Apres Ski in Les Menuires

Apres-ski in Les Menuires is not as lively as in some other Three Valley resorts and with good reason too. The resort is popular with families and those on a limited budget but if you look hard enough there’s always somewhere to have a drink and a dance, and plenty of restaurants for those that want a break from self-catering.

Apres-Ski Bars & Nightlife in Les Menuires

La Croisette is the liveliest part of town. Le Mousse (Tel: +33 4 79 00 16 16) and above it, Bar le Challenge (Tel: +33 4 79 00 78 52), are two of the more famous bars. Le Mousse can get very busy later at night, while Le Challenge often has live music and stays open until 2 am. L’Attelier is another popular late-night bar. For a nightclub, go to Le New Pop in Immeuble Peclet (tel: +33 4 79 00 67 20).

In the other parts of the resort, the piste-side complex in Reberty headed up by the restaurant La Ferme de Reberty, is a good place to stop for sundowners. In Les Bruyeres, Le Chouette (Tel: +33 4 79 00 21 26) is also good for a drink and the creperie next door provides good sustenance afterwards when the bar closes for a breather at 6.30 pm before opening later at night. Le Plan B in Bruyeres is a good late-night bar, and Leeberty is a proper nightclub for those who don’t want to walk to La Croisette. Finally, down in Preyerand is the Dutch-run Yeti bar, which is about the most fun bar in town. 

Restaurants in Les Menuires

Les Menuires is so family-orientated that nightlife is not top of the list of most people’s priorities, although there are a lot of restaurants that cater for those who want a night off from self-catering in their residences and apartments.

La Croisette has a lot of mediocre takeaway outlets, but La Brasserie des Belleville (in the same building as the Hotel Pelvoux) has good quality simple food and a nice atmosphere. Its telephone number is +33 4 79 00 68 93.  There are also most traditional restaurants such as L’Etoile (Tel: +33 4 79 00 75 58)  and Au Coin du Feu (Tel: +33 4 79 09 97 52) which are worth investigating as a change of scenery if you are staying in one of the many apartment blocks in the centre of the resort.

In Reberty, the restaurants in the Hotel Kaya (Tel: +33 4 79 41 42 00), and the Hotel L’Ours Blanc (Tel: +33 4 79 00 61 66), are both good, as you would expect from 4-star hotels. They also have nice terraces for lunch or late afternoon drinks.

Another star in Reberty is La Ferme de Reberty (Tel: +33 4 79 00 77 01), which also is a fine spot for lunch. The fixed-price dinner menu is excellent value for the quality of food received. La Maison de Savoy, near the top of Reberty 1850 so easy to get to from all parts of Grand Reberty, is another good, slopeside restaurant, that is popular at lunchtimes and in the evening (Tel: +33 4 79 00 61 06).

In Bruyeres, L’Alpin Steak House (+33 4 79 00 61 01) is near the Toblerone walkway so attracts visitors from Reberty as well as Les Bruyeres. It does very good pizzas and steaks. The more traditional La Marmite du Geant (Tel: +33 4 79 00 74 75) serves up large portions of duck, trout and steak, and branches out into scallops and foie gras on occasion. It also has a fine pizza menu.

If you don’t mind travelling 6 km for a stellar dining experience (and spending a lot of money), the famous La Bouitte restaurant is in the small village of Saint Marcel, between Les Menuires and St Martin de Belleville. It has won multiple awards and is considered by many to be the best restaurant in the Alps. It is open for lunch (good skiers in good snow conditions can almost ski to it) and for dinner. Booking ahead is essential – tel: +33479089677.

Other Activities in Les Menuires

There has been a lot of investment in Les Menuires over the past few years, especially in non-skiing activities. Although the architecture may grind some down, if you want a day away from the slopes Les Menuires has enough to keep most people busy for at least a day or two.

Les Menuires is quite a big resort, with many sections that boast their character. There is quite a lot to do in the resort and the sports centre is first-rate.  To keep in touch with all the resort developments, ski lift information and other activities, the resort has a radio station sponsored by Virgin Radio (101 and 92.3 FM). Activities for non-skiers in Les Menuires include the following:

Cross-country Skiing in Les Menuires

Les Menuires is not the most committed resort to cross-country skiing but there are 28km of marked trails in the Belleville valley. The trails start from Plan de l’Eau in Les Menuires and traverse through the village of Chatelard and Saint Martin de Belleville. There are also snowshoeing expeditions from the Plan de l’Eau area. Tel:  +33 4 79 00 73 00

Parapenting in Les Menuires

One of the non-skiing activities that is currently finding favour throughout resorts in the Alps, parapenting is a perfect way to enjoy the majestic views of the Three Valleys. Tel: +33 6 80 10 79 20

Snow Scooters, Quads and Buggies in Les Menuires

Val Thorens may have its ice racetrack but Les Menuires has a 1,800m circuit for all sorts of snowmobiles.

Scoot Evasion provides 1 hour guided snowmobile outings every evening from its base in La Croisette. Tel +33 6 46 10 88 93.

Altana Bikes offers instruction on the use of each of their vehicles and also has two-seater buggies for children. The firm also provides free transport from the Reberty and La Croisette cable cars. Tel: +33 6 11 38 37 96.

Cycling on the Snow in Les Menuires

Fat Bike Sur Niege are bicycles with fat, studded tyres which can go up and down a dedicated snow-covered track underneath the Roc 1 lift, giving what is described as an ‘unforgettable glide sensation’. Rent them from the Roc n Bob office at the foot of the Roc 1 bubble lift in la Croisette, giving at least one day’s notice. 

Snowshoeing in Le Menuires

Every day except Saturdays the French ski school organises two different itineraries accessible on snowshoes. A half day is around €30 and six half days cost in the region of €150. Equipment hire is included in the price. Tel: +33 4 79 00 61 43

Swimming and wellbeing in Les Menuires

Les Menuires sports centre measures 4,500m2 and features a large indoor swimming pool, saunas, steam rooms, Jacuzzis, solariums, Turkish baths and a wellbeing area for facials and other beauty treatments. There are also other activities such as squash and badminton as well as a large fun park for children. There is an outdoor heated swimming pool at Les Bruyeres, where costumes and towels can be hired. Tel: +33 4 79 01 08 83

Sledging and Tobogganing in Les Menuires

The toboggan run in Les Menuires is an impressive 4km long and features 22 bends. There is a vertical of 450m, which makes for breakneck speeds. The Roc ‘n Bob is only open in the afternoons. Tel: +33 4 79 00 62 75. Or just turn up at the Roc n Bob office at the bottom of the Roc 1 Bubble in La Croisette.

Bobsleigh on Rails in Les Menuires

A family-oriented bobsleigh track that does not require any snow or ice because the sledges are fixed to a steel rail. Based in Les Bruyeres. +33 4 79 00 62 75.

Club des Sports / Sports Centre in Les Menuires

For all kinds of indoor sports such as badminton, table tennis and basketball.. Based in La Croisette. tel + 33 4 79 01 08 83.

The Village of Les Menuires 

Despite some recladding and refurbishment, the centre of Les Menuires is still unattractive to look at, but it’s very convenient. The outer suburbs, particularly Reberty, have more charm.

Officially, Les Menuires is composed of five separate areas: La Croisette, Preyerand (which includes Brelin), Grand Reberty (which includes Reberty 1850, Reberty 2000 and La Sapinière), Les Fontanettes (which includes Les Asters and Les Campanules) and Les Bruyères.

La Croisette is the centre of the resort and all of the other areas have a ski bus line that goes to and from La Croisette, and most bus journeys only take 5 to 10 minutes. There are also paths and roads you can walk along: it takes about half an hour to walk from the far end of Preyerand, Reberty or Bruyeres to the centre of La Croisette, and about 15 minutes from the furthest end of Les Fontanettes. All of the areas have pistes cutting through them or bordering them, so almost all the accommodation is just a short walk from the nearest ski run. The main lift hub is at the bottom of the resort (at the foot of La Masse) with lifts rising in all directions, including back over the resort to La Croisette, so in the morning you can always ski down to a lift, rather than walk up to it. The main road going from St Martin de Belleville to Val Thorens is diverted around Les Menuires (pistes cross over it on bridges) so there is very little traffic inside the resort. The small hamlet of Le Bettex, which is just below Les Menuires and linked to it by lift, is officially a different village but is often considered part of the resort. Wherever you stay, almost all the accommodation is either ski-in and ski-out or only a short walk to the nearest lift.  

La Croisette

Most visitors regard the centre of Les Menuires, called La Croisette, as ugly but convenient, so it might surprise them that much of it is now considered a fine example of 1960s and 70s brutalist architecture, and so is protected. This is where the tourist information office, sports centre, post office, Bureau des Guides and most of the shops are clustered.  There is also a good choice of bars and restaurants, although most are in the cheap and cheerful, rather than fine dining, category. The main ski school meeting place is on the flat area of piste near La Croisette where the Roc 1 bubble and the Menuires chair both depart, as does the Stadium draglift for skiers competing on the slalom course. This is also where many of the ski schools meet in the morning and the centre of the apres ski scene at the end of the day.  

The top part of La Croisette is dominated by Brelin – a truly massive building, resembling a gigantic cruise ship marooned on a mountainside, although its long curving shape fits into its surroundings better than the amorphous tower blocks below it. As well as lots of apartments divided into residences including some smart ones with saunas and swimming pools, Brelin has a few shops including a supermarket and ski hire shop and there is also a ski pass office. It’s great for children and good for disabled access. In the morning skiers and boarders ski down to La Croisette or beyond on the piste. There is also a bubble lift on rails that runs late into the evening, connecting Brelin to the main part of La Croisette.

Grand Reberty 

Reberty is southwest of the centre of  Les Menuires (and therefore on the right-hand side of the piste map and most village maps) and is split into two distinct levels: Reberty 2000 and Reberty 1850. It has the resort’s best hotels and some of its smartest restaurants, chalets and apartment complexes. Reberty 1850 was built around 1985, while 2000 was built around the Millennium and is more upmarket. Between Reberty 1850 and La Croisette is La Sapiniere – a smart new suburb. Almost everywhere is close to the piste, with one piste going down to the Bruyeres lift station and ski school and the other to La Croisette, but both continue down to the bottom of La Masse where the main lift hub is. As Reberty has its shops, ski hire outlets, lift pass sales desks, bars, and restaurants, people who stay here rarely visit La Croisette, except to ski through it on their way to La Masse. 

Les Bruyeres

To the west of Reberty and below it (and therefore on the far right-hand side of most maps) is Les Bruyeres, which Hameau des Bruyeres, which is another self-contained mini resort that is filled mostly chalets and chalet-shaped apartment complexes. Like Reberty 1850 it’s not as smart or as beautiful as Reberty 2000, but it’s a lot more easy on the eye than La Croisette. It is also liked to Reberty via the Toblerone, a triangular-shaped covered walkway which crosses the piste that separates them. Les Bruyeres has its lifts (Bruyeres 1 and Sunny Express) but skiers can descend on gentle blue pistes to the main lift hub at the foot of La Masse.

Les Fontanettes

Les Fontanettes is between Le Croisette and Les Bruyeres. It is strung out over quite a large area but has fewer buildings than the other suburbs and very few shops and amenities of its own, so it feels like a suburb of the main resort rather than its self-contained mini-resort. It has some good-looking chalets and apartment complexes, however. Below it is the main lift hub from which the Reberty, Doran, Croisette, La Masse and La Masse 1 lifts all depart. 

Preyerand

At the entrance to the resort on the road that leads from St Martin is Preyerand. There are several large, but sympathetically designed chalet-style apartment blocks, and some less aesthetically pleasing older buildings. In general, the closer you get to La Croisette, the less beautiful, but more lively, Preyerand becomes. To reach the slopes you either take the bus to La Croisette, walk to the Preyrand lift or ski down to the Bettex lift.

Le Bettex

Le Bettex is officially a separate village. It’s small and quiet and at night a little bit isolated: bus services to the rest of Les Menuires are either rare or non-existent, and to reach Les Menuires by car you have to drive through Praranger, effectively two sides of a triangle. During the day, however, the Bettex lift provides fast access to Les Menuires’ slopes and you can ski back on piste. The village has its creche facility as well as a restaurant, bar and ski shop. Despite several new chalet and apartment developments, it has a traditional Savoyarde charm.