Courchevel
Why Courchevel Ski Resort?
- Best access to the Courchevel & Les 3 Vallées ski areas
- Upmarket and cosmopolitan ski resort with plenty of super luxury accommodation
- 'Famille Plus' resort - good children’s facilities and great for families
- Courchevel has a pretty extensive choice of shops, bars & restaurants (including 7 Michelin starred!)
Courchevel Resort
The overall ski resort of Courchevel is in fact made up of 6 villages, each with their own unique atmosphere, and each connected with an efficient and rapid free bus service. The 6 villages are Courchevel (1850m), Courchevel Moriond (1650m), Courchevel Village (1550m), Courchevel Le Praz (1300m), La Tania (bookable with our sister company Peak Retreats) and finally the original birthplace of Courchevel, Saint Bon (1100m).
The story of Courchevel began in Saint Bon, the original village. The Lac Bleu, the first hotel to be built in the resort, has been welcoming guests since 1925.
A major plus of the Courchevel villages has to be the direct access to the ski slopes, from wherever you are staying - only adding to the comfort, pleasure and convenience of your stay. It is also the best base from which to enjoy the 3 Valleys.
Courchevel (previously known as Courchevel 1850) is the most widely recognised village due to its luxurious chalets and hotels attracting the rich and famous, who can fly directly to the mini-airport in the middle of the slopes. It is also the best placed for skiing. Courchevel is the highest, largest and most cosmopolitan of all the Courchevel villages, with designer shops and exclusive nightclubs. Undoubtedly, it is the benchmark in the French Alps for upmarket resorts. However, rest assured that a holiday here doesn't have to cost a small fortune!
‘Eclipse’ is the new black run designed for the 2023 World Championships in Courchevel. Before welcoming champions from around the world, expert skiers can test it! ‘Eclipse’ starts from the top of the Col de la Loze and is 3.3km long, with a vertical descent of 970m and an incline of 30%. Going through the forest, with a vertiginous view of the village of Courchevel Le Praz, the Olympic jumps and the Alpinium, it is a beautiful run and one of the longest of the ski area.
COURCHEVEL SKI AREA
Courchevel is part of the large ‘Les 3 Vallées’ ski area (the largest ski area in the world), which many skiers rightly regard as the greatest intermediate ski-playground in the world! This impressive lift-linked ski area is formed of 8 ski resorts:
- Val Thorens
- Orelle
- Les Menuires
- Saint Martin de Belleville
- Meribel
- Brides-les-Bains
- Courchevel
- La Tania
Les 3 Vallées offers you a total of 600km of high altitude and snow-sure ski slopes - every ski enthusiast’s dream! Amazing skiing can be had right from the beginning of the winter season in the Les 3 Vallées ski area and there is something for everyone - no matter what your style or ability.
The 3 Valleys benefit from excellent snow coverage - the minimum altitude level for skiing is 1300m and the maximum is 3230m. This means that a huge 85% of the ski area is located above 1800m. Some 2000 snowmaking machines cover a third of the ski area as well. The 3 Valleys offer wide ski runs that are maintained nightly by 80 piste grooming machines.
Set in a truly beautiful landscape, the slopes of Courchevel face north or northeast making them very snow-sure. After Val Thorens, this makes Courchevel the next best resort for great snow conditions, rivalling Meribel and Les Menuires.
Moreover, and unlike many other ski areas which are connected by runs at the bottom of the valley where the snow cover is often uncertain, the 3 Valley resorts are connected over the ridges at altitudes above 2000m. Courchevel (formally known as Courchevel 1850) has some of the best access to the other resorts of the Les 3 Vallées and has a gondola that takes you up to ‘La Vizelle’ at 2695m. Courchevel Moriond (formally known as Courchevel 1650) has its own ski area where some of the best slopes for early intermediates can be found as well as some of the best nursery slopes. There is also a good woodland sector to be found, ideal in bad weather.
On the edge of the traditional wide ski runs, the eastern side of the 3 Valleys is waiting to be discovered: in the Saint-Bon Valley and on the borders of the Courchevel ski area you will find sunny Moriond. The Saint Bon Valley offers some of the most beautiful wooded sectors of Les 3 Vallées. The western side of the 3 Valleys is represented by the Belleville Valley and at the top of the valley sits the imposing resort of Val Thorens and its circle of glaciers and peaks that reach over 3000m.
COURCHEVEL SKIING
COURCHEVEL BEGINNERS
With over 50 low-level runs (green/blue), the local Courchevel ski area (150km) offers an ideal selection of slopes for beginners and early intermediates. The slopes are wide, gentle and well-maintained and the ski lifts are easily accessible – the perfect combination for learning to ski or snowboard.
There are 4 fun ‘Zen’ areas for beginners in Courchevel (2 in 1850, 1 in Moriond and 1 in Le Praz) that have been especially created for you to be able to ski in complete safety. These areas allow you learn, practice and gain confidence at your own pace amongst other skiers and boarders of the same level in a safe and enclosed area.
Courchevel 1850: Pralong ZEN (alongside the ski tows at La Ferme and the Altiport) and Golf ZEN (accessed by the Jardin Alpin cable car; 2 magic carpet lifts in the area)
Courchevel Moriond: Mickey ZEN (alongside Mickey tow)
Courchevel Le Praz: Envolee ZEN (alongside the Envolee ski tow)
The Western Skipark - discover a fun, safe and enclosed area in the land of Cowboys and Indians! With its wide, gentle runs accessed by magic carpets, your children will love their snowsports experience and enjoy the need for speed with a capital S in this Western-themed atmosphere. And if they want to have a break, they can head to the Indians camp at the top of the safe zone! Access is via the Ariondaz gondola lift.
The ESF have developed a special area at Pralong for introducing disabled people to sit-ski and a few instructors have been specially trained.
COURCHEVEL INTERMEDIATES
The local Courchevel ski area (150km) has over 70 intermediate runs (blue/red) so there are plenty of runs for progressing and more advanced intermediates to practice new skills, improve techniques and push limits. Of course, if you want to venture outside of the local Courchevel area, then you have over 600km in the 3 Valleys domain. More than plenty to keep you occupied on your ski holiday. Val Thorens, Les Menuires and St Martin de Belleville (bookable with Peak Retreats) are only 4 fast lifts away.
For higher intermediates and experts, Courchevel Guides are offering the chance for you to discover wide open spaces thanks to a 2-hour introduction (the Back Country Check Up) to take you off the beaten track, learn the basics of powder skiing, grasp downhill sections, practise turns and make rapid progress in complete safety.
COURCHEVEL EXPERTS
With over 10 black runs, the local Courchevel ski area (150km) offers good terrain for experts (and plenty of red runs too if you children quite fancy the blacks!). Some of the best runs are at the top of the ‘Saulire’ cable car. Those looking for a challenge should try the 2000m/6560ft vertical from La Saulire to Bozel which is below Le Praz.
The whole Saulire/Creux sector, which has an impressive network of red and black runs ranging from 2000m – 2700m, has renowned red runs including ‘Saulire’, ‘Marmottes’, ‘Park City’, ‘Creux’ and ‘Jean Pachod’. And recommended blacks runs: ‘Grand Couloir’, ‘Combe des Pylônes’, ‘M’, ‘Suisses’, ‘Turcs’, ‘Roches Grises’ and ‘Chanrossa’.
There are also beautiful black runs towards Courchevel Le Praz – especially ‘Jockeys’ and ‘Jean Blanc’. It is also good to know that these runs are ideal when visibility is poor.
Of course, the 3 Valleys domain is right there for the taking, so a venture outside the local Courchevel area will not disappoint! The Belleville Valley (Les Menuires and Val Thorens) is a little out of the way but easy to get to if you are a good skier and well worth it. The steep slopes of ‘Pointe de la Masse’ or the red and black runs of the ‘Cime Caron’ at 3200m are just fantastic.
‘Eclipse’ is the new black run designed for the 2023 World Championships in Courchevel. Before welcoming champions from around the world, expert skiers can test it! ‘Eclipse’ starts from the top of the Col de la Loze and is 3.3km long, with a vertical descent of 970m and an incline of 30%. Going through the forest, with a vertiginous view of the village of Courchevel Le Praz, the Olympic jumps and the Alpinium, it is a beautiful run and one of the longest of the ski area.
COURCHEVEL OFF-PISTE & FREE-RIDE
The local Courchevel area and the whole 3 Valleys offer a lot of off-piste skiing. The safest and easiest off-piste nearest to Courchevel can be found in the ‘Bel Aire’ area which is just above Courchevel Moriond – either side of Chapelets/Signal/Pyramide.
A mountain guide is highly recommended for off-piste skiing in Courchevel – not only for your own safety but also to experience the very best off-piste that Courchevel and Les 3 Vallées has to offer.
The Freeride Lab in the Creux Noirs area starts winter 2019/20. At 2,705m, it is a steep high altitude area with two red runs and one black slope and access to super off-piste. The area has been redesigned: the old chairlift removed and a new 350m long drag lift installed to give quick access to the top. The red and black slopes here won’t be groomed anymore so skiers and boarders can enjoy the plentiful powder
COURCHEVEL FUN ZONES
- The Fun Park: a fun and easy natural canyon to be enjoyed without reserve (level: 1st star)
- The Stop Zone: an area to learn about speed and stopping distances.
- Snake Park: fun and accessible boarder-cross run.
- Avalanch'Camp: an area to raise skiers’ awareness of avalanches and techniques for searching for victims beneath avalanches.
- Wood Park: an area equipped with wooden modules (rails, tables) for discovering freestyle.
- BMW XDrive: Challenge your friends on this timed slalom and get back your video!
- Family Park: snowpark equipped with a boardercross run, rails, tables and jumps.
COURCHEVEL CROSS-COUNTRY
There are 66km miles of cross-country trails in Courchevel. Most start from Courchevel 1850 but there are circuits and itineraries departing from each Courchevel village, all varying in distance from 2.5km-17km. All completely free of charge!
Try the sunniest run: La Boucle du Belvédère (5 km) with stunning panoramic views over the Mont Charvet ridges.
