Great skiing

Located in the Alps, at the extreme north-west of Italy, is the ski resort La Thuile. Based in a former mining community, La Thuile has come a long way since its first chairlift was constructed in 1948. The skiing is, quite frankly, AMAZING! It caters for all levels, from complete beginner to the most advanced maestro.

It’s fantastic for beginner skiers

Whether you are looking to take a school trip or a family holiday, La Thuile is fantastic for beginners. It has a purpose-built area at the bottom of the slopes just for beginners that has a moving walkway. The scope for easy progression is really the best in the Aosta region, as once the basics have been safely mastered in the beginners’ area, there are then numerous blue runs, of which many are long, giving plenty of time to let the skis run, increasing confidence and reducing the amount of time spent on chairlifts.

Ski without borders

For those of you whose snow-ploughing days are but a distant memory, there really isn’t a better place to ski. Based in the international ski area of Espace San Bernardo, La Thuile is twinned with the French resort La Rosiere so you really can ski without borders. Both resorts are accessible on one lift pass allowing you access to 152km of slopes. The combined ski areas are so spacious that even at peak times, it isn’t crowded, and queues are rare.

Ski where the best in the world ski

The Women’s Ski World Cup (Super G and Super Combined) have had held speed trials in La Thuile. If you ski the Franco Berthod Slope 3 (Black 3 Run) you will be skiing in the tracks of the skiing greats. Be warned, this run is challenging! In fact, if you do manage to ski down it, you can purchase a ‘I skied Black 3 in La Thuile’ T-shirt in the sports shops in the complex at the bottom of the slopes.

Spectacular scenery

La Thuile, is a wide-open, spacious resort with stunning scenery. Amongst our favourite runs are Blue 5 and Blue 6, these runs not only offer beautiful views, they are quiet and peaceful and are relatively easy to ski, so you can really get some speed up without having to overly concentrate on the terrain, allowing you to take in all the beauty that La Thuile has to offer.

Avoid the cable car (should you wish)

Should you wish to avoid being herded in-and-out with the crowd on the cable car you can actually take the Bosco Express chairlift from the bottom of the slopes. You can also ski all the way down to the bottom of the slopes. Both Red 6 and Red 7 go all the way to the bottom. Red 7 in particular is a fantastic run, it is long and starts wide-open but becomes a tree-lined road that is actually not overly difficult to ski.

It’s Snowsure

La Thuile’s pistes are north facing ensuring great snow levels all season long. In fact, if the snow is a bit scarce at the end of the season in our other Italian resorts, we know that we can always send our clients to La Thuile and that there will be plenty of snow.

Accommodation for all budgets

Whilst the town of La Thuile is very small, it has accommodation for all budgets. Ranging from a youth hostel to the five-star hotel The Montana Lodge and Spa. Amongst our favourites are, the Hotel Du Glacier, a lovely mid-price hotel that is very close to the slopes (approx 200m) and If your budget is a bit more generous, the Hotel Boton d’or and the Le Miramonti are both beautiful hotels that have wellness centres (Le Miramonti also has a swimming pool). The good news is that whilst all hotels are in walking distance from the slopes, some are a little far to lug boots, skis and poles, most hotels provide a free shuttle bus service and even if they don’t, there is a free shuttle bus with ski storage that covers the village of La Thuile.

A picturesque village

Sitting in the valley between the Testa Rutor, Grand Assaly and the Mont Blanc is the village of La Thuile. Although, only a small, traditional mountain village, it has 15 restaurants, a creperie and ice cream parlour and a world-famous chocolate shop, which is described as ‘chocolate, pastry and coffee heaven’. Again, there are restaurants for all budgets. We recommend the restaurant La Grotta, if you are looking for authentic Italian charm, this family-run restaurant offers plenty of food where you will be well looked after. Wherever you go, you are surrounded by mountain ranges, it really has a true, authentic alpine feel to it.

In a nutshell, La Thuile offers world-class skiing. There is something for everyone from complete beginners to world champions. If you are looking for wide-open pistes, amazing scenery and guaranteed snow, there really is no better place to go.