Does Europe have the best après-ski? The activities undeniably enhance a ski vacation’s charm. You’re headed to the mountains for a week of work-free fun, soaring down the slopes and partying at the piste-side pubs. Some of the best après-ski in the world can be found in Europe. Austria, France, and Italy are the top three countries!
We love the après resorts just off the slopes, where you can start as early as lunchtime if you want. Nothing like letting off steam after a day of skiing as enormous trays of drinks float through hard-partying Austria. Some resorts, however, do not come alive until after midnight. Where are the best late ski resorts in Europe?
What are Europe’s top three après-ski resorts?
The Austrian town of St Anton
When it comes to après, St Anton is by far the most well-known name. St Anton is the king of slope-side parties, and Austria is the origin of skiing. The resort consistently ranks at the top of international lists for the greatest après ski, and good reason. Drinking is a way of life here, with piste-side pubs opening shortly before the lifts close. It’s a large ski area that attracts ardent skiers who go all out on the slopes and then party hard afterward.
Krazy Kangaruh and Mooserwirt are two famous open-air bars with pounding music, and even the servers at the Mooserwirt are superb, with double trays heaped high with large beer stones carried one-handed through the masses.
St Anton is the place to visit for vibrant nightlife
However, if you head to the bottom of the slopes, Basecamp, a buzzing umbrella bar with plenty of live music and perhaps a bit of space, is a favourite. If you’re searching for something different than table dancing in your ski boots, the Underground is the place to go. You’ll be crammed full of delicious fondue when the music starts and the maracas are passed around. It’ll be a night of riotous cheese, wine, and music that you won’t soon forget.
France’s Val Thorens
The highest open-air club in Europe is located in Europe’s highest resort, and that’s just the beginning of the action here. Val Thorens has gone a long way from cheap university visits and young farmers’ parties and is now considered Meribel and Courchevel’s raucous neighbour. With a slew of exquisite hotels, apartments, and chalets, the company has risen to become one of France’s most popular destinations.
Bustling Val Thorens
The Folie Douce, located high above the region and offering excellent views down the valley, is where the celebration begins. It’s a smaller Folie than Val d’Isere, but it only adds to the crowd’s energy pouring out into the slopes above. If you visit Malaysia, the largest underground club in the mountains, it’s a frenetic ski back to town, where the après scene can last until the wee hours of the morning. The Frog and Roast Beef is Europe’s highest bar and a busy location right off the slopes, but no après-ski afternoon is complete without a legendary sing-along at Cafe Snesko.
Italy’s Sauze d’Oulx
Sauze d’Oulx has fewer all-out party scenes than the two resorts above. There’s a beautiful mix of lively bars and fine establishments in Italy, all with a lot of elegance. The days of a frantic pub crawl and never making it to the slopes before midday are over. It’s much quieter now, but there’s still a lot of noise.
Drinks come with complimentary munchies, and prices stay low. The party begins on the Sportinina slopes and continues back to town, with various bars and taverns sprinkled throughout the village. Capanna Million begins dancing on the sunny patio with warming bombardinos until she skis down to the hamlet. At the base of the slopes, Ghost is the place to be.
