Val Cenis Bars & Restaurants

Compared to better known French ski resorts there is virtually no après ski scene in Val Cenis so party animals seeking vibrant après ski and late nightlife should look elsewhere. 

Most restaurants are closed by 11pm and there’s not a Michelin star yet to be seen anywhere in Val Cenis Vanoise.

In Val Cenis, either the children stay up as late as the adults or their parents and children return to their apartment when their children go to bed, but hardly anyone stays out late. 

Lanslevillard has the most restaurants and bars including the best restaurant in Val Cenis Vanoise and by far the busiest pub. It’s the closest you’ll get in Val Cenis to anything with a semblance of nightlife, but that doesn’t amount to much. 

There are several restaurants in Lanslebourg that are open during the day and which shut early. La Vanoise and La Ramasse, which is beautifully rustic, are effectively Salon du Thé. They also serve pizza and local dishes, but both close before 10pm. 

Termignon is the quietest village in Val Cenis and Lanslebourg, is somewhere in between the other two.

Restaurants & Bars in Lanslevillard

L’Arcelle is a bright cheerful family restaurant with a bustling atmosphere. Good range of Savoyard dishes and the beef and duck spit grilled at your table is impressive. Children once again are warmly welcomed. Tel: +33 4 79 05 93 98 

La Bergerie is a delightfully rustic restaurant, but not too traditional. The wood has been scraped and a roaring stone open fire dominates the dining room, and there is a bar with a pool table attached. Extensive pizza menu, but also offers traditional French dishes. Tél: +33 4 79 20 64 05 

Le Terroir Savoyard offers all the regular Savoyard specialities, as the name might suggest, with a fiercely regional wine list. Well cooked food, and probably the only place in town where you can get prawns cooked in Vermouth. It closes early and often as early as 9pm. Tel: +33 4 79 05 82 31

La Terrasse restaurant in Hotel Nanook offers a Savoyard menu. The restaurant inside can be a bit dark, but the food is not bad value and in good weather you can eat on the terrace. Tel: +33 9 60 51 63 53

La Cordée has a sun trap terrace, but the menu barley extends past crepes and pizzas. When it does, however, it does so with some success, serving up dishes such as carpaccio of beef as a starter and salmon with morilles for main course. Tel: +33 4 79 05 35 49

Le Dahut is out of character with much of the Val Cenis restaurant scene. A charming setting behind the main street of Lanslevillard, Le Dahut is beautifully rustic, and wonderfully presented. The food is superb, too, so much so that you wonder what it is doing there. Tel: +33 4 79 05 98 20 

L’Etoile des Neiges has a traditional Savoyarde menu and a roaring stone fireplace, which dominates this jolly restaurant in the eponymous hotel. The usual suspects are served up, with rustic gusto. A fairly cheap wine list, too. Tel: +33 4 79 05 90 41 

Howard’s Bar is the only real late night bar in Lanslevillard that can pride itself on generally staying open past 10pm on a regular basis. Howards Bar has all the nuts and bolts of being a decent nightspot, it just needs the people. Tel: +33 6 69 39 28 95

Bowling 1480 is for the younger generation,, tennagers mostly. It might just work for you if you are older than 21, but be prepared to stand out. It stays open until 1am. Tel: : +33 4 79 05 21 87

Restaurants & Bars in Lanslebourg

Ta Ta’tine Is a cosy little restaurant with a small bar attached and a favourite in Lanslebourg. One of the most popular restaurants in town, it is child-friendly and offers an excellent regional menu. The ice-cream is superb and alcoholic sugar cubes are an interesting digestif. Tel: +33 (0) 4 79 56 88 35

Le Relais des Deux Col restaurant in the Hotel Relais du Col is a savvy operation and cooks good food. The tireless chef, Pierre Gagniere, cooks Savoyard specialties but is not afraid to experiment – how many times have you had cheese fondue in beer before? Tel: +33 4 79 05 92 83

La Chouette is one of the first restaurants you come to on the way into Lanslebourg from Termignon. A cosy, popular restaurant, La Chouette offers a choice of 16 different pizzas as well as steaks, fondues and the usual Savoyard artery-clogging fare. Tel: +33 4 79 05 86 16

L’Auberge Do Re has one of the most extensive menus in Lanslebourg including foie gras, snails and frog’s legs as starters. They also have at least six salads for those who want to see something green on their plate. Good wine list and decent selection of main courses. By Val Cenis standards this place is not cheap, but it is when compared to prices in almost any other ski resort. Tel: +33 4 79 05 90 30

La Vieille Poste hotel restaurant, next to the tourist office, has a large menu by Lanslebourg standards and you pay for it, too. Cote du Boeuf for two breaks the €50 barrier and the set menu includes other dishes higher up the pay scale. When the resort is busy, the bar stays open until 1am serving cocktails and spirits, but how often is the resort busy? Tel: +33 4 79 05 93 47

Bar Napoleon is the closest thing to a pub in Val Cenis. The bar is set back from Rue Mont Cenis, has a pool table, serves Guinness and apparently stays open until 2am; that’s if the clientele are willing, which is not often the case. Tel +33 4 79 05 90 47

Restaurants & Bars in Termignon

L’Estanco is down the hill from the nursery slopes in Termignon and close enough to the slopes to reach on foot for lunch, but it really comes into its own for dinner, when they sometimes have a band. It mainly offers Savoyard specialties, and is good value although it is one of the more expensive restaurants in Terignon. Tel: +33 4 79 56 59 93

Le Sabot de Vénus is an Italian restaurant, where you can eat well for under €30. Naturally, they also serve Savoyard specialities and sometimes have live music. The restaurant has been listed in the Routard des Guides since 2004. Tel: +33 4 79 20 51 76

Marine’s Bar just off the main road in Termignon near the tourist office is a simple and cheery place that is open all year round. It serves French classics such as Boeuf Bourgignon, Moules Frites and Pot Au Feu. The restaurant also has internet access. Tel: +33 4 79 56 33 14

Petite Ferme I owners Raymond and Marie also own lunch time restaurant Petite Ferme II, but use Ferme I as their evening site. The lunch time and evening restaurants offer similar menus, which includes a good range of crisp pizzas. Tel: +33 4 79 20 53 80 

La Turra restaurant in La Turra hotel is open all year round. The restaurant is simple, as is the food, but the staff work hard to ensure a good meal using quality, local ingredients – they make their own jam for instance.