In this guide
The camera sits above Courchevel 1850 in our reel filmed from above the village. The whole village opens out below it. Roofs, runs and the valley carry on past the edge of the frame. That view is the fastest way to understand the place. Courchevel is not one village but six, stacked down a single valley, and 1850 is the one at the top.
Why does the view from above matter here?
It shows the layout that a stats table never quite gets across. Below 1850 the valley runs down through Courchevel Moriond, Courchevel Village, Courchevel La Tania and Courchevel Le Praz, to Saint Bon at the bottom, the original village the whole name comes from. That full chain of six villages is mapped on the Trois Vallees resort page. From above, 1850 reads as the top of that chain. Wide groomed runs feed straight into the village, and the rest of the Trois Vallees opens out further down and across. A trip planned around 1850 is a trip planned around sitting at the top of that view, not looking up at it.
What does that position actually give a trip?
Courchevel opens onto the Trois Vallees, one of the largest linked ski areas in the world. Roughly 600 km of pistes sit within reach of the same lift network that serves 1850 (patagonialiving.com/resorts/courchevel). Sitting at the top means mornings on wide groomed runs close to the village. Later, the group can drop into the scale of the wider valley once they are ready for it, a shift covered from the Aspen, St. Moritz and Courchevel side in what each stop actually gives you. It suits a family who wants an easy run back to the door. It suits a stronger group who wants the rest of the Trois Vallees within reach by midday. That range, easy at the top and vast once you move through it, is why 1850 gets chosen over the villages below it.
When does Courchevel 1850 ski best?
December to April, across the full season, is when Courchevel 1850 skis best. The wide runs into the village usually hold their best snow earlier in the morning, before the lower villages fill in below. Those resort facts sit on our Courchevel page. Deciding on Courchevel in the first place, against other regions, is a separate question, one we walk through in choosing between Patagonia, the USA and Europe.
How does this change the way a trip gets planned?
It changes where the week is based more than what the week includes. A house placed near the top of the village keeps those wide morning runs close. A plan built around 1850 can still reach every other part of the Trois Vallees without relocating partway through the trip. We build the house, the instruction and the days on snow around that one choice first, the same way we do for any resort, covered in more depth in what a private ski trip includes.
Courchevel 1850, and the whole of the Trois Vallees below it. Plan your next trip with us.
Common questions
Why does Courchevel 1850 sit higher than the other villages below it?
Courchevel was built from the top down. The six villages that share its name run from Saint Bon lower in the valley up to 1850 at the top, and 1850 was developed first and sits highest among them, as the valley's own history shows on the Trois Vallees resort page. That position is also why it is the one we show from above in this reel.
What does the Trois Vallees look like from above Courchevel 1850?
Wide groomed runs feeding straight into the top of the valley, with the rest of the Trois Vallees opening out below, roughly 600 km of linked pistes across one of the largest ski areas in the world, as covered in what each stop actually gives you.
Does Courchevel 1850 suit a family trip or a group of strong skiers?
Both, which is part of why it sits at the top. The runs feeding into the village are wide and groomed, well suited to a family morning, while the same lift network opens onto the scale of the Trois Vallees for a stronger group in the afternoon. How we match a house and a plan to that mix is covered in what a private ski trip includes.
When does Courchevel 1850 ski best?
December to April, with the wide runs into the village usually at their best earlier in the morning before the lower villages fill in below. The resort facts behind this sit on our Courchevel page.
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- Trois Vallees
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