Courchevel is not one resort but four villages stacked up a single mountainside, and almost every mistake people make planning a chalet week here comes from treating it as one place. The address at 1850 and the address at Le Praz are twenty minutes and a world apart. This guide covers the four villages, the skiing, how the transfer really works, and what a chalet week here involves — booked direct, with no platform fees.
The four villages, and why the numbers matter
Courchevel runs up the mountain in stages, and each stage was historically known by its altitude in metres. Le Praz sits at 1300, Courchevel Village at 1550, Courchevel Moriond at 1650, and Courchevel — the address most people mean — at 1850. The resort officially renamed the villages in 2011, dropping the numbers, but nobody uses the new names in practice and every chalet listing you will read still says 1850 or 1650.
The higher you go, the shorter the walk to the serious skiing and the higher the prices. The lower you go, the more the place feels like a Savoyard village rather than a luxury enclave. Our inventory reflects where the chalet market actually sits: of 108 Courchevel chalets, 78 are in 1850, 14 in Moriond, 11 in Courchevel Village and 5 in Le Praz. Our full where to stay in Courchevel guide takes each one in turn.
The skiing
Courchevel sits inside Les 3 Vallées, the largest linked ski area in the world, connected onward to Méribel, Val Thorens and Les Menuires on a single pass. That scale is the reason strong skiers choose it over anywhere else in France: you can ski a different valley every day for a week without repeating a run.
The terrain above Courchevel itself is broad and well-groomed, with a genuinely wide spread of difficulty — long blue cruising above 1650, steeper pitches off the Saulire and Creux Noirs, and the couloirs for anyone who wants them. Ski schools are excellent and the nursery slopes sit conveniently above 1850 and 1650. The altitude also matters: the villages sit between roughly 1,300 and 1,850 metres with skiing well above, which makes Courchevel materially more snow-sure than the lower French resorts, particularly in early December and April.
Getting there, honestly
Geneva is the usual arrival airport, and the transfer is generally two and a quarter to two and a half hours — up the Tarentaise valley and then the mountain road to the resort. On a peak Saturday in February it can run longer. Lyon, Chambéry and Grenoble are alternatives worth checking depending on your inbound flight.
Courchevel also has its own altiport at 1850, one of very few in the Alps, which changes the arithmetic entirely for anyone arriving privately. For everyone else, plan the transfer as part of the day rather than an afterthought: with children, a two-and-a-half hour drive after a long-haul flight is the part of the trip people remember. Our concierge arranges transfers as standard.
What a Courchevel chalet actually gives you
Courchevel was designed around its lift system, and the chalet stock reflects that: 46 of our 108 chalets are ski-in/ski-out and another 40 are slope-side. That is a far higher proportion than you will find in a village resort like Megève, and it is the single strongest practical argument for Courchevel — covered in detail in our guide to ski-in/ski-out chalets in Courchevel.
Beyond position, expect wellness areas with spa, sauna, hammam or pool, full staffing including a chalet host and private chef, and ski rooms with boot warming. The range runs from two-bedroom apartments like Apartment l’Ariondaz to nine-bedroom chalets like Chalet Ormello. One number worth knowing early: the largest Courchevel chalet in our collection sleeps 16, so groups above that are looking at two properties.
Dining, and the reason 1850 costs what it does
Courchevel 1850 holds one of the densest concentrations of Michelin-starred restaurants of any ski resort in the world, alongside the luxury boutiques and a nightlife scene with real late-night energy. It is conspicuous in a way Megève and Val d’Isère are not, and that is precisely what part of its clientele comes for.
The lower villages are quieter and considerably better value for eating out. Le Praz in particular still functions as a village, with the old Savoyard core intact — it hosted the ski jumping for the 1992 Albertville Olympics and the jump still stands above it. A chalet at 1300 with a car or the free shuttle gives you the same 3 Vallées skiing at a different price point and a different atmosphere entirely.
Who Courchevel suits
Confident skiers who want the largest mountain in the world on one pass. Groups who want to ski from the door — the inventory genuinely supports it here. Families, provided you choose the village carefully; Moriond in particular has a strong reputation for it. Anyone booking early or late season who cannot risk thin snow.
It suits you less well if the village atmosphere is the point of the trip, if a short transfer matters more than terrain, or if your group is larger than sixteen. Our Megève vs Courchevel and Courchevel vs Verbier comparisons work through those trade-offs properly.
When to go
The season runs from roughly early December to late April. Christmas and New Year are the busiest and most expensive weeks and the large chalets commit a year ahead — see Christmas in Courchevel. February half-term is the second peak. January offers the quietest slopes and the best value of the high season, and March brings longer days with reliable cover up high thanks to the altitude.
Book your Courchevel chalet direct
We book every chalet directly — no platform fees, one point of contact, and a concierge for chefs, lift passes, ski hire, ski school and transfers. Tell us your dates, group size, ability mix and which village appeals, and we will send a shortlist from the Courchevel collection — and say plainly if another resort fits you better.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Courchevel 1850 and 1650?
1850 is the highest, most expensive and most conspicuous village, with the Michelin dining and the boutiques. 1650 (Moriond) is quieter, sunnier, better value and well regarded for families, with direct access to the same lift network.
How long is the transfer from Geneva to Courchevel?
Generally two and a quarter to two and a half hours, longer on peak Saturdays. Courchevel 1850 also has an altiport for private arrivals.
Is Courchevel good for beginners?
Yes. The nursery areas above 1850 and 1650 are well laid out and the ski schools are strong, while the wider 3 Vallées terrain gives improving skiers somewhere to progress to.
How many Courchevel chalets are ski-in/ski-out?
46 of the 108 in our collection, with another 40 slope-side — an unusually high proportion, because the resort was built around its lifts.
What is the largest chalet in Courchevel?
In our collection, the largest sleep 16 — Art Chalet and Le C Penthouse D15. Chalet Ormello has the most bedrooms at nine, sleeping 15.
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