 04 79 00 75 06.
For reservations only: 04 79 00 79 79; fax 04 79 00 60 92.
Internet: www.lesmenuires.com.
Email: lesmenuires@lesmenuires.com

Saint Martin de Belleville Office du Tourisme, 73440 Saint Martin De Belleville, France
Country code: 0033
Telephone: 04 79 00 20 00;
Fax: 04 79 08 91 71.
Internet:
www.st-martin-belleville.com
E-mail: stmartin@st-martin-belleville.com
73440 Val Thorens, France
Country code: 0033
Telephone: 04 79 00 08 08
Fax: 04 79 00 00 04
Internet: www.valthorens.com

Telephone: 04 79 00 01 06
Fax: 04 79 00 06 49
Internet: www.valthorens.com
E-mail: reserves@valthorens.com

La Tania Office du Tourisme, 73125 La Tania, France;
Telephone: 04 79 08 40 40;
Fax: 04 79 08 45 71
Internet: www.latania.com
E-mail: info@latania.com

Brides les Bains Office du Tourisme,
BP 73572 Brides les Bains Cedex
Telephone: 09 79 55 20 69;
Fax: 09 79 55 20 90
Internet: www.brides-les-bains.com
Email: tourism@brides-les-bains.com.