COURCHEVEL
Ski & Snowboard Resort Review
The magnificent Courchevel Valley is one part of the "Three Valleys" in France. The picturesque resort has four villages named after their altitudes all with ski in ski out accommodation and a very reliable snow record.
Courchevel Skiing and Snowboarding Terrain
The skiing and snowboarding terrain in the Courchevel Valley is superb. Expect to find off piste open treeless powder bowls, steep chutes, cliff drops, mogul runs and many long wide intermediate groomed cruising trails and gentle beginner slopes all serviced by an efficient lift system.
Courchevel is part of Les 3 Vallees which are the largest interlinked resorts in the world with 600 kilometres of endless marked trails plus unlimited off piste terrain. You could ski or snowboard Les 3 Vallees terrain for weeks and not cover it all. For information on Les 3 Vallees click here.
Advanced Skiing and Snowboarding
Advanced terrain is located on the higher altitude areas of the Courchevel Valley. Steep challenging chutes, cliff drops and exciting open powder fields lead down from either side of the Suisses Chairlift from the Vizelle peak.
The advanced runs to the right hand side of the Chanrossa Chairlift are generally quiet first thing in the morning so get out early to enjoy untouched powder. Both the Chanrossa area and the Signal area offer diverse terrain with hidden powder treasures and fast mogul runs.
The Chaplets trail on the far left hand side of the Courchevel Valley is steep and usually left in its natural state for a real challenge.
Intermediate Skiing and Snowboarding
Intermediates are spoilt for choice at Courchevel they can cruise around the entire Courchevel Valley on meticulously groomed wide slopes.
The slopes on either side of the Pyramide Lift in the Chanrossa area are long, fast and wide. They lead down to more groomed intermediate steep open runs above Courchevel 1650.
From Courchevel 1850 head right up the Chenus Gondola to access long treelined runs down to both Courchevel 1550 and Courchevel 1300.
Beginner Skiing and Snowboarding
Gently sloping wide beginner slopes are found next to and above the four Courchevel villages. Courchevel 1650 has some particularly long and wide beginner slopes leading down into the village; they are easily accessed from Courchevel 1850 by heading left towards the Prameruel Chairlift.
Once confidence grows enjoy a long run down from the Chenus Gondola into Courchevel 1850.
There are seven ski and snowboard schools in the Courchevel Valley with more than 650 instructors speaking 25 different languages. Lessons and packages are available for all ages and ability levels.
A ski pass can be purchased for just the Courchevel Valley or for the entire Les 3 Vallees area which covers 600 kilometres of marked pistes. For information on Les 3 Vallees click here. In the winter of 2006/2007 a new 'Hands Free' ski pass was introduced to Les 3 Vallees and Courchevel which automatically enables lift access without staff manually checking passes ensuring less crowd congestion.
Courchevel Terrain Park and Halfpipe
Courchevel has a Terrain Snowpark in the Le Plantrey area with jumps, rails and kickers of varying sizes and a well maintained halfpipe.
Another terrain park is located in the Les Verdons area with large jumps, rails and kickers. A steep and challenging freestyle mogul course under the Biolley Chairlift is also in the Les Verdons area.
Other Activities at Courchevel
Other outdoor activities at Courchevel include snow shoeing, hiking tours, winter walking tracks and ice skating. The tobogganing run originating in Courchevel 1850 is 2 kilometres in length; it is fast and quite steep ending in Courchevel 1550. It is illuminated in the evenings until 7.30pm and is free with a valid ski pass.
Indoor activities include watching a movie at the cinema, getting a beauty or massage treatment, going bowling or indoor rock climbing.
Courchevel Shopping
Courchevel is ‘the’ place for shopping with over one hundred shops, the majority located in the Courchevel 1850 village. Browse through the latest ski and snowboard equipment shops, clothing boutiques, souvenir and gift stores, children’s shops, perfumeries and jewellers.
There are photography shops, art galleries, beauticians, pharmacists, grocery markets, bakeries, butchers, wine shops and delicatessens.
Courchevel Restaurants
The four villages are full of gourmet restaurants with cuisine ranging from traditional Savoyard to Italian, Chinese, Spanish and seafood.
In the Courchevel 1850 village L’Altibar Restaurant serves traditional French and Savoyard gourmet cuisine in a casual setting. La Creperie Du Moulin is a pancake restaurant serving speciality crepes, cheese fondue and raclette. Le Hussard is a small and excellent Italian restaurant located in the Saint Joseph Hotel as is the Le Grand Café serving Thai cuisine.
In the Courchevel 1650 village the traditional Le Petit Savoyard Restaurant makes delicious homemade wood fired pizzas and Savoyard specialities. La Table de Marie Restaurant serves food until midnight; go for there for a quick bowl of pasta, a crepe, pizza or fondue. The family friendly and popular Creperie Titine Et Lilou Restaurant serves perfect light sweet and savoury crepes, they also have an après ski happy hour.
In the Courchevel 1550 village the lovely Les Flocons Restaurant uses only the freshest local ingredients to produce traditional French meals while La Cortona Restaurant is the best Italian and pizza restaurant in the village.
In the Courchevel 1300 village the new La Cave d’a Cote Restaurant serves local traditional French dishes. The Bristrot du Praz Restaurant has a warm atmosphere serving tasty gourmet French pub meals.
Don’t miss the bakeries selling sweet and savoury delights and the takeaway crepe stores in the villages. Some of the most memorable meals don’t necessarily have to be eaten in an expensive restaurant.
Courchevel Nightlife
Courchevel 1850 and 1650 have the liveliest nightlife out of the four villages. There are pubs, crowded après ski bars, piano bars and nightclubs that don’t close until 5am every morning.
In Courchevel 1850 the Milk Pub attracts an English crowd with regular happy hours and live music performances; the Jump Bar is very popular for après drinks serving cold beers and cocktails.
The La Grange and Les Caves de Courchevel nightclubs stay open all night with DJ’s dancing and theme nights.
In Courchevel 1650 MC Game’s is a family friendly sports bar with pool tables and electronic games. Go with a group to Le Maracas tapas bar for a good selection of wines, food and live music.
New for 2007/2008 at Courchevel
A new morning ski pass, "the minipass" has been introduced enabling guests to ski or snowboard in the Courchevel Valley from lift opening to 12.30pm only.
More About Courchevel
Your Courchevel Ski & Snowboard Resort Reviews
Kevin Watts, UK. March 2006 Full of wealthy Brits and Americans! But what would you expect from such a top cosmopolitan resort in France, possibly in Europe. We stayed at Le Lana hotel and were spoilt rotten, our every need was catered for! The service and food were above standard, I would highly recommend it. The Chourchevel pistes are very well maintained and the ease of having the Trois Valless all interconnected only makes it better! In Chourchevel a favourite early morning warm up is the Combe Saulire piste, under the Saulire cable car, as is the area under the Suissi chair lift after fresh snowfalls. In bad weather the lower tree lined pistes offer the better visual skiing.
Martha Johnston, UK. Jan 2006 It's not just for the wealthy, there are some share apartments that are quite reasonable value. Courcheval 1850 is my preferred place to stay, the ease of the ski in ski out beats some where like Meribel. People are generally friendly, the staff not as much, but the scenery, skiing and normally good weather make up for it all!!! I would prefer to ski Courcheval and the 3 Vallees than anywhere else in Europe.
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250
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63 |
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Trails
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Terrain
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Halfpipe |
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1 |
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Terrain
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2 |
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Resort
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