Skiing in Flaine – Part 3

Continuing in my Skiing in Flaine series, I’m now onto the good stuff…the food!

I spent a lot of time eating while I was away, as to be honest, it was just too tempting not to. The weather was stunning – sunny and warm, so we spent every lunch time sitting outside enjoying lunch.

Each day, the rest of the gang would get up early to get a few runs in before lunch. I’d potter about and play with the little lady until about 11am, when we’d get our bits together and go for a stroll. After one day, I realised that although not the worst snowy conditions, it was still tricky to get about on foot (especially with a pram), so I quickly got into the spirit of the slopes and bought some Moon Boots. These seriously made it easy to get about and kept me stable on foot (which was extremely important when carrying a baby!). 

We’d window shop and stroll in the sun to the lunch destination of the day (we made our way through quite a lot of the restaurants and bars in Flaine through the duration of the week!) and pick a table with a view, perusing the menu whilst waiting for the others to join us. The skiers and boarders would show-up, ready for a vin chaud and we’d enjoy a leisurely lunch together before going our separate ways again.

I fit in two private ski lessons at Flaine, with a fabulous instructor. I was so nervous, so needed a lot of confidence building. Each lesson was two hours long and after my first, I was happy enough going up and down a small beginners slope. I was exhausted though and my legs ached. So by the time of my second lesson, the next day, I really did struggle. I was nervous again and felt weak, so the second lesson wasn’t quite as successful as the first, but I enjoyed it none the less. I think having a 7-month old meant that took priority over me skiing on this trip, but I look forward to going back next year and enjoying more lessons, to hopefully become good enough to be a fair-weather skier.

Back to the food…one of my favourite places was Totem in Terminal Neige Hotel in Flaine. It’s a really cool boutique hotel, with a chic bar and stunning terrace. The views were fabulous and the perfect place for lunch in the snowy sunshine. I had one of the best burgers I’ve ever eaten there. Like seriously good!

This is said burger. Full of gooey, truffle-y cheese, a perfect tomato relish and a medium rare juicy beef burger. It really was heaven and reignited my love of burgers…

In terms of eating on the slopes themselves, Flaine has plenty of great options and plenty of vin chaud!

My personal favourite was Le Michet, which is not far from the beginners slope and can be walked to (dodging all the zooming skiers) from the shops (ie without having to ski down any slopes!). Le Michet also did fantastic burgers but definitely keep your eyes peeled for their specials board, as we had some delicious meals here. (Sorry no photos, we always devoured our food way too quickly).

Venture up and out of Flaine slightly (5 minutes in cab) and you’ll reach some chalet hotel accommodation with a fabulous restaurant. Don’t hate me, but the name escapes me, but they send a free cab/shuttle to come and collect you from your apartment in Flaine, so ask at the Information centre or your concierge desk.

Here’s some of what we ate there…great set menu!

And of course there’s plenty of self-catering options in Flaine too, with the most amazing meats and cheeses on offer in the local shops. We indulged in a fondue or two, I have to say!

And of course, no ski slope experience would be complete without a bit of apres-ski. There’s nothing better than being sat on top of a snowy mountain, in the sunshine, sipping a glass of wine, vin chaud, beer…whatever your tipple is.

Au revoir Flaine, you were amazing. Can’t wait to come back next year and hopefully actually ski!

Check out my other Flaine posts here and here.

Are you learning to ski? Tag me in your inspirational tips on Twitter @HollyNicol or Instagram @_hollygoeslightly

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