Calais to Val d’Isère – arriving by car

Please see below (and on each chalet page) the parking availability at each YSE chalet in Val d’Isère. All require advance booking with the YSE office, especially where there is just one space shared by more than one chalet. We will send you full instructions about 2 weeks before your holiday.

Driving to Val d’Isère

The journey from Calais to Val d’Isère is 800 kilometres on major motorways, and can take around 8 hours. It is a serious undertaking, and when you arrive in the French Alps there are regulations regarding the tyres on your vehicle.

Between 1 November and 31 March every vehicle entering the Savoie region must be fitted with snow tyres, or carry chains or tyre socks on board. The police have warned that on snowy days only cars with chains or socks will be allowed up the road towards Val d’Isère, 4x4s can have snow tyres. If you are going to drive out, we recommend that you practise putting chains onto your tyres at home, because working out how to do it in the dark, in a blizzard, in a foot of snow, is a nightmare! They do make a huge difference.

Parking in Val d’Isère

Not all YSE chalets have parking available outside. The list below tells you which chalets have parking spaces, and which don’t. Where no parking is available or it is limited, you will need to book a space in one of Val d’Isère’s covered or outdoor car parks as soon as possible, as they get booked up quickly on peak dates.

ON ARRIVAL

Les Chardons Building 60, Rue Nicolas Bazile. No parking, you can stop temporarily (preferably with someone in the car) to unload, then park in one of Val d’Isère’s public car parks. The closest is the Parking du Centre.

Chalet d’Isère Building 440, Route de la Balme. No parking at the chalet. You can stop temporarily to unload then park at Val d’Isère’s Parking du Crêt.

Chalets des Neiges, Pentes and Pistes Building 204, Rue des Étroits. Sadly there is no parking at the chalet. You can drive to the chalet to leave bags but it is up a short but steep and snowy hill. 4x4s with snow tyres should make it; normal cars with chains might make it! The drive is used constantly by other cars so please park considerately and only stay 15 minutes maximum. You you will then need to park in one of Val d’Isère’s public car parks – there is a choice of covered or outside parking available at La Daille but the covered spaces fill up fast.

Chalet Lucaval Building 766, Rue de la Legettaz (often called Rue du Club Med). There is parking available in the driveway for two considerately parked cars. Please notify us in advance if you will require these spaces so we can ensure they are free of snow.

Chalet de Pierre Building 57, Le Laisinant (à côté Maison Forestière). One car may park at the bottom of the hill near the entrance to the underground tunnel which gives access to the chalet.

Le Vieux Crêt Building 254, Chemin de la Ruaz and La Maison du Rocher Building 256, Chemin de la Ruaz. Cars should not attempt to drive to these chalets as access is up a very narrow road and access out requires considerable reversing. You will need to pre-book parking in one of Val d’Isère’s public car parks, the nearest is the Parking du Crêt.

Chalets Pic Noir, Ptarmigan and Perdrix Building 797, Avenue Olympique. Main entrance is under a sign saying Le Savoie Hôtel, between the Fondue Factory and Sherpa supermarket. There are two guest parking spaces under the building, which we sell on a first-come, first-served basis and cost £100 per car, per week. The car park was not really designed for Range Rovers and G-Wagons! They do fit in, but most of the time the driver will need help from a second person outside the car. If these spaces are not available, you should pre-book parking in one of Val d’Isère’s public car parks – see above.

Comtes de Savoie, Chalet Amadeus and Chalet Otto just off Avenue Olympique, between the Intersport Super Dry shop on the left and the Sherpa Supermarket, is a covered passageway. Drive into this and as you emerge from the tunnel you will have the badly marked Hotel Ducs de Savoie. 25m beyond this is an unmarked entry to our building via a double glass door on your right, just before the garage door. There are two guest parking spaces under the building, which we sell on a first-come, first-served basis and cost £100 per car, per week. The car park was not really designed for Range Rovers and G-Wagons! They do fit in, but most of the time the driver will need help from a second person outside the car. If these spaces are not available, you should book parking in one of Val d’Isère’s public car parks – see above.

Chalet Patou is just off the Snow Square. At the second roundabout in Val d’Isère d’Isere village (so the fourth if you count the first two at La Daille) turn right and immediately keep right and go up the slip road towards the Hotel Ormelune. The entrance to Chalet Patou is immediately left of the hotel, between the number 196 and the name l’Eau Vive and under the Blue Note sign. You can tuck your car to one side of the road long enough to unload but no longer. Val d’Isère’s Parking du Centre is just over 500m away.

Chalet Tapia is on Rue Nicolas Bazile. Follow directions to Les Chardons above, then continue past the chalet hotel to the left of the church. After about five big stone chalets on your left, you will see Chalet Tapia with evergreen shrubs outside. The entrance is down the heated concrete ramp just before the chalet but we don’t recommend driving down it unless you are in a 4×4 with snow tyres. You can park your car in the little roped-off space just beyond the chalet.

Chalet Charlotte Building 59, Rue des Leissières (the number is on the far end of this long building). No parking. You may make a temporary stop then will need to park in one of Val d’Isère’s public car parks – see above.

Les Gnellets Building 18, turn right at the fourth roundabout and drive through the tunnel. You emerge at a roundabout called the Rond Point. A couple of hundred yards further on you turn right across a bridge, then immediately left up an unnamed private drive. There is space for one or two considerately-parked cars on the driveway outside Les Gnellets, though you will need to leave keys in your chalet (visible and identifiable) so cars can be moved to allow the whole drive to be cleared if there’s a fresh snowfall.

Contact us if you need any more information about parking in Val d’Isère.