Dining

Best for gastronomic food lovers:

For the foodies amongst you there's plenty on offer when you take a break in the 3 Valleys ski resort. If you really want to push the boat out during your winter break try one of the many Michelin starred restaurants. With 61 in the Rhone Alps region alone there’s lots to choose from. Try Le Chabichou in Courchevel 1850, a 2 starred Michelin restaurant offering sumptuous food in wonderful surroundings.

http://www.chabichou-courchevel.com/en/table.php

Phone : +33 (0)4 79 08 00 55

Best chalkboard menu:

L’Atelier Restaurant

Après ski and sophisticated dining don’t have to be exclusive, as evidenced at L’Atelier restaurant. Here, it’s all sleek dark wood, terracotta walls, trendily upholstered bar stools and a chalkboard boasting the seasonal specials of the day in this converted old forge. Wine comes by the carafe, cocktails are creative, and the menu is a selective set menu of two or three courses from famed chef, Gilles Herard. You could reasonably expect local cheeses like Le Farou, La Tome des Bauges and Le Colombier des Aillons, sliced with your very own famous Savoyard knife. If you’re suitably rugged up, there is a pretty terrace on which to sip your vin chaud, otherwise stay warm in the bar, where the chilled-out music creates a nice, flirty vibe. Frequently voted the best feed in the city, this is refined market cuisine for piste princesses.

Where: 59 Rue de la République, Tel: +33 04 79 70 62 39

Website: www.atelier-chambery.com

Apres Ski

Best for après ski:

Meribel

There's plenty of après ski on offer in the 3 Valleys and Meribel is no exception. Whether you’re looking for a relaxed vin chaud watching the sun go down or you’re out to party the night away before hitting the slopes again the following morning, there’s something for everyone. For a livelier night out in Meribel a holiday wouldn’t be complete without a visit to the Rond Point, or the Ronny as it’s affectionately known. Renowned amongst the European and Worldwide ski community this is a night out not to be missed!

http://www.rondpointmeribel.com

Phone : +33 (0)4 79 00 37 51

Best après ski boogie:

L’Opera Nightclub

If you’ve ever seen Mariah Carey take to the slopes in head-to-ski boot Gucci, then you’ll know that an alpine holiday can be a glamorous affair. Which is why no trip to Chambéry is complete without partying like a celebrity at Opera Discothèque nightclub. A class above the usual après-ski hangouts, this big warehouse space, replete with podiums and clusters of disco balls, has attracted DJ Chriss War to take up a residency with his Electro-House sounds. This is the kind of place that actively encourages dancing on the bar, if your tired muscles can get you up there. If you need any further persuasion to stay out until the 4.30am closing time, then how about the promise of complimentary croissants and <pain au chocolate> on the dance floor as the sun comes up?

Where: L’Opera, Carre Curial, Tel: +33 06 72 56 18 86

Culture

Best feel-good monument:

The Elephant’s Fountain

Head to Chambéry’s Old Town for a don’t-miss photo of the city’s most famous landmark, the (ahem) ‘mammoth’ Fontaine des Éléphants (Elephants Fountain). Built by sculptor, Sappy, in 1838 to honour the Count Benoit de Boigne’s roaring success in his military campaigns in India, a huge elephant appears to be emerging from the stone on each of the four sides of the fountain, while the Count stands imposingly at the top of a 17.65m-tall column. The elephants are actually made from iron, and water flows from the fountain out of their trunks into the surrounding pool. It’s imposing and impressive – even if it’s known affectionately by locals as ‘les quatre sans culs’ – or ‘the four without arses’!

Where: Place des Éléphants, Chambéry Old Town

Best for dancing on ice:

Parc de Buisson Rond Rink

Where: Parc de Buisson Rond, Rue Ste Rose, Tel: +33 04 79 85 0914

Website: www.chambery-metropole.fr/111-tarifs.htm (French only)