Le Tour & Vallorcine Ski Area

Skiing & Boarding In Le Tour & Vallorcine Ski Area

Domaine de Balme also known as the Le Tour and Vallorcine ski area is situated at the far end of the valley. The area’s terrain is fairly open and offers 29km of pistes and 8 lifts. The resort can be accessed from both the village of Le Tour which is a 15 minute drive from Chamonix, and the village of Vallorcine which is a further 7 minute drive towards the Swiss border. Le Tour is also linked to Chamonix via bus and Vallorcine by both bus and train.

Le Tour is another great ski area for beginners and intermediates. For those completely new to snowsports there are several drag lifts and green slopes at the base of the mountain next to the Charamillon bubble station. Up the mountain there are plenty of cruisy blues and wide challenging reds to keep all levels happy. If you enjoy a tree lined run then there is the charming Les Esserts blue piste down to the base of the Tête de Balme lift and for stronger skiers it continues on through the forest to the bottom of the Vallorcine lift via the Forêt Verte red run. There aren’t any black runs in Le Tour but if you are an experienced off-piste skier this open resort provides plenty opportunities to get fresh tracks.

For non-skiers there are several snowshoe paths which can be seen on the piste map below. These are at the bottom and top of the Vallorcine lift as well as at the top of the Les Autannes lift. Although it is not marked on the piste map, there is also a skin track for ski-tourers from the bottom of the Charamillon bubble station.

The Domaine de Balme is generally open for skiing and snowboarding from mid December through to mid April. Please check the opening dates for the latest information.

Mountain Restaurants in Le Tour & Vallorcine

The Domaine de Balme has a good selection of mountain restaurants for lunch whilst on your skiing holiday. These include:

L'Alpage de Balme | Charming wooden cabin provides traditional mountain food such as Croutes, Steak and Chip, Goats cheese salad etc. Situated at the bottom of the l’Aiguillette drag lift.
Le Cafe Comptoir | Fabulous rustic restaurant at the base of the Vallorcine lift serving excellent fresh French cuisine
Chalet de Charamillon | Canteen style restaurant and snack-bar with sunny terrace. Offers heaty French favourites at the top of the Charamillon lift
Les Ecuries de Charamillon | The refuge restaurant is just above the beginning of the Les Autannes lift. It serves traditional savoyard cuisine and has an attractive terrace
L'Olympic | A popular restaurant right by the base of the Charamillon lift offering good value Fondue and Raclette
Le Passon | Close to the lift station this snack bar and restaurant has a good selection of dishes to fill you up after an active day on the mountain

Apres Ski in Le Tour

Apres Ski in Le Tour is a fairly quiet affair. Both the L’Olympic and Le Passon have sunny terraces where you can taken in the mountain views with a vin chaud or aperitif of your choice. For a more lively apres ski scene, you’ll need to head to Argentière or Chamonix.

Interactive Piste Map of Le Tour & Vallorcine

Lift Status - Le Tour

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Webcam - Le Tour

Le Tour & Vallorcine Ski Area at a glance

Snowmaking machines: Yes
Resort height: 1850m
Highest lift: 2250m
No. of lifts: 8
No. of pistes: 23
Total piste length: 29km
Snow parks: Yes
Purpose built: No

Snow
Beginners
Intermediates
Advanced
Snowboarding
Off piste
Après-ski
Non skiers

Properties

Interactive piste map