Careful now: Courchevel may be one of best ski resorts in the world for beginners and intermediates. But you’ll pay a premium for its beautifully-groomed, confidence-boosting pistes.
Altitude: 1100m-2740m
Lifts: 49
Top lift: Les Suisses
Ski area: 150km | 600km of piste in the 3 Valleys
Adult lift pass: 395€ for six days across 3 Valleys
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Essential Advice for the Perfect Trip
No doubt about it, God made Courchevel for skiing. At the top, He created three great mountain bowls, and pointed them north, so the snow was almost always soft and squeaky. In the middle, He smoothed a bunch of long, perfectly pitched slopes so that beginners and intermediates would have fun too. And at the bottom He planted lots of trees so that everyone had somewhere to go when the clouds came down.
When He’d finished, He’d created one of the most preternaturally well-endowed ski resorts in the world.
Problem is, everybody knows it. Word-of-mouth recommendations, enthusiastic guide-book reports, websites like this one: together, they’ve created a huge demand for Courchevel’s slopes, and these days it’s groaning under the weight of its own popularity.
It’s not in the lift queues where you’ll see it at its worst: those are extraordinarily short, given how many people come here. It’s on the pistes themselves, especially the sensational Combe Saulire red and the Verdons green beneath it. Together, they form the spine of the resort’s on-piste skiing, and all day they’re covered by a moving carpet of humanity. Unless people-slalom skiing is your thing, you’ll hate them when they’re like that.
Consider staying lower down
The other symptom of Courchevel’s popularity is the pricing. For years, back in the days when France’s economy boomed, this was where the Parisian elite went to ski. Then rich Russians took over in the best hotels and chalets – 7% of the clientele counted for 50% of the resort’s income – and prices went through the roof. Now the figure has halved but resort prices still haven’t dropped. There are chalets here that cost over £100,000 a week to rent, not including travel.
The most stratospheric prices have always been up at the highest village in the resort, formerly known as Courchevel 1850, but now rechristened simply (and confusingly) as Courchevel. Lower down the mountain, in the less fashionable villages, the prices are less indigestible.
Courchevel Village (1550) is the best budget alternative – thanks to some magnificently bargain-basement apartments – but you’ll also find more affordable digs in Courchevel Moriond (1650), Le Praz (1300) and La Tania. That said, accommodation here is still more expensive than comparable stuff elsewhere outside the 3 Valleys.
A Short Guide to the Skiing in Courchevel
On their own, Courchevel’s slopes would rank amongst the best in the Alps, especially for beginners and intermediates. But add in rest of the 3 Valleys lift system, which includes the resorts of Meribel, St Martin de Belleville, Les Menuires, Val Thorens and La Tania, and you can see why the appeal is irresistible for so many.
Check out our guides to the best skiing in the Three Valleys and the best skiing in Courchevel for locals’ recommendations.
Admittedly, this is a resort that should be skied mid-winter, from Christmas through to the end of February, rather than the beginning or the end of the season – because all the local pistes lie between 1100m and 2738m. But aside from the moderate altitude, the only real drawback is how busy it gets.
A no-brainer for beginners
Two of Courchevel’s villages are brilliant for beginners – 1850 and Moriond. Not only are their home runs gentle, they also come well-equipped with excellent British ski schools. (See our “Where to Learn” section below for details.) However, they have very different personalities. 1850 is ritzy and can be eye-wateringly expensive, and in peak weeks its pistes can be hectic. Moriond is more low-key and always quieter. On a busy week like New Year or February half-term, beginners are going to be happier in Moriond.
Superb skiing for every kind of intermediate
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Courchevel’s popularity with the super-rich is no accident. They love the flattering effect of its wide and super-smooth pistes: and you will too, if you’re any sort of intermediate skier.The central section of slopes is where the resort’s reputation has been forged – home to an array of soothing blues and greens that’ll give even the most cautious of second-week skiers the confidence to experiment, and push themselves. Both above and below that mark the terrain is steeper, and this is where you find the reds and blacks. Combe Saulire in particular, is a classic – among the most enjoyable pistes in France, and, indeed the Alps.
Knit the whole lot together into one mighty top-to-bottom run, and you’ll have skied through a muscle-melting 1600 vertical metres.
Generally speaking, in the mid-winter months of late December, January and February, the skiing is so good here that many piste skiers rarely venture over into the next sector of the 3 Valleys – Meribel. That’s especially true if their first experience of Courchevel’s neighbour is the long, sunny descent from the Saulire down to Mottaret. It’s often icy on top and slushy down below, and freaks out scores of intermediates on a daily basis. If you are going “over the back”, you may find skiing down to Meribel centre from the Col de la Loze less traumatic.
It’s not hard to avoid the crowds
Overcrowded pistes are a problem in the peak weeks of New Year and mid-February. The worst offenders are on the central spine of skiing from the Saulire down to Courchevel 1850, and at times you can barely see the snow for skiers and boarders.
But avoiding the crush is easy if you take two simple precautions. First of all, you need to ski the most popular runs at the beginning, middle and end of the day – just after the lifts open, just before they shut, or when everyone else is sitting down to lunch.
Second of all, you need to explore the outer reaches of the piste map. The tree runs above La Tania are a good target on busy days. So too are the pistes above Courchevel Moriond (formerly 1650) at the eastern end of the resort.
Moriond is linked to 1850 in both directions but to most skiers the key lifts and pistes are far from obvious. As a result, even in peak weeks, it can be blissfully quiet. In fact, for the wobblier kind of intermediate, and families with small children, it’s possible to spend most of the week on the Moriond pistes without ever needing to explore further afield.
The slopes above Courchevel Le Praz (formerly 1300) are worth targeting too – especially if you like your slopes a little steeper. This is where Courchevel’s career as ski resort began, back in 1947, but it’s never quite shaken off its farming past. Cows still winter in Le Praz barns, and sometimes you smell the effect on the final piste down into the village.
Plenty of challenges for more advanced skiers
Neither Courchevel, nor the 3 Valleys as a whole, can match the sustained steeps of Verbier, Val d’Isere or St Anton. But there are still plenty of challenges for more advanced skiers.
The most famous is Le Grand Couloir, the most benign of the infamous trio of chutes accessed by the Saulire cable-car (currently closed but to reopen for the 2024-25 season). It’s actually marked as a run on the piste map, and as a result ranks as one of the steepest blacks in Europe. Like all such iconic runs, the degree of difficulty is largely dependent on the snow. In icy conditions the access route can be demanding. Take a look at the video below…
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You’ll find a chute of similar pitch on the other side of the ridge, above Meribel – called the Couloir Tournier.
The high, treeless terrain at the top of the ski area offers lots of entry-level off-piste to be nibbled at – especially above the Creux red, and under the Chanrossa and Roc Merlet chairs. But the best policy – as always – is to hire a guide to help you unlock the area’s potential. Guides Courchevel offers over 100 backcountry itineraries. Among the best is the hike to the top of Aiguille du Fruit, the highest point of the resort, to ski a steep, narrow, 300m couloir.
Meanwhile, on a bad-weather day, hit the tree-lined pistes over Le Praz. Replacing Jockeys slope, L’Eclipse was created for the World Champs in 2023 and is otherwise a good, long black, intimidating for the intermediate, and therefore a great place to find powder while it’s still snowing. The tree-lined pistes above La Tania also provide some of the best skiing when the light is flat.
Not a resort for serious freestylers
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Want to work on your jumps and tricks? Then stay in Meribel, next door. The high price of accommodation and Courchevel’s glitzy, intermediate image has stunted the growth of a freestyle scene, and its main offering these days is the Family Park next to the Verdons green. That said, it’s the perfect place for children – and their parents – to make their first jumps.
Where to learn in Courchevel
It’s great to see that the revolution wrought by English-speaking ski schools in Courchevel is showing no sign of letting up. It all started with Supreme Ski and these days schools such as BASS Courchevel and New Generation are also flying the flag. In fact, thanks to the presence of New Generation’s ace instructors, as well as its laid-back atmosphere, and gentle slopes, we think Courchevel Moriond is one of the best places in the Alps to learn to ski.
Why do we rate learning with an English-speaking ski school so highly? It’s not just the fact that the instructors share the same language, which makes the whole business of skiing seem less strange and unsettling. They instinctively understand the way most Brits want to learn, too: and the fact that they have had to jump through so many hoops to qualify to teach in France, means that they’re almost always highly-motivated.
Maison Sport offers handpicked instructors in Courchevel, helping you navigate the prestigious slopes of Les 3 Vallées with confidence.
Meanwhile the Ecole du Ski Francais (ESF) is the main French school. Each Courchevel has a separate – and rival – branch of the ESF, but they are expected now to slowly come together and work as one. The school is anxious to update its France-first image, and is now trying to present a more international face to its guests. However, the eradication of the British practice of ski-hosting set this campaign back several years.
On the whole, this is a good resort for children
Courchevel has the French government’s P’tits Montagnards award for childcare. However, the ESF runs non-ski and ski kindergartens that come in for strong criticism during peak holiday times when they are stretched to capacity.
Courchevel was the first place in the world to solve the problem of how to keep small children safe on chair-lifts. Children in ESF classes are issued with a special waistcoat with an electro-magnet on the back. This locks on to a similar magnet on the chair for the upward ride, making it impossible for the child to slide beneath the safety bar. On arrival at the top station it releases automatically. Several years ago all chair-lifts in the resort were fitted with them.
Bear in mind that Esprit, a British tour operator specialising in child care and family holidays, runs a programme in Courchevel, and has its own chalet-hotel near the top of Courchevel, the Crystal 2000. As well as an in-house creche and kids clubs, it offers exclusive ski school lessons for children in collaboration with the ESF, which works hard to present a Brit-friendly front, and keep its clients happy. Not surprisingly, the Crystal 2000 sells out months in advance for the school holidays. If you’re new to skiing, it’s worth checking it out before trying to put together a family holiday on your own.
Lessons and childcare in the separate Courchevel villages
In 1850, Le Village des Enfants provides all-day care and an introduction to skiing from three years. Magic in Motion runs English-only classes for four- to six-year-olds. Supreme has classes for children aged six to 12 years during school holidays.
In Moriond (1650), Les Pitchounets is a dedicated play area for small children. The Garderie cares for children under 18 months. In Village (1550), Le Club Piou-Piou takes children from three to five years for a mix of lessons and snow fun.
Where to Stay
Courchevel is made up of four separate villages with significant differences in character and price. To make things confusing, the resort recently renamed them all, doing away with the simple and effective system of labelling them by altitude (Courchevel 1850, Courchevel 1550 etc). Courchevel 1850 is now simply Courchevel, 1650 is Courchevel Moriond, 1550 is Courchevel Village and 1300 is Courchevel Le Praz. We’re trying to work with the new names, but we’re using 1850 to describe what’s now officially “Courchevel” because it would otherwise be impossible to distinguish between it and the resort as a whole.
Courchevel 1850 is the epicentre of the luxury ski industry
Courchevel 1850 is home to its own altiport, suitable for private jets and helicopters. It takes around half an hour to fly here from an international airport like Geneva – and it sets the scene for what has become the ritziest ski resort in the Alps.
The smartest hotels and the most hedonistic chalets are hidden away amongst the trees, up from the village centre.
Where to Eat in Courchevel
Courchevel has a glittering array of restaurants both on and off the mountain, where you can dine superbly—provided the prices don’t spoil your appetite. However, for those in the know, there’s a whole culture of excellent food at (almost) reasonable prices. The key is to discover where the locals lunch and dine, as insider knowledge makes all the difference.
La Cave des Creux is an elevated dining experience at 2112m, offering stunning views, oysters, and even the occasional surprise jazz band. La Petite Bergerie specializes in truffle-infused dishes and melted cheese, delivering pure gastronomic happiness. Cabane de Sully’s serves up casual mountain fare, but be warned—its après scene can quickly escalate into an all-night affair. Le Petit Savoyard is widely considered the cheese capital of Courchevel, with its legendary fondue being an essential experience.
For those looking to indulge at the highest level, the Hotel Pomme de Pin and Hotel Le Chabichou both offer exceptional cuisine, with the latter boasting two Michelin stars. Chabotté, part of the Chabichou complex, transforms into Katz Bar later in the evening, creating an atmospheric spot for a fun night out. Another standout, La Saulire, known as Jacques’ Bar, is a Courchevel institution, offering an impressive wine list and impeccable service.
Up on the mountain, Le Panoramic, perched atop La Saulire, and La Soucoupe, on the Col de la Lauze, provide breathtaking views alongside gourmet meals, though both require a generous budget. Le Bouc Blanc, at the top of the La Tania gondola, is one of the best-value eateries in the Three Valleys, with its extensive outdoor terrace and friendly service. Pilatus, near the altiport, is known for its warm ambiance, while Cap Horn is the spot for those looking for luxury dining with a lively atmosphere.
Best Places for Après in Courchevel
Après-ski in Courchevel is as stylish as the resort itself, with everything from laid-back lounges to buzzing party spots.
Copina is effortlessly cool, serving up craft cocktails and tapas in a refined atmosphere. The Funky Fox has a pub-at-home feel, complete with pool, darts, and a friendly crowd. Le Catérail is a local favorite, known for its relaxed vibe, great beer, and live music every Thursday. Bar 1957 is the place to unwind with a glass of rosé in plush armchairs, with no rush to leave. For lakeside drinks with ski-jump views, Les Peupliers offers a charming and picturesque setting. If you’re after a stylish après with an expansive sun terrace, Bistro Manali is the perfect spot for lingering over drinks as the sun sets.
This guide to where to eat and après in Courchevel has been provided by the resort team from SkiYodl.
Where to Party
Frankly, for a resort of this calibre Courchevel is a flop. If you were hoping for the excesses of Verbier or the effervescence of St Anton you will be in for a huge disappointment. Admittedly this is partly due to the disparate layout of the resort overall and the fairly appalling bus system that doesn’t encourage night-time migration from one village to the other.
1850 should, by rights, be buzzing with its well-heeled visitors happily being parted from their money. But the wealthiest seem to hide away in their hotels or party behind closed doors in private chalets.
They only appear in public after dark for the occasional late-night foray to Les Caves or Le KuDeTa (+33 975 17 08 36), a couple of outrageously over-priced nightclubs much loved by Parisian haute monde. If you are the kind of person who needs to know the price of a bottle of Louis Roederer Cristal or Grey Goose before ordering, it’s not for you.
There’s no natural focus to a night out
Most of the young-ish bars are in the big multi-layered mall behind the Croisette. These include: La Luge – a hip snowboarding shop-cum-bar, which has a fiercely loyal following. It tends to be busy after dinner, rather than before.
Then there’s Le Milk (+33 494 97 21 23) which is a Mexican bar with live music after skiing and a DJ later on. It has lowish prices and attracts a young crowd.
Bars for those who don’t want to shout to make themselves heard are scattered about the centre. These include Le Mangeoire – probably the slickest bar in town, complete with doormen. Dress up and look as rich as you can to have a chance of getting in.
In Moriond (1650) Le Bubble (+33 479 01 14 21) is the best bar, with live music and is the rallying point for the many Brits (and seasonaires) who stay here.
In Courchevel Village (1550) the choice is pretty thin. The Chanrossa bar is the pick of the spots, with live music twice a week until midnight. The bar is downstairs at the chalet-hotel of the same name and open to the public. The Caterail Vodka Bar hosts live bands and DJs.
Families can focus on the new Aquamotion water park in Moriond, offering myriad watersports – including aqua biking, surfing, indoor and outdoor pools – as well as a spa, climbing wall and gym.
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