Après-ski in Val Thorens has two stages: the afternoon on the slopes at La Folie Douce, at the top of the Plein Sud chairlift (2,600 m), with live music every day until the pistes close, then the evening in the village, which Les 3 Vallées says you can cross on foot in about twenty minutes. To eat, there are mountain restaurants up to Caron 3200 at 3,200 m, village restaurants such as the Michelin-starred Les Explorateurs (30 seats, booking essential) and the Sherpa supermarket for a raclette at home. We give times only where an official page publishes them for winter 2026/27; the lifts run from 21 November 2026 to 2 May 2027.
Where and when does après-ski happen in Val Thorens?
In two stages: on the pistes in the afternoon, then in the village in the evening. La Folie Douce has live music every day and, in its own words, people 'dance on the tables until the closing of the slopes'; in the village, says Les 3 Vallées, the bars get the evening going and the clubs take over after dark.
| When | Where | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Afternoon, until the pistes close | La Folie Douce, top of the Plein Sud chairlift, 2,600 m | Live music on a sunny terrace, dancing on the tables |
| Early evening | Village bars, pubs and hotel bars | Drinks, platters, live music, DJ sets, matches on big screens |
| Night | Clubs: Le Malaysia, Klub Summit, Le Jackie | DJ sets, themed nights, live concerts |
It is all within walking distance: Les 3 Vallées counts six areas (Soleil, Grande Rue, Balcons, Lombarde, Slalom and Plein Sud), crossed on foot in about twenty minutes, with a free bus between them.
La Folie Douce Val Thorens: where is it, and how do you get back down?
La Folie Douce is on the pistes at the top of the Plein Sud chairlift, at 2,600 m according to its own site, about 300 m above the village. It promises 'great live music every day', from electro and funk to house and rock, on a terrace 'often bathed in sunshine', and a VIP terrace closer to the artists can be booked.
Food: La Fruitière is the sit-down restaurant ('semi-gastronomic', it says) and takes bookings, La Petite Cuisine is the self-service, and the Folie Food Ratrack sells burgers, hot dogs and bagels.
Opening times: its site shows daily times, but the menus posted there are still last winter's (2025/26), so check its après-ski page for this winter.
Getting back: ski down while the pistes are open, and plan that run before the last drink. SETAM, the lift company, warns on its 2026/27 beginners' map that 'the slopes are not for après-ski' because 'piste groomers are at work', and Les 3 Vallées advises checking the lift closing times on its live page before your last run.
Not skiing? The Plein Sud chairlift is not among the lifts SETAM opens to pedestrians, so ask La Folie Douce how a non-skier can reach it.
Bars, pubs and clubs in Val Thorens
Les 3 Vallées' guide to going out lists three clubs, two bars and two pubs; valthorens.com, the tourist office's site, adds Favela. What the sources say:
| Name | Type | What the source says |
|---|---|---|
| Le Malaysia | Club | Underground club beneath the main square; DJ sets and regular live concerts |
| Klub Summit | Club | Central bar district; DJ sets from electro to techno, themed nights; its own site adds karaoke and after-parties |
| Le Jackie | Club | Chic club paired with Yuki Yama, an Asian restaurant: dinner, then dancing |
| Wild and Savage | Bar | Live performances and DJ sets, plus a shop selling its own-brand clothing |
| Le Zinc | Bar | In the Fahrenheit Seven hotel; Savoyard fondues, truffle mac and cheese; DJ sets and live musicians, says the hotel |
| Favela | Bar and restaurant | Galerie Péclet, Grande Rue area; Latin street food and signature cocktails |
| Shamrock Irish Pub | Pub | Live music and collective singing |
| Crewzer | Pub | Sports pub with large screens for the matches |
Hotel bars: Le 1971, at Le Val Thorens hotel on Place de l'Eglise, pairs a seventies-style bar and fireplace with a big terrace on the slopes, and the hotel promises DJ sets and après-ski. For a quieter drink, the Pashmina hotel's Lounge Bar, 'open to everyone', serves cocktails, wine and tapas with live music several nights a week.
No hours here, on purpose: no official page gives these venues' hours for 2026/27, and most of the listings above carry no date, so check each venue's own site or social pages before you go.
Mountain restaurants: where to eat on the slopes
Les 3 Vallées picks five Val Thorens restaurants for their terraces, from Chez Pépé Nicolas, reachable by car, to Caron 3200 at 3,200 m.
| Restaurant | Where, and how to get there | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| La Fruitière, La Folie Douce | Top of the Plein Sud chairlift, 2,600 m | Semi-gastronomic; book a table |
| Chalet de la Marine | Dalles blue run, 2,500 m; on foot by the Marine footpath | Dessert buffet; dinner by booking |
| Chalet des 2 Lacs | Traversée des 2 Lacs green run, 2,445 m; for walkers, the 2 Lacs trail or the Moutière chairlift | Savoyard mountain bistro; evenings by booking only |
| Chez Pépé Nicolas | Chasse run, between Val Thorens and Les Menuires; also by car | Savoie produce; a terrace away from the ski area |
| Caron 3200 | Summit of Cime Caron, 3,200 m, from Val Thorens or Orelle | Savoyard and international food, panoramic rooftop, 130 seats |
Or picnic: SETAM lists picnic tables and public toilets on the slopes, and Les 3 Vallées picks four picnic spots in Val Thorens: La Ruche at the top of the Moutière chairlift, and the Goitschel (on the Goitschel red run), Rosaël (at 3,000 m) and Plateaux (by the snowpark) picnic chalets.
Restaurants in the village: do you need to book?
In peak season, yes. Les 3 Vallées advises booking lunch on the slopes ahead, 'especially during school holidays', and the Pashmina hotel calls booking its own restaurants 'strongly recommended, especially during peak season' and essential at its Michelin-starred Les Explorateurs, which seats only thirty.
Savoyard food means cheese: Les 3 Vallées suggests a fondue, a raclette or a reblochonnade, and Le Zinc serves Savoyard fondues.
Dinner before a night out: Yuki Yama, the Asian restaurant paired with Le Jackie, or Favela in Galerie Péclet, whose tacos, burritos and empanadas valthorens.com suggests before partying.
Groups: book before you travel, above all for New Year and the February school holidays, when the French zones take turns between 6 February and 8 March 2027 and England has its half-term. In our apartments, the weeks from 13 February to 6 March and New Year week are the dearest of the season; the holiday dates are in when to go to Val Thorens.
Food shopping for a self-catered apartment
Val Thorens has a Sherpa supermarket by the Place Péclet shuttle stop, a food shop 'tailor-made' for ski holidays in the tourist office's words, with butchery-rotisserie, charcuterie, cheese and local specialities counters, bread and pastries baked on site, a wine and spirits cellar, newspapers, snow chains and baby products.
Raclette at home: Sherpa sells ready-to-go raclette, fondue and hot-stone sets and lends the equipment; it also takes orders on sherpa.net and offers home delivery.
Arrival day: the tourist office's page gives no opening hours, so check them before you set off, especially if you arrive late on a Saturday. On our apartments page, agency apartments are rented by the full week, Saturday to Saturday, and SkiShare's own apartments by the night, for the dates you choose.
Not into partying? What to do in the evening
SETAM, the lift company, has already published 2026/27 times for three end-of-day activities, all starting from the top of the Péclet Funitel:
| Activity | When | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Péclet by Night: skiing until 6.30pm | Wednesdays, 10 February – 21 April 2027 | Tête Ronde blue and Christine red runs; valid ski pass required |
| Cosmojet by night: a 5 km toboggan run by head torch | Wednesday to Friday from the Christmas holidays: 4.45pm–6pm until 5 February, 5.15pm–6.30pm from 6 February | Only with at least 40 people registered; about 40 minutes; helmet compulsory; children alone over 9 and at least 1.25 m; €31 |
| Kart Xperience: snow karts without engines | Wednesday to Friday at 4.45pm until 5 February; from 6 February, Thursdays and Fridays only, at 5.15pm | 3 km and 318 m down; 18 and over, at least 1.30 m, up to 100 kg; at most 16 people, with SETAM staff; book at SETAM sales points; €31; no ski boots |
Cosmojet and the karting run depend on the weather and snow, and SETAM suggests contacting it a few days ahead. SETAM sells lift passes at its ticket offices and on ski.valthorens.com; this winter's prices are in our lift pass guide.
Slower evenings: dinner at the Chalet de la Marine or the Chalet des 2 Lacs, by tracked vehicle; the pool, saunas, hammam and cold plunge pool of Le Board, the sports and wellness centre in the heart of the resort (check its winter hours); or a raclette at home.
Getting home safely after a night out
On foot, mostly: Val Thorens Réservation, the resort's booking agency, says you can do everything on foot. If you can, change out of ski boots and into snow boots before a long evening.
The free shuttle links the areas, but the timetable on Les 3 Vallées' shuttle page carries no year (its season dates are those of winter 2023/24), so check live times and stops in the Zenbus app, which that page points to, before you rely on it late at night.
Where to stay for après-ski, and apartments by the week
Choose your area to suit your evenings: Val Thorens Réservation calls Grande Rue, right in the centre, lively in the evening, Slalom very quiet, and Balcons and Plein Sud, at the top of the resort, quiet. The six areas compared: where to stay in Val Thorens.
Below, for each Saturday still ahead: the cheapest agency apartment still free on SkiShare for the full week, Saturday to Saturday, and how many are left. To budget the whole week, with the lift pass (sold by SETAM) and travel: Val Thorens apartment prices.
| Week from | From | Free | What's on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 28 Nov | €810 | 10 | |
| Sat 5 Dec | €1,469 | 1 | Ski Cross World Cup, 10–11 December |
| Sat 12 Dec | €810 | 10 | |
| Sat 19 Dec | €1,249 | 11 | Christmas holidays begin |
| Sat 26 Dec | €1,901 | 10 | New Year week |
| Sat 2 Jan | €999 | 11 | |
| Sat 9 Jan | €999 | 10 | |
| Sat 16 Jan | €1,520 | 9 | |
| Sat 23 Jan | €1,558 | 11 | Freeride World Tour, 24–30 January |
| Sat 30 Jan | €1,449 | 8 | |
| Sat 6 Feb | €1,521 | 11 | Péclet by Night starts on 10 February |
| Sat 13 Feb | €2,489 | 3 | |
| Sat 20 Feb | €2,678 | 11 | |
| Sat 27 Feb | €1,996 | 11 | |
| Sat 6 Mar | €1,278 | 11 | |
| Sat 13 Mar | €1,668 | 11 | |
| Sat 20 Mar | €1,278 | 10 | |
| Sat 27 Mar | €833 | 10 | |
| Sat 3 Apr | €930 | 9 | |
| Sat 10 Apr | €810 | 10 | |
| Sat 17 Apr | €810 | 11 | Last Péclet by Night: 21 April |
| Sat 24 Apr | €810 | 11 |
Questions
Where is La Folie Douce in Val Thorens?
On the pistes at the top of the Plein Sud chairlift, at 2,600 m according to its own site, about 300 m above the village. You ski back down to the village before the pistes close.
What time is après-ski at La Folie Douce Val Thorens?
According to La Folie Douce, you dance on the tables until the slopes close. Its site shows daily times, but in October 2026 it still carried last winter's menus, so check its 2026/27 times before you go.
What clubs are there in Val Thorens?
Les 3 Vallées lists three: Le Malaysia, an underground club beneath the main square; Klub Summit, in the central bar district; and Le Jackie, paired with the Asian restaurant Yuki Yama.
Do you need to book restaurants in Val Thorens?
In peak season, yes: Les 3 Vallées advises booking lunch on the slopes ahead, especially in the school holidays, and the Pashmina hotel strongly recommends booking its restaurants; its Michelin-starred Les Explorateurs, with 30 seats, requires it. Dinner at the Chalet de la Marine and the Chalet des 2 Lacs is by booking, with the ride up by tracked vehicle.
Is there a supermarket in Val Thorens?
Yes: Sherpa, by the Place Péclet shuttle stop, with butchery and cheese counters, bread baked on site, and raclette and fondue sets with the equipment lent. Its tourist-office page gives no opening hours, so check them before you arrive.
What can you do in the evening in Val Thorens if you don't party?
Ski until 6.30pm at Péclet by Night on Wednesdays from 10 February to 21 April 2027, take the Cosmojet toboggan run by head torch from Wednesday to Friday (from the Christmas holidays, with at least 40 people registered), try Kart Xperience, or book dinner at a mountain chalet.
Can you ski back down after La Folie Douce?
Yes, while the pistes are open. SETAM, the lift company, warns that skiing after they close is dangerous because the piste groomers are at work.
Sources
- Les 3 Vallées: Where to go out in Val Thorens (clubs, bars and pubs) (les3vallees.com)
- Les 3 Vallées: restaurants with terraces in Val Thorens (les3vallees.com)
- Les 3 Vallées: Val Thorens resort page (six areas, free bus, food, Péclet by Night) (les3vallees.com)
- La Folie Douce Val Thorens: après-ski and clubbing (lafoliedouce.com)
- La Folie Douce Val Thorens: the three restaurants (lafoliedouce.com)
- Hôtel Pashmina: restaurants and bar (Les Explorateurs, booking advice) (hotelpashmina.com)
- Val Thorens tourist office: Sherpa food store (valthorens.com)
- SETAM, the Val Thorens lift company: Péclet by Night 2026/27 (ski.valthorens.com)
- SETAM: Cosmojet toboggan run, 2026/27 times and prices (ski.valthorens.com)
- SETAM: Kart Xperience, 2026/27 times and price (ski.valthorens.com)
Planning a ski week in Val Thorens?