| Product: |
La Thuile |
| Date: |
14/11/00 (1348 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Short lift queues, plenty of variety
Disadvantages: Not the ultimate party place, if that's what you want
I wondered if I should let you in on the secret of La Thuile. Even many adventurous skiers have never heard of it, and that's its beauty. It still hasn't yet been over-run by the hordes so you get the distinct feeling you have it all to yourself.
La Thuile is right at the top of the Aosta Valley and just across the Italian/French border from it's neighbour, La Rosiere. It's easy to ski across and most visitors do. It makes a very good day out and adds even greater variety to the pistes of La Thuile.
The small town of La Thuile sits at the bottom of a steep climb up to the main pistes. The slopes next to the upper town are for learners but the travel couriers organise fun nights there as well. We visited with Crystal and had a great night organised by them sliding down on "frying pans" in long snakes of riders. Of course, the booze and food helped.
The upper pistes are reached via a gondola and a chair lift. There there are numerous pistes of varying challenges to suit all skills. Our absolute favourite was "Route 6", the red run back to the town from the upper pistes. It starts with a super gully run then down through the forest, emerging under the gondola.
We regularly did "Route 3" down the other side back to the town, a much gentler run but very enjoyable after a long day on the slopes.
The long, long run back via "Route 7" is also worth the effort though it does contain some slight uphill sections, which can be avoided by going off the piste to the right and under the road bridge. There's also a great bar half-way that always has a roaring fire and a friendly welcome. Because it's so far out it is also usually quite quiet.
The scenery is magnificent, lying as it does right under Mont Blanc. The mountain bars and restaurants are excellent. There is even one near the bottom of "Belvedere" that plays R&B all day. We visite
d that one often.
We travelled over to La Rosiere several times. There is one Restaurant half-way down to the town, at the top of "Plan du Repos", where the view from the terrace is simply spectacular. We were very tempted to stay an enjoy it but the pull of the slopes was in the end just too great.
The town of La Thuile has a lot of variety. There are many splendid restaurants. We can recommend La Grotta and La Bricolle.
The upper town is newer than the lower and comprises most of the apartments and large hotels. These are the ones that are right next to the nursery slopes. We stayed there, at the Planibel Apartments. Our's was excellent.
There are discos for those who enjoy a lively nightlife plus a swimming pool who like to relax with a swim after a day on the slopes. We prefer another type of liquid for our relaxation!
There are plenty of shops, supermarkets and the usual ski stores, some with quite reasonable prices for equipment.
Courmeyer is a half-hour bus ride down the valley and well worth a visit, even if only to visit the town. It's much bigger than La Thuile with plenty of facilities but nevertheless very attractive.
We will definitely go back to La Thuile again. Hopefully it won't have become packed out and spoiled by then.
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