Skiing in La Tania: The best-kept secret in the Three Valleys
At the heart of the Three Valleys, or Les 3 Vallées as the locals call it, is the village of La Tania. This relatively unknown resort is perfectly located if you want to explore the world’s largest ski area, and comes with a smaller price-tag than you might expect. Discover why I fell in love with this village, as well as tips for planning and enjoying your stay here, in my ski guide to La Tania.
Les 3 Vallées, or the Three Valleys as it’s sometimes known, is the stuff of legends. Situated in the Savoie region of France, it’s home to three world-class resorts, more than 600km of interlinked piste and high-altitude, snow sure runs. It’s one of the most desirable ski areas in the Alps, and for good reason.
I fell in love with the Three Valleys seven years ago on a trip to Val Thorens. I remember arriving at our chalet after a long journey and an early start. Stepping out onto our balcony, the most incredible ski area seemed to open out before me. Brilliant blue skies, wide inviting pistes and endless possibilities. As a novice skier finding my feet beyond ski school for the first time, it was heaven.
Fast forward to autumn 2018, and we were planning another winter ski trip. With many more ski miles under our feet, it felt like time to head back and really give this resort a proper go. We’d only scratched the surface of this vast area on our previous trip, so this time we wanted to really exercise our lift passes.
We’d not heard of La Tania before, but a little research told us it would fit the bill perfectly for us. The village sits equidistant between the bright lights of Courchevel and Meribel, with easy on-piste connections to both. And even Steady Eddies like ourselves can comfortably ski across to Les Menuires and Val Thorens in little more than an hour and a half. We booked the trip in a flash.
We were delighted to find La Tania was just as good in real life as it sounded on paper. With a fabulous week here in the bag, in this post I’m sharing why I think La Tania is a great base for a stay in the Three Valleys. Plus, I have recommendations for where to stay, ski, eat and drink in this surprising little village.
There’s no AI here! Every post on Travels with a Saddle Bag is written by myself and based on my own travels. This post was written in February 2019 and last updated in January 2025, based on my visit to La Tania in January 2019.
Why choose La Tania?
The location
Hidden in plain sight between Courchevel and Meribel, you’re no more than two runs from these popular and prestigious resorts. Being closer to the centre of the Three Valleys than Courchevel 1650 or Val Thorens, it’s also easier to access the whole of the ski area. Whilst the village is only at 1400m, there’s fast access to the higher slopes. Plus, you’re nestled amongst the beautiful pine forest that sits below the tree line, so there’s plenty of pretty, picturesque views.
It’s great value
Let’s be honest. Courchevel and Meribel attract the jet-set, and prices reflect this. This isn’t a cheap part of the world to stay and ski. Being a little smaller and not blessed with Chanel boutiques or a heliport, La Tania however offers a wide selection of surprisingly budget-friendly, comfortable apartments that come without the luxury price tags you’ll find just across the mountain.
It’s quiet, but not too quiet
This isn’t a party capital. If you’re planning on late nights out rather than early mornings on the piste, you might enjoy the bright lights of St. Anton or Mayrhofen more. But that’s not to say this is a sleepy village. There’s a handful of good bars hosting après, live music and regular events.
It’s got everything you need
For a small village, La Tania is impressively well appointed. Aside from a good choice of hotels, apartments and chalets, there are attractive restaurants, cafes and useful shops at the foot of the piste. There’s even a local boulangerie to satisfy your patisserie cravings.
Why did we choose La Tania?
We were keen to return to the Three Valleys ski area and La Tania met our brief perfectly. Budget-friendly self-catering in a pretty resort with easy access to the ski area. You don’t get much better than this.
Booking well in advance of the season starting, we had a pick of places to stay and were also able to take advantage of buy one, get one free lift passes with British tour operator Crystal.
The important stuff: Skiing in La Tania
La Tania is part of the Three Valleys, or Les 3 Vallées, ski area but you’ll have a choice of two lift passes.
Intermediate and experienced skiers and boarders will want to opt for the full 3 Vallées pass for the freedom to explore far and wide. But novice skiers and families with smaller children might be happy to opt for the Courchevel Valley pass. This offers access to all the pistes in Courchevel and La Tania – an impressive ski area in itself – without paying for further afield pistes in Meribel and Val Thorens you might not reach.
Check out the 3 Vallées lift pass options on their official website.
Experienced skiers and boarders will have no trouble covering huge distances from La Tania each day. Intermediates, like us, will enjoy being able to ski new pistes daily and should comfortably be able to get over and back to Val Thorens or Les Meniures in a few hours. Just keep an eye on the time of the last lifts returning to Courchevel and La Tania. There’s no risk you’ll get bored skiing here.
Getting onto the mountain is easy thanks to the fast La Tania gondola. It departs from the village centre and was never busy during our stay. A couple of wide runs bring you back into the resort, where many places are ski-in ski-out. We skied the tree-lined Folyères run most days as it’s a gentle blue (great for tired legs) and was in very good condition.
Where to stay in La Tania
La Tania might be small, but there’s a selection of accommodation options to suit most travellers.
Apartments
At the heart of the village you’ll find three large apartment complexes – Le Grand Bois, Saboia and Kalinka. They’re purpose-built but newer than many in the French Alps and offer a range of different-sized apartments available through either private hire or tour operators.
We stayed in a studio apartment in Le Grand Bois and, to be honest, we couldn’t fault it. Small but well laid-out, it featured a good size balcony, surprisingly generous bathroom and just enough room for four of us to eat, drink, be merry and sleep. The views from the balcony were spectacular on clear days.
Hotels
Hotel Montana is the only hotel in town but occupies prime position between the bottom of the Folyères piste and the La Tania lift. It’s worth noting that it’s home to the only pool and spa in the resort, so it’s a good choice if you’d like a little R&R at the end of your ski day.
Chalets
The rest of the village is made up of pretty timbered chalets. Many are available for catered chalet stays, with others available for private hire.
Eating and drinking in La Tania
Just as you’ll find with accommodation, what La Tania lacks in quantity it makes up for with quality.
A cluster of reassuringly affordable restaurants, bars and shops sit in the sun at the bottom of the Troika lift and offer almost everything you could want in a small resort.
For self-caterers
You’re in for a treat here. Unlike most ski resorts, Courchevel is home to a traditional family-run boulangerie. Au Pain d’Antan is based in Courchevel 1850 but bring their delights daily to their small store in La Tania. Fresh French-style loaves line their shelves, alongside decadent pastries and patisseries. We shopped here daily for breakfast treats and picnic lunch essentials, but you can also pull up a pew at one of their bistro tables if you’d prefer to stop in for a coffee and a croissant.
Just around the corner there’s also a small but well-stocked Sherpa supermarket. The deli counter offers a surprisingly good selection of local cheeses and charcuteries, plus you can hire a raclette here for the evening (if you’re feeling ambitious). Stock up on locally-produced Tomme de Savoie for your lunchtime baguettes.
Light bites
For casual food or a coffee, try Creperie Les Chanterelles or Snow Food at the foot of the piste. Snow Food offer delicious homemade pizzas to take-away or eat on their terrace. It’s a fun and easy option if you’re self-catering like us. Try the cheesy Savoyarde for some local alpine flavours.
Dining out
Les Marmottons and La Ferme are charming little Savoyard-style restaurants that face the piste and serve hearty alpine favourites. But I’d thoroughly recommend taking a few steps further to La Taïga. A pretty little chalet down on the main road, La Taïga serves outstanding food upstairs in its traditional-style restaurant. Try the tartiflette that’s topped with lashings of local Reblochon cheese, or the astonishingly good seafood salad. Downstairs you’ll find a cosy bar that hosts live music most nights, it’s perfect for a pint at the end of a day on the piste.
We liked it so much we headed here twice, once for dinner and again for après.
La Tania: A gem hidden in plain sight
You’re not going to miss Col de la Loze if you’re skiing the Three Valleys. But you might not realise there’s a fantastic resort on its lower slopes. If you’d prefer traditional comforts more than the flashy appeal of the bigger resorts in the Three Valleys, La Tania might be for you. You won’t be compromising on accommodation, things to do or easy access to a fantastic ski area. Even the views are spectacular. Instead, we found it was a fantastic base from which to make the most of world-class skiing (and partying) for far fewer Euros – and with far fewer queues. I’d highly recommend it to anyone considering the Three Valleys this winter.
