Les Chalets de St Martin

APRES SKI & NON SKIERS

Off the Slopes

During the day there are several diversions possible for non-skiers. There are conducted tours of the fine baroque churches for which the Belleville Valley is famous. Those wishing to try their hand at a more gentle form of skiing might wish to join one of the cross country skiing courses which follow the River Doron up the valley on prepared tracks. There are also daily trips on snow shoes organised by the Ski School, across country to some of the more remote summer villages and farms.The lift company also offers a very reasonable pedestrian pass, with which it is possible to get all the way to Courcheval on foot just using connecting lifts.

 In the late afternoon there are numerous bars and terraces to watch the sun go down with a glass of wine or beer!

Apres Ski

Somewhere to meet up and have a drink at the end of the day, well there is no shortage of venues and both 'Brewskis' and' Porquoi Pas' have music and dancing until the early hours. Below are some of our favorites.

 You can relax in front of a roaring fire in "POURQUOI PAS", (voted one of the top ten apres ski bars in the 3 Valleys by The Sunday Times.) . There are fun Latin and Rock & Roll theme evenings, and frustrated pop singers can demonstrate their vocal talents on Monday’s Karaoke evening.

ABOVE APRES SKI AT POURQUOI PAS

The village also has many other bars, ranging from "locals" frequented by pisteurs and ski teachers, the best are L'ETERLOU at the bottom of the village drag lift and the JOKER BAR (apparently opening an extension below for 2010) in the village centre. BREWSKIS, just below the hotel St Martin, also features live bands, and party nights with silly competitions such as sumo wrestling. It is fairly basic but a lot of fun (at the time of writing it has just been sold so I am not sure what the new owners intend) The DAHLIA, situated at the bottom of the telecabin and next to the ski school, (good for lunchtime snacks, ) has recently become the apres ski bar of choice for the younger seasonal staff.

RESTAURANT GUIDE

Because of its position, many ski instructors bring their classes from other resorts in the 3 Valleys to have lunch in St. Martin. Consequently the range and variety of restaurants goes well beyond the normal expectations of a small village. Here are a small selection of our favourites:

LA BOUITTE – Smart, new French cooking, and it’s in The Michelin Guide (two stars).  (A short off piste run to the next village up.)

LE ETOILE DES NEIGES – Very pretty with up-market mountain food (Michelin entry).

LA VOUTE – A pizzeria, but also has a good range of alternative dishes, and very good value.

L'ETERLOU - Not just a bar, but on the first floor a pretty good inexpensive restaurant, popular at lunchtime as it has a terrace facing the village slope.

LE LACHENAL – After a bumpy start the new owners seem to have got to grips and many guests now rate it. It  also has a small bar and the whole place has a great atmosphere.

LE GRENIER– Hotel St. Martin, just off the piste down to the church, modern French food. ( Michelin entry)

LA FERME CHOUMETTE- This is a new one, and a must if you have kids, accessible from the lower end of the pist and  also the main road, a glass wall separates you from the animals and the food is not bad either.

All the above have terraces but not to be missed, situated in an old farmhouse behind the town hall,
"LE MONTAGNARD" serves possibly the most authentic mountain food (Michelin entry).

Just next door to the montagnard is a new take away pizza parlour, 'LE PETIT CREUX' they also have a few tables and serve a limited but good menu and are inexpensive.

LE BILLIG.New this year. An inexpensive creperie/pasta restaurant and bar. If the opening night is anything to go by it will be a useful addition to the village scene. Not easy to find, situated behind the '8 to 8' food shop in the village square but seek it out.

LA LOY. This is really one of the mountain restaurants, but you can, if you give them notice ski in at the end of the day, watch the sun go down and have a fondue supper, then ski the kilometer back to the village in the dark with torches.

There are several others in smaller hamlets close by who offer simple Table d' Hote fare and are fun nights out so long as everyone is happy with the no choice menu.The best of these is LE CHANTACOUCOU at Chatelard, (they will pick you up and drop you back to St. Martin.) However you will need to book 0613989156.

         MOUNTAIN RESTAURANTS ABOVE ST. MARTIN, (SEE SKIING SECTION) MANY OF THESE ARE EASILY REACHABLE  ON FOOT VIA THE LOCAL LIFTS. (SEE TOP OF PAGE)

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