Europe’s Best Après-Ski: Hotspots & Hidden Gems

Explore Europe's top après-ski scenes, from lively table-dancing in Austria to sophisticated wine bars in Italy. Discover the best spots for post-piste fun, music, and relaxation across the Alps.

As the highest resort in Les Trois Vallées, Val Thorens’ snow cover is as astonishing as its après. La Folie douce enjoys a near-sacred status in this hotel, despite its spin on the Val d’Isere initial, where entertainers raise the terrace onto tables from their cabin veranda phase. The Brits descend on the Frog and Roastbeef for pleased hour and pub grub (regardless of sensation vastly inconsistent with the Alpine setup) or sign up with the citizens at always-hopping Rhum’ Box for an undone après, soaked in 30 different rums. For full-throttle clubbing, with scant regard for lift opening times, Malaysia is just one of the Alps’ biggest clubs, with world-famous DJs oiling the crowds until the early hours.

Val Thorens: High-Altitude Fun

This Austrian hotel’s dynamic après scene is practically as fabulous as its snow-sure, high elevation snowboarding. Called the ‘Ibiza of the Alps’ there’s no scarcity of après options between the Giggijochbahn and Gaislachkoglbahn, which, from lunchtime onwards changes into a thumping Alpine party strip. Expect a dynamic scene and loud music from rustic (frequently delightfully shabby) mountain huts such as the Gampe Thaya (turn up early for a pre-game fondue) and Hühnersteign, or Rotkogelhütte whose Glühwein-soaked balcony springs to life with views of the Rettenbach glacier and a scatter of folding chair to take in the sun, which remains generously on into the late afternoon. With its blue-and-white ceramic with heating want insides, then a typical balcony teeming with an après group, piste-side Panorama Alm provides both the indoor cosiness and outside, high-energy celebration with a lineup of DJs. Those snowboarding to Philipp, simply over Sölden in Innerwald (the last station), will be treated to an even wilder, marginally later scene of real-time singers, DJ sets and table dancing, courtesy of the Zentrum Shuttle bus funicular transporting those home who, after one way too many Jagertees. It’s excellent for groups where non-skiers can join for the hill ambience, without the shlep up and lift deadline panic down, and there’s a lot of passionate, self-made soups and bread to line tummies prior to the rounds roll in. Back in the area, those drawing out the après (or a smug section who’ve showered, spruced and eaten a hearty stew dinner) can turn right into Sölden traditional Marco’s on the primary drag for online sport, a beer-fuelled boogie and premium currywurst. Fire and Ice is an additional unquestionable favorite with the après crowd that decamp right here from the slopes as soon as the lifts close, then head onto more ‘nightclubby’ Katapult where global acts and DJs maintain every person on their feet till the wee hours.

Sölden: The ‘Ibiza of the Alps’

Back in community, those attracting out the après (or a smug section that’ve bathed, spruced and eaten a hearty stew supper) can swing into Sölden traditional Marco’s on the primary drag for real-time sport, a beer-fuelled boogie and remarkable currywurst.

Val d’Isere’s après scene continues to be invariably wild and mainly british– by 4pm, the resort looks like one big thumping celebration. Those in requirement of a quit space tend to wipe up the Sparkling wine and panach’ excess with a crêpe or cabin dinner before heading to Val institutions, Bar des Tontons, La Bananas, or a swishier novice, B’Bar Val d’Isère (one of numerous cleaning up Val d’Isere’s après act).

Val d’Isere: Wild and British

There’s typically a crazy shuffle for the last lifts towards Tignes, (and some unsavoury skiing over the late afternoon swellings and bumps en course to Val Red), and, from hereon in, après places very much depend on the village your resort or chalet is based in (Tignes is fragmented right into multiple villages: Tignes Le Lac, Tignes Le Lavachet, Tignes Val Cherry, then even more down the mountain, Tignes 1800 (Les Boisses) and Tignes Les Brevieres). Undoubtedly the liveliest, Val Red currently brings the après scene with open-air, always hopping Cocorico (which Val D’Isere skiers will certainly be familiar with) right by the Lanches chair lift. Family-friendly Brasero can be found in laid back La Lavachet, where smalls can grasp the art of bopping to live songs in the sunshine, or at Le Line Up de Cochon, an additional subtle après area (the charcuterie boards and pulled-pork hamburgers are a wonderful means to round off delighted hour).

With the new Flexenbahn cableway link to Lech and over 305 kilometres of varied piste to dominate and sculpt, (as well as the superb off-piste), St Anton is an unalterable snowglobe of fun for skiers. Its après is a masterclass in Austrian mountain madcappery– expect beer-hall design terraces, the odd lederhosen and folky online songs when the sporting activity isn’t on. Krazy Kanguruh is St Anton’s après initial– where schnitzels, beer and table dance assemble for an event that begins around 11am (with an alarmingly easy slide home down Red 21). Fellow mountain event cabin, MooserWirt, drain the Euro songs for ski boots pounding tables under a gigantic nightclub round. Das Basecamp accumulates those reluctant to go home and obtain transformed, although also in town, St Anton’s dress code is even more laid back than the similarity Courchevel or Verbier. Bobo’s is the area for a clipped cowbell-spin on karaoke and cocktail-fuelled dance, while the skint seasonaires and sporting activities followers make a beeline for Bar Cuba and its continuous flow of real-time songs.

St. Anton: Madcap Mountain Fun

Many après (if you can even call it that) in posh-but-unpretentious and amazingly rather Klosters take place in the cosy, amber-lit Pellegrini Bar (more great scotch than plastic beers) and the typical chalet-style Alpina Bar by the station. It’s the Chesa’s well-known storage bar on Bahnhofstrasse that wins in the star-studded après risks– Gene Kelly notoriously danced on its tables and a pianist has actually been tinkling away for the touching bums since the 1930s.

Peering over the river, La Terrasse is the pink deco building identified with Chamonix’ après– an online music hot spot for British skiers. Its après is a masterclass in Austrian hill madcappery– expect beer-hall style terraces, the odd lederhosen and folky real-time songs when the sport isn’t on. Schneebar Pirates on the Rocks is an additional less snazzy area at Corviglia’s leading station, whose real-time music and laid-back attraction feel extremely out of step with whatever St Moritz stands for, while The Roo Bar at Hauser is a St Moritz classic, whose cellar dancing floor mops up the après groups who’ve made it home to transform.

This French resort’s après scene is as large and varied as its surface: a magnet for severe skiers who are led by guides on impressive backcountry journeys. Hill restaurant food selections are tailored towards thigh-busting skiing– anticipate passionate fondue and tartiflettes– and while these can lift to event degrees by 3pm, Chamonix’ après, save high altitude cabaret, La Folie Douce on the lower eco-friendly Brevent piste, mainly takes location back in town or at the foot of the lifts. Peering over the river, La Terrasse is the pink deco building associated with Chamonix’ après– an online songs warm spot for British skiers.

Chamonix: Après-Ski with a View

Family-friendly Brasero can be discovered in laid back La Lavachet, where smalls can grasp the art of bopping to live music in the sunshine, or at Le Queue de Cochon, another subtle après spot (the charcuterie boards and pulled-pork burgers are a wonderful means to round off delighted hour).

Yes, there’s the salopetted-and-booted après at Alegra with its crowd-pleasing songs, or the circus-themed Stalet, both at the bottom of the black Carosello run, but Italians do things a little in a different way. Rather than a beer-soaked après, they normally separate a day’s skiing with a red wine or a lengthy lunch and cicchetti pit stop, then a shower, snooze and all of a sudden its aperitivo hour. At precisely this moment, Milky’s Nightclub Club switches on the appeal with a cockle-warming Bombardinos or Aperol Spritz, while Tagliede après-ski is extra regarding the kicked back pizza and Peroni. Tuesdays organize the resort’s coveted Mountain Feast, which features a skidoo adventure to a knees-up supper.

Après-ski is a crammed term, one that when obvious incorrectly sends shivers down the spines of serious skiers and those whose post-piste kind has changed from Aperol-soaked balconies and tabletop boot stomping to a hammam or hot-choc-and-Titanic design of night. Yet they were complicit. They once signed up with the perspiring après groups with semi-peeled salopettes, smeared mascara and wild desert. What started in the Fifties as a French term for “after ski” socializing soon morphed into a fully-fledged practice, with laddish trimmings however, inevitably, a little harmless (and occasionally hefty) enjoyable after a hard day sculpting up the inclines. The Scandinavians have their sauna-and-fika take on the routine, the Americans have stringent regulations around alcohol consumption on the inclines that prevent most high-altitude fun, and the elegant Italians often tend to shower first and celebration later, in a white wine bar, at finest. So it stays a British import– one the Austrians and French would rather distance their post-piste vin chaud or beer society from– however one that takes its sign from each hotel’s own identity and unspoken codes. From high-altitude cabarets on sun-blasted balconies to low-key institutions warming up patrons with vin chaud and live music, here’s our guide to the most effective après-ski in Europe.

Méribel: Nostalgia and Nightlife

Apparently cut adrift from the world in the Italian Alps, high-altitude Livigno uses a few of Europe’s ideal winter sports, with many of its conventional chalet-style hotels ski-in/ski-out. From a drowsy, Lombardy town in the 1950s, the hotel now offers a cornucopia of après-ski frolicking, with a high-low mix of bars lining its main stretch paced by fur-clad Nonnas.

Beautiful squiggles with snow-dusted ache woodlands, raclette-focused dining establishments flickering like amber beacons behind a thick covering of snow, and postcard mountain sights from chalet balconies and gurgling tubs, Méribel lives up to all the snow-globe assumptions. As well as its French contingent, the hotel has actually constantly been a hit with the Brits (among them founded the resort in 1938). Those who skied right here from day dot return annually, mentioning not just profound nostalgia but the slick chairlift system to limit lines up (with simple links to Vaal Thorens and Courchevel), the cosy, conventional cabins and the heart-thumping views of the magnificent Mont Blanc. However they’re additionally back for the après scene. The Meribel-Courchevel Folie Douce leads the charge with its piste-side. magnum-heavy, wildly flamboyant cabaret scene that presents along terraces and tables to an energetic group. Les Trois Vallées establishment, Le Rond-Point– Ronnie’s to Méribel loyalists– beings in plum setting for a bed-in après session, simply above Méribel, with a moving bar (go with the toffee vodka) and practical 6pm last orders to allow revellers sufficient time to border down into the town for hut suppers. On the same level with Ronnie’s fabulous standing in Méribel is Jack’s, just opposite the Chaudanne lift, which puts on the best combination of raised pizzas and hamburgers, live music and occasions (consisting of pub quizzes) and cocktails (delighted hour is 5pm).

Not only is St Moritz and the Engadine area high enough for lots of snow and sunshine, its Cresta-focused, Slim Aarons-documented history of icy lakes and snow-capped royal residences bestow it a near-mystical status. St Moritz is basically one stylish century-long event tied in interested customs (snow polo and the sort) and star-studded lore. Many tales emerging from years of refined entertainment lead back to Badrutt’s Royal residence, St Moritz’s fairy tale turreted resort, which lately opened its very own hill club, Paradiso. Right here, a mix of significant skiers and gondola-riding designer animals drink Champagne to Euro strikes in the middle of a theatrical hill backdrop. Sternbar Marguns has been around a little bit longer, with its sun trap terrace and famously louche bar 2,838 metres high. Schneebar Pirates on the Rocks is one more less snazzy spot at Corviglia’s top terminal, whose online music and laid-back allure feel hugely out of step with every little thing St Moritz means, while The Roo Bar at Hauser is a St Moritz classic, whose storage dance flooring mops up the après crowds that have actually made it home to alter.

Every person knows the après is on the same level with the top-notch winter sports in Verbier. If pounding tables in ski boots to live songs is on the cards, head to Le Mouton Noir (Verbs’ equivalent of the Folie Douce), Le Farinet for its online music dive and retracting, fair-weather roofing, and seasonaire hotspot, Bar Mont Fort. Wherever you choose to après, it’s Verbier custom to go to, Patisserie La Poste, a hole-in-the-wall bakery en route home, mopping up the rosé with a freshly-baked, 4am croissant.