Eating in La Tania - From Casual to Fine Dining

To be sure, this small, family-friendly resort may not have the reputation for a bustling nightlife like its next-door neighbours do. Still, visitors on ski holidays need not worry about boring nights wearing fluffy slippers cooped up in the ski chalet! La Tania may not be the party capital of the Alps, but there are many places for après ski activities, dining (casual or gourmet) and more in the area to enjoy!

Wondering where to go after a day of skiing and snowboarding? Here are a few of the favourites.

Apres Ski Fun: Pub Le Ski Lodge The Ski Lodge has earned a reputation as the social centre of this resort, and rightly so. If you're looking for a fun time and an evening out of the chalet, La Tania's fun crowd will be found here! Its amazing drinks - the most famous of which is The Ski Lodge Cocktail- coupled with great entertainment [including live music from great bands, live telecasts on satellite on its screens and more], ensure unforgettable nights of fun and excitement. It's not just a bar, however. The Ski Lodge is a great restaurant as well, offering generous helpings of wonderful pub fare at very reasonable prices.

Upmarket Lounging and Savoyard Specialities: La Taiga If you're looking for a more relaxing, upmarket establishment to enjoy after a day's skiing, head on over to La Taiga, after dumping your gear and freshening up at the chalet. La Tania's chill out resto-bar is frequented by an older and more sophisticated crowd and furnished with leather sofas, glass tables and a crackling fire. But don't worry, it won't be too quiet - there are still live bands playing here on occasion as well as rousing party night.

As for food, La Taiga also serves great meals at its restaurant, should you be craving to sample authentic Savoyard fare outside your chalet. La Tania's signature meals such as the traditional fondue, raclette and tartiflette are best sampled here first- so you know what they should really taste like! As well, the menu includes other options like foie gras and modern salads.

More Savoyard Options: La Ferme Another place to experience traditional, authentic Savoyard meat and cheese dishes, La Chanterelle offers all this and more, but specializes in crépes. Not to be missed!

Michelin-Starred Sophistication: Le Farçon If you're looking for a romantic dinner with impressively fancy dishes- or just a good reason to dress up and get out of your ski chalet- La Tania's very own Michelin-starred restaurant is your best bet! Try out the tasting menu, which offers what seems to be a never-ending parade of small portions with amazing tastes and flavours, such as king prawns (in the mountains? Unbelievable!) with scrambled egg, freshwater fish in cream, snails in garlic cream and more. This is fabulous and innovative French cuisine in the middle of the French Alps!

Fast Food Should you wake up with an unexplainable craving for a Big Mac or quarter-pounder inside your ski chalet, La Tania unfortunately won' t be able to help. There is, however, a well known fast-food chain restaurant some 40 minutes outside the resort at Bourg St. Maurice. Inside the resort there are several places that offer wonderful burgers (as well as pizza) for lunch and dinner such as Le Chrome Bar, and of course, Pub Le Ski Lodge.

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Where the World's Best Racers Go to Ski

Here are five of the leading World Cup resorts for skiers to visit:

Lake Louise, Canada

The resort with more ski kilometres than any other in Canada, Lake Louise has plenty of runs to suit beginners, intermediates and experts. For those who like a challenge, there's good powder, some mogul fields and steep runs above the treeline. One of the lift pass options includes pistes at Mount Norquay and Sunshine Village. Located in the beautiful Canadian Rockies, Lake Louise is a charming resort with good apres ski, accommodation and other snow activities, including sleigh rides, ice-skating, cross-country skiing and dog sledding. It hosts men's and women's races at the end of November and in early December during the Winterstart racing festival. Calgary is the best airport for connections.

Selva, Italy

The Val Gardena has welcomed the world's best male downhillers for the last 40 years or so, staging races in December amid the stunning Italian Dolomites. Selva is the main resort in the valley, part of the Dolomiti Superski area and one of the stops on the 26km-long Sella Ronda ski tour. It's a great resort for intermediates and has some good nursery slopes in the centre of the village. The Saslong downhill course is famous for the so-called camel bumps that the speedy love to jump but it's not the toughest course on the circuit and is therefore skiable by good intermediates. Selva, which is known as Wolkenstein by German-speaking residents, is at 1,500m or so and has the best snow record of the other villages in the valley.

St Moritz, Switzerland

One of the most glamorous resorts in the Alps, St Moritz has hosted Winter Olympics and Alpine Skiing World Championships and is visited regularly by the best women racers on the World Cup tour. St Moritz, at 1,770m, has some of the priciest hotels and restaurants in the mountains, is popular with celebrities but generally avoided by skiers on a budget. The skiing is best suited to intermediates and experts, with fewer runs for beginners, and the black runs at Diavolezza are a particular challenge. The nightlife is good and visitors can always enjoy horse racing on the frozen lake when taking a break from skiing.

Kitzbuhel, Austria

The Streif on the Hahnenkamm mountain at Kitzbuhel is widely recognised as the toughest men's downhill course on the World Cup circuit and the race meeting is also the biggest social event on the tour. With some terrifyingly steep pitches and long jumps, all skiers need their wits about them when giving it a try. The village overflows with visitors during the event, held at the end of January every year, and the atmosphere gets particularly electric if the race is won by an Austrian. Generally, Kitzbuhel's skiing is a lot milder than the Streif would suggest, with some particularly good runs for beginners and intermediates. The main problem facing the resort is its relatively low altitude, which means snow conditions can suffer in dry or mild weather.

Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany

Host of the 1936 Winter Olympics, and the first of the competitions to see alpine ski medals awarded, Garmisch-Partenkirchen is Germany's premier winter sports resort and has hosted the sport's World Championships on a couple of occasions. The slopes are regular stops on the men's and women's downhill and slalom tours, with recreational skiing on the Hausberg, Kreuzeck and Osterfelder runs. Visitors can also take the mountain railway up to the Zugspitz glacier area, which offers easier high-altitude pistes. The resort, formed when the towns of Garmisch and Partenkirchen were united for the Olympics, is reached easily by train from Munich airport. Choosing La Tania for Your Next Ski Holiday   The Cost Of A Winter Holiday   The Cost Of A Winter Holiday