Sestriere Bars & Après Ski
What's après ski in Sestriere like?
There's a good night out here if you know where to go — but Sestriere isn't a party town, and we'd rather say so up front. The loud afternoon session happens in one place, GFC, out on the piste, and it's a proper one: plastic tokens instead of cash at the bar, dancing in ski boots, and a crowd that comes straight off the slopes. After that the pace drops right down. People drift into the bars round the square for a spritz and something to pick at, dinner takes a couple of hours, and then a handful of places stay open late with one nightclub at the end of it.
That shape suits a lot of people and disappoints a few. If you want somewhere loud from four in the afternoon until four in the morning, the Via Lattea has that — it's Sauze d'Oulx, down the hill, and it always has been. Sestriere is quieter, a bit smarter and a lot more Italian about it: the aperitivo hour matters more than the shots.
The good news is that everything's close together. The town is small and flat enough to walk end to end, so you're never far from the next bar and you can get home without a taxi or a bus timetable. Picking where to stay? See where to stay in Sestriere.
See where the afternoon happens
Where the afternoon happens
Après in Sestriere starts outside, on the snow, while the lifts are still turning. Two places do the bulk of it, and both are close enough to town that you can walk home in your boots.
- GFC — Gargote Fashion CaféThe big one, and the reason anyone talks about après in Sestriere. It sits out on the piste, so you ski in, though you can also walk up from town if you've finished for the day. You swap your cash for plastic tokens at the door and spend those at the bar, which sounds like a gimmick and turns out to keep the queue moving. Expect a DJ, tables being stood on, and the kind of music you'd never admit to liking at home. Go on a Wednesday if you can. The tour operators — Crystal, Sunweb and the Scandinavian companies among them — lay on a return coach for their guests that day, so the room fills with an international crowd and it's the biggest afternoon of the week. Weekends are a different night out altogether: younger, and mostly Italians up from Turin for the weekend. It's an afternoon party rather than a late one — the music stops early evening and everyone spills back into town for dinner.
- I.GLOO Sky BarThe quieter alternative at the bottom of the pistes, by the drag lifts. A big sun terrace, house music rather than après anthems, and a crowd more interested in sitting down than climbing on the furniture. You can book one of the igloo pods for a group, which is a good shout for a birthday or a last day. Come for the terrace and the sunshine; it's not the place for a serious meal.
- A bombardino before the last runIf you'd rather stay up the hill, Chisonetto is the pick — a low-key bar-restaurant on the slopes with the fires going and a sun terrace. Rifugio Alpette and Rifugio Aquila Nera both do the same job with a better view. All three are covered properly on our Sestriere restaurants guide.
Bars in Sestriere town
Nearly everything is on or around the main square, within a couple of minutes of each other. This is the aperitivo stretch of the evening — a drink, a plate of something to go with it, and a decision about where you're eating.
- SpottiTucked in the corner of the square and a favourite with people who live here. Low lighting, jazz on rather than dance music, a serious list of gins and a short menu of panini and snacks to go with the drink. The best aperitivo in town, and the one to pick if you want to hear the person opposite you.
- BarabbaA restaurant with a lounge bar attached, up on Piazza Fraiteve. Handy if half your group wants dinner and the other half wants another drink, and the snacks that come out with the cocktails are better than they need to be. Prices sit at the higher end for Sestriere, so it's more of a treat than a routine stop.
- PinkyThe all-day one. Coffee and a pastry in the morning, somewhere to sit when the weather's foul, and then a decent buzz once people come off the hill in the late afternoon. It's busy, central and does the job — go for the convenience and the people-watching rather than the cooking.
- KovoEasy-going, a bit scruffy in the right way, and open later than most. Burgers, pizza, local wine by the glass, and a room that never seems to empty. We've been drinking in here since Ash's seasonaire days and it hasn't gone downhill. Good enough as a dinner in its own right — it turns up on our Sestriere restaurants guide too.
Found somewhere good we've missed? Tell us below and we'll go and try it.
Late drinks and the one nightclub
Dinner in Italy runs late, so the second half of the night starts later than you might expect. Two places to pick up afterwards, and one club if you're properly committed.
- Black PepperThe natural first stop after dinner. Cocktails made with some care, a warm room, and a habit of running fancy-dress nights that somehow stay the right side of embarrassing. It stays open long after the aperitivo bars have called it, so it's where the evening either ends or gets its second wind.
- TabataThe only nightclub in Sestriere, at the back of town, and busy most nights of the week through the season. DJs work through 2000s throwbacks and Euro house, and the bigger themed nights pull people up from the whole valley. It gets rammed at weekends and through the Italian holiday weeks. Go with your group, keep your things on you, and write off the first lift in the morning.
- Or go down the hillIf one big night is the point of the trip, Sauze d'Oulx is about twenty minutes down the valley and has a far bigger late scene — it's the Via Lattea's party town and has been for decades. Book a taxi both ways before you go out. There's no late bus back up the mountain, and a taxi is the only way home.
A few things worth knowing before you go out
Small practical stuff that makes the evenings run better.
- The shape of the nightSlope-side bars go while the lifts are turning and stop not long after. Aperitivo runs from about the time you've had a shower until dinner, dinner starts late and takes its time, and the late bars only really fill up once people have eaten. If you go looking for atmosphere at eight o'clock you'll find everyone still at the table.
- Aperitivo is the value optionOrder a drink in the early evening and something to eat usually arrives with it — crisps and olives in the cheaper places, a proper plate of cured meat and cheese in the better ones. Two rounds and you've half had dinner. Drinks generally cost less here than in the big-name resorts, and the wine by the glass is local and good.
- Getting homeThe town is compact and flat, so almost everything is a walk. A local bus loops the town and the villages during the day but it isn't built around a night out, so if you're staying down in Borgata or out at Grangesises, plan a taxi. Book it rather than assuming you'll find one at two in the morning.
- Eat first, or eat thereSeveral of the bars here serve proper food, so you don't have to choose between a night out and dinner. If you'd rather book a table, the restaurants worth reserving are on our Sestriere restaurants guide.
Sort the skis before you sort the bar
Sestriere hire is something we sell ourselves, not an affiliate link. We work directly with Maison Clataud in town, so booking through us gets you 15% off the shop's own counter price on skis, boards and boots — fitted properly, and waiting for you when you arrive.
See Sestriere ski hire →
Sort the rest of your Sestriere trip
The bars are the easy part. Here's everything else worth booking before you go.
Ski hire in Sestriere
Booked directly with Maison Clataud in town — 15% off the shop's counter price, collected in resort.
Where to stay in Sestriere
Compare hotels, apartments and chalets, and pick somewhere you can walk back to at the end of the night.
Airport transfers to Sestriere
Turin is close enough that you can land in the morning and be on the hill the same afternoon.
Lessons in Sestriere
Group or private tuition with local instructors, chosen on reviews and price rather than whoever's nearest.
Sestriere après ski: common questions
Is Sestriere good for après ski?
It's good rather than wild. There's one proper slope-side party at GFC in the afternoon, a decent run of aperitivo bars around the town square, a few late bars and a single nightclub. What it doesn't have is a whole street of bars going all night. If that's what you want, Sauze d'Oulx down the valley is the Via Lattea's party town.
Where's the best après ski in Sestriere?
GFC, the Gargote Fashion Cafe, out on the piste. You buy plastic tokens at the door and spend those at the bar, there's a DJ, and people dance in their ski boots. It's an afternoon party that finishes in the early evening rather than a late one, and Wednesday is the biggest day of the week, when the tour operators run a return coach for their guests and the crowd turns international. I.GLOO Sky Bar at the bottom of the pistes is the calmer alternative, with a big sun terrace and igloo pods you can book for a group.
Is there a nightclub in Sestriere?
Yes, one: Tabata, at the back of town. It opens most nights through the season and plays 2000s throwbacks and Euro house, with bigger themed nights that draw people from around the valley. It gets very busy at weekends and in the Italian school holidays, so go with your group and keep your belongings on you.
Is Sestriere or Sauze d'Oulx better for nightlife?
Sauze d'Oulx, comfortably. It has far more bars, a younger crowd and a reputation for a big night that goes back decades. Sestriere is quieter and a bit smarter, with the aperitivo hour mattering more than the shots. They're on the same lift pass and about twenty minutes apart by road, so you can stay in Sestriere and go down for one big night — just book a taxi both ways, because there's no late bus back up.
Are drinks expensive in Sestriere?
Not by the standards of a major ski resort. Wine by the glass is local and good value, and an early-evening drink usually arrives with something to eat alongside it, which softens the cost. The slope-side bars charge more than the ones in town, as they do everywhere.
How does the GFC token system work?
You exchange cash for plastic tokens and use those to buy drinks at the bar rather than paying each time. It looks like a gimmick and it isn't — it keeps the queue moving when the place is full. Work out roughly what you'll drink before you swap, so you're not left holding tokens at the end of the afternoon.
Been out in Sestriere? Tell us what's still going
We're over in Sestriere often enough to keep this list current, but we won't have been everywhere. If there's a bar you rate that isn't here, tell us and we'll go and try it. We read and check every tip before anything goes live.
Get your ski hire booked
We sell Sestriere hire ourselves, direct with Maison Clataud — 15% off the shop's own counter price, ready to collect in resort.
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- Via Lattea – Vialattea 11 (1): © Vialattea
