Val Cenis - Community Reviews & Ratings

Great resort to stay relaxed and be quiet. If you;re looking for a party apres ski  maybe not the best option, but great for families and riders who want to work on their skills and improve technique on quieter and greener slopes. Plenty of slopes to challenge yourself as well

Val Cenis is a very friendly welcoming place, its beautifully picturesque.
You can choose many varied run types from high up open blues, reds and a few blacks.
Then lower down ride a tree lined run, most are quiet too.

The food and drink here is superb, it has a very local atmosphere.

Overall its a great place

Great, family friendly resort. Easy access to slopes. Good variety of runs. Wide range of accommodation to choose from. Limited nightlife but plenty of good restaurants serving wholesome savoyarde dishes

Not yet on the map for the major tour providers so get there now before they find out that this little secret is there

Often overlooked and has more than 100km of piste skiing. On piste skiing is fine but lift served off piste is very underrated and after a good fall of new snow does not get skiied out as quickly as the bigger named resorts nearby. Skin or hike opens the valley down to the lake. Not many mountain eateries but what is there is adequate. New lifts are planned and if they go ahead will massively increase ski appeal.
Access is easy and the route is a lot less busy than the Tarentaise valley.

Quiet slopes in January. Access to other resorts in lift pass. Efficient buses to get you to different areas. Some lifts run slowly. Some unpisted runs. We took the car to Bonneval sur Arc. Some really great skiing there.

Really lovely family focused Ski resort.Would definitely recommend if you are looking for a small family friendly resort.

Family friendly resort with lots of lovely slopes to suit all the family and different abilities. Lovely snow and helpful resort.

Visited val cenis 18th to 23rd January, stayed in the lower village of termignon. Overall a great resort for a family and beginner skiers and snowboarders. Huge area to explore, Plenty of green runs including the longest in Europe. Very well looked after slopes. Blue and red runs higher up give plenty of options for the more advanced riders. We also did the night sledging from the Columba slope which was a little pricey at 8 per run but was soo much fun. Overall though Great value for money and would recommend to a family as a perfect choice.

Family friendly quiet resort. Lifts can get busy during school holidays but not like other resorts. North facing slopes so good snow conditions.Not overcrowded, with a good selection of accommodation.

Val Cenis is a brilliant family friendly resort that offers a range of runs for people of all abilities. Lovely choice of accommodation to suit a variety of budgets. Great snow even end of season. Would recommend to anyone wanting a great ski trip that wont pull the purse strings too much.

Great resort. Quiet area. Great for beginners. Good variety. Evening and daytime activities. No queues.

My husband and I visited Val Cenis on a last minute snowboarding holiday last March (2024) with our 3 year old daughter. We really enjoyed our week there, and for many reasons;
1- There was a great variety of runs, which are well linked
2- There's a good mix of tree runs and higher, open runs
3- The off-piste potential is amazing (we got there the week after a huge amount of snow, so just missed getting to enjoy it!), with an easily accessible large bowl at the top of the resort
4- The accommodation we stayed in was ski in/ski out
5- the lifts were mostly decently fast (2 gondola's, mostly chairs, only a few drag lifts)
6- The park was small but offered a good variety of features, and was well maintained
7- The "crèche" that our daughter attended in the mornings was fantastic, and had a couple English speakers; she LOVED her time there!
8- It's an easy enough resort to get to; not too far into the mountains, so no tricky/dodgy roads

All in all, a great family resort with a decent array of runs to suit most levels (expert to pro level may get a bit bored if there's not enough decent snow).

We would visit again, for sure

Val Cenis is a great, family friendly resort. Its a good size with plenty of runs. It looks like there is good off piste terrain (with the right conditions). Apres is quiet but thats expected with a resort like this.

Very quiet resort. Isnt many bars/ restaurants in the resort. Up the slopes is no different. Still very quiet in that aspect. However has some of the most peaceful and beautiful piste and off piste runs Ive seen, taking you to your door step.

Superb family friendly resort. Very French! A wide variety of runs with plenty to cater for all abilities and decent off-piste options with a guide. Lovely mountain side restaurants where you can enjoy sunny lunches on the terrace.

Val cenis is a smaller resort located in France in the Italian border. As a smaller resort, there arent as many groomed runs to choose from as the bigger resorts, but still plenty to do in a 1-2 week holiday, with a wide variety of runs for all level of skiers. It has wide beginner friendly slopes that go right to the top of the mountain (2700m). It has fantastic off piste trails (one of the best resorts). Once again a wide range of different off piste trails for all levels and most of the time great powder. Its not as busy as bigger resorts, meaning slopes arent too crowded even in school holidays and lift wait times are minimal even at the bottom of the mountain. However, although it is great for skiing, val cenis does not offer a wide range of après options and the town only has one club, so is not the best resort for party goers.

Val Cenis seems to have gone under the radar a bit, which is great news for those who do visit as the slopes remain fairly quiet and the area unspoilt.

Although it does have most of the elements of a great resort for anyone, families and mixed ability groups in particular can't go wrong here. With the main area offering descent options from green to black with dozens of variations of the route down, all levels of skier are catered for.

In terms of extent, most skiers will be happy spending a week here, although the bus links to nearby resorts such as Valfrejus and La Norma give you a bit of variety if you're hungry for piste miles.

The main sector of Val Cenis offers 3 or 4 spines of lifts linking up to high points, with a bewildering choice of routes down to the bottom from here, all intercepted by cat-track pistes allowing you to move around the area very easily.

The lift-linked Termignon sector is much smaller, and has been less attractive due to slow and outdated lifts, although this is starting to change with a fast chair going in this year. The top two long drag lifts here serve a fantastic area of multiple slopes, and when this finally gets a fast chair put in will become an amazing area for lapping.

For beginners and families, the very long green Escargot offers an excellent experience, graded consistently gently and served by the fast Ramasses chair. For earlier beginners, the extensive network of green runs linking the base villages at the bottom give real variety and choice, with plenty of cafes and restaurants dotted around and a friendly feeling.

Intermediates can go pretty much anywhere, with blue and red options for most descents. Timid intermediates will enjoy the fact that most pistes are intercepted by the green Escargot multiple times, so an easy escape can be made if you've bitten off more than you can chew.

Avalanche risk holds the resort back from being a top off-piste destination, but there are plenty of shorter options, particularly in the trees, for those with sharp eyes.

Pistes to avoid include Arcelle which is often icy and busy, and the sector-linking Traverse which is incredibly long and flat (just take the Turra lift down when linking).

Recommended pistes include MJ St Genix, Chamois, Napoleon and Tomba as they're usually much quieter. Bois de Coqs/Forester and all of the top slopes in Termignon are all great spot.

All the restaurants are pretty good but Chalet la Fema at the top of Vieux Moulin gets a strong mention.

I have been to Val Cenis 3/4 times now. It is a brilliant resort on the smaller (and quieter) side.
Its around 3000m up which is great and I reckon easily over 100km of marked trails.

I would definitely recommend to other skiers and snowboarders.

Great resort for young families with sledging allowed really close to the slopes.

The pistes aren't enormous, but plenty to keep you entertained. If there's powder, you have loads of options that are easily accessible.

Slopes are north facing meaning that you will be able to ski to resort all season - even when other resorts are closed from lack of snow (Feb 2023).

Nightlife is limited, but if you are there with kids, that probably won't matter.