Champagne après-ski at the world's most glamorous ski village

How to Complete

4 steps curated by Wine Memories

1. 📜 1

   Drink in a Resort Designed in a Nazi POW Camp

   history Free

   Before your champagne arrives, understand where you are. In 1942, two Savoyard men - Émile Allais and Maurice Michaud - were prisoners of war in Nazi Germany. To pass the time, they designed a ski resort on scraps of paper. After liberation, they built it: Courchevel. The three villages at different altitudes (1550, 1650, 1850) were their invention. The systematic gondola network was revolutionary. You're drinking in a dream that was drawn in a POW camp. Ask any local about 'les prisonniers' - they'll tell the full story.

   🍷 Log Memory
2. ⛰️ 2

   Watch Planes Land on the World's 7th Most Extreme Runway

   Optional

   adventure Free

   Ask for a terrace seat facing the slopes and watch for planes. Courchevel Altiport has an 18.5% gradient - the 7th most dangerous airport in the world. Planes land uphill and take off downhill. Private jets bring oligarchs and royalty directly to their chalets. If you see a plane approaching, drop your champagne and watch. The landing is a controlled crash onto snow. Pilots need special certification. This is the only airport where crashing into a mountain is the backup plan.

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3. 🍷 3

   Order Champagne Where Oligarchs Got Arrested

   wine $$$

   Order a glass of champagne at Le Manali and ask about the Russian era. Courchevel became the Russian oligarch winter capital in the 2000s - chalets selling for €30M, champagne fountains, helipads on roofs. Then the sanctions came. Several were arrested in these bars. The vibe changed. Now it's more French families and British bankers. Order the Ruinart (€25/glass) and toast to the ghost of excess past. The fur coats are still here, but the accents have diversified.

   🍷 Log Memory
4. ⛰️ 4

   Find Thursday Ladies' Night

   Optional

   adventure $$

   If you're here on Thursday, arrive at Le Manali by 3:30pm. Thursday is unofficial ladies' night - champagne promotions and the ratio shifts dramatically. What started as a marketing gimmick became a ritual. The terrace fills with groups celebrating birthdays, ski week finales, and general Thursday-ness. Book a table in advance if you can (call ahead). The vibe is celebration, not competition. Even if you miss Thursday, ask the bartender about 'jeudi des filles' - they'll explain the legend.

   🍷 Log Memory

Insider Tips

• ✦

  Arrive by 4pm for terrace seats with slope views

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  The "Courchevel Spritz" with local Chartreuse is the signature drink

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  Thursday ladies' night offers champagne promotions