Courchevel

Courchevel is a city in Savoie, France.

Understand

The most chic alpine resort in France, Courchevel features 11 luxury five stars hotels, 6 restaurants awarded with the Michelin star, jet-set and royal clientele, luxury boutiques, exceptional SPAs in the heart of the 3 Valleys, the world's largest ski domain, with 372 mi (599 km) of trails and slopes and 198 lifts.

Get in

By plane

The nearest major airport is in Geneva, 149 km (93 mi) away, but there are regular flights to the smaller airport of Chambery and also many visitors fly to Lyon or Grenoble. It is also possible to fly into the resort by private plane or helicopter although the airport is one of the most dangerous in the world.

• 1 Courchevel Altiport (CVF  ^IATA), Rue de l’Altiport, 73120 Saint-Bon-en-Tarentaise, Courchevel 1850, ☏ +33 4 79 08 25 49, fax: +33 4 79 08 37 84. Highest airport in Europe, it hosts several compagnies which propose transfers to main airports (updated Mar 2018)
  • Alpine Airlines, Rue de l’Altiport, 73120 Saint-Bon-en-Tarentaise, Courchevel 1850, ☏ +33 4 79 08 31 23, info@alpine-airlines.com. Air taxi services to Nice (NCE ^IATA, 20 min), Geneva (GVA ^IATA, 45 min), St. Moritz (SMV ^IATA, 55 min) and Zurich (ZRH ^IATA, 55 min). (updated Mar 2018)
  • Savoie Hélicoptères, 854 avenue du Môle, 74460 Marnaz, ☏ +33 4 50 47 25 30, +33 6 73 24 10 34. (updated Mar 2018)
  • SAF Hélicoptères, ☏ +33 4 79 08 00 91, ops@saf-helico.com. €3,100 for a flight to Chambéry (CMF ^IATA). (updated Mar 2018)

By train

The closest railway station is in Moûtiers, around 30 km (19 mi) away.

• 2 Gare de Moûtiers–Salins–Brides-les-Bains, Rue Greyffié de Bellecombe, 73600 Moûtiers, ☏ 3635. M–Th 06:00–22:00, F 06:00–00:15, Sa 05:00–23:15 Su 06:45–22:00, ticket closes at 19:00. This railway station is deserved by high-speed trains (TGV, Thalys and Eurostar), making it 4½ hr from Paris-Gare-de-Lyon and 8 hr from London; and TER Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes line 52 (Bourg-Saint-Maurice–Chambéry–Lyon) (updated Mar 2018)

Get around

There are numerous transfer companies offering shared and private transfers to Courchevel. One small friendly firm is TheSkiBug , but you can also get the Eurostar to Moûtiers or one of the coach services to the area.

Do

Courchevel is a ski resort, so it is recommended that you do ski - there are many slopes for all abilities and it is part of 'Les 3 vallées', a group of ski resorts consisting also of Meribel and Val Thorens, so if you are bored of the slopes in Courchevel, you could always ski there!

Buy

• 1850 (two spots; in the village, and Moriond). 1850 is full of glitzy boutiques, frequented by Russians and you'll see plenty of bling, furs and miniature hand bags dogs as you wander around resort. There are also some more "normal" shops in the forum including bakeries, restaurants, ski shops and a mini supermarket. There is also a pharmacy in the resort. (updated Nov 2018)
• Le Praz. Le Praz has a few gifts shops, a good little cheese deli and a little mini-market - 8-8. Although don't be fooled by the name. It isn't open all day and closes at lunch. (updated Nov 2018)

Eat

Courchevel has some amazing restaurants and is a foodies paradise! A few highly recommended options:

Cheap eats - Chez La Gaulois for great value cheesy sandwiches, Chrome Bar in La Tania for cheap burger meal deals, The Black Pearl in St Bon does amazing pizzas.

Mid range - The Boulotte in 1650 for great pub grub (including Katie's infamous falafels), Bouc Blanc at the top of the La Tania bubble for great value lunches on the mountain, Petit Savoyard for great pizzas and fondues.

Top range - The Azimut in Le Praz is amazing. Michelin starred food without the fussy cold service. Highly recommended.

Excited to see what Copina have to offer? A sister restaurant to the Spanish tapas bar in Méribel, it will be great to have some different cuisine on offer in the valley.

• Le Bateau Ivre, In the Hôtel Pomme-de-Pin, quartier Les Chenus, ☏ +33 4 79 00 11 71. Modern French cuisine for this alpine 2 Michelin stars restaurant