Courchevel: Michelin Stars on the Slopes
Three Michelin stars at Le 1947. Two more at Le Chabichou. An altiport where private jets land on the mountainside. Courchevel 1850 is the most expensive ski resort on earth, and its wine culture matches.
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Le 1947 (Yannick Alléno) holds 50,000 bottles — the sommeliers rival those in Paris, and the tasting menu pairs each course with a wine chosen from a cellar that took 20 years to build. Le Chabichou carries Michel Rochedy's legacy since 1963 — he opened a crêperie and built it into a Michelin temple through six decades of Alpine obsession.
The Grand Couloir is one of the steepest groomed runs in the world — 85% gradient. The Olympic ski jumps at Le Praz hosted the 1992 Albertville Games. Hot air balloons float over the valley at sunset, champagne included. At La Tania, Le Farcon quietly holds a Michelin star that the flashier 1850 neighbours overlook — locals eat here while tourists queue above. Between the fur coats and the Ferraris at Courchevel 1850, the wine lists are genuinely world-class. But the real secret: Courchevel 1550 and Le Praz have the same mountain, the same snow, better restaurants per euro, and wine bars where the staff remembers your name.
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- 1⛰️
The only 3-Michelin-star restaurant in any Alps ski resort
Le 1947 is the only 3-Michelin-star restaurant in any Alps ski resort. Named for the legendary 1947 Cheval Blanc vintage - a wine that "defies the laws of modern oenology" - this futuristic all-white dining room has just 5 tables surrounding an open kitchen. LVMH owns both the Château Cheval Blanc wine estate AND this hotel, so the cellar features verticals of the namesake wine. Chef Yannick Alléno creates cuisine where "sauces are the fruit of a long-term labour of love revolving around extraction and fermentation."
adventure $$$$ - 2⛰️
Michelin-star wine experience at world's most luxurious ski resort
Le Chabichou holds 2 Michelin stars and arguably the Alps' finest wine cellar. Chef Stéphane Buron pairs 35,000 bottles with Savoyard-inspired haute cuisine. The juxtaposition of rustic mountain ingredients with sommelier-curated Grand Crus defines Courchevel's unique terroir.
adventure $$$ - 3⛰️
Conquer Europe's steepest piste - 80% gradient, no escape
Le Grand Couloir is the steepest marked piste in Europe. At 80-85% maximum gradient, 692m length, and 340m vertical drop, it's ungroomed, patrolled, and avalanche-protected - but terrifying. The run is only 2 meters wide at points. Once you start, there's NO ESCAPE - the mountain forces you to finish. Access is from La Saulire summit (2,738m) via the 140-person télépherique. Only 5% of people who reach the top attempt it.
adventure Free - 4⛰️
Wine at 2,738m with Mont Blanc burning gold on the horizon
The 140-person télépherique rises through cloud layers and deposits you at 2,738m—the roof of the 3 Valleys. On clear days, Mont Blanc floats on the horizon like a dream. The summit restaurant serves local wine with views that make your phone camera give up trying. This is where you drink a glass of Roussette while processing everything below: the ski runs, the villages, the valleys you've explored. It's the perspective you didn't know you needed.
adventure $$ - 5⛰️
Watch planes land on the world's 7th most extreme runway
Courchevel Altiport (CVF) is the only altiport in Europe and the 7th most extreme airport in the world. The 537m runway has an 18.66% gradient - planes land UPHILL and take off DOWNHILL. No go-arounds are possible: once committed, pilots must land. Only specially certified pilots can attempt it. Watch billionaires arrive from the terrace, or book a scenic flight over Mont Blanc.
adventure $$ - 6⛰️
Sunrise balloon flight over Mont Blanc with champagne and fondue
Float above the Alps at sunrise in a hot air balloon, departing from Europe's only altiport. The premium experience includes fondue served IN THE BALLOON BASKET by a chef, with champagne and dessert upon landing. Standard flights offer 1-2 hours over Mont Blanc, the Vanoise glaciers, and the entire 3 Valleys ski area, ending with a traditional champagne toast. This is the ultimate romantic Alpine adventure.
adventure $$$ - 7⛰️
Drink where seasonaires have drunk since 1948
Before the oligarchs, before the Michelin stars, before Courchevel meant money—there was Le Bubble Bar. Open since 1948, this is where the first ski instructors celebrated, where the builders who constructed 1850 drank, where every generation of seasonaires has stumbled home from since the resort began. The toffee vodka is legendary. The crowd is real. And when the DJ drops something from the 90s at midnight, three generations of Courchevel regulars will be singing along.
adventure $ - 8⛰️
Where every ski instructor in Courchevel ends up at midnight
Forget 1850. If you want to meet the people who actually make Courchevel work—the ski instructors, the chalet hosts, the lift operators, the humans behind the machine—you come to 1650 at night. The Funky Fox is their living room. British seasonaires dominate the dance floor. French instructors debate snow conditions in the corner. The DJ plays requests. It's loud, it's sweaty, and it's where you'll make friends who'll text you next season asking when you're coming back.
adventure $ - 9⛰️
Hurtle through 8 underground tunnels on a 3km Grand Prix-style luge track
You don't need to ski to experience alpine speed. The Courchevel luge track drops 3km from the top of the Ariondaz gondola through 8 underground tunnels, banking corners, and straightaways where you control exactly one thing: how much you brake. Grab a sled at the top, push off, and immediately realize this is faster than you expected. The tunnels are dark, then light explodes, then dark again. Children do this run. Grown adults scream. Wine after is mandatory.
adventure $ - 10⛰️
Float in 34°C water watching Mont Blanc while snow falls around you
Aquamotion is the largest aquatic center in the Alps - 8,000 m² designed by famous architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte. The showstopper is the outdoor lagoon: 34°C water in winter, steam rising around you, Mont Blanc glowing on the horizon while snow falls. Inside: a saltwater grotto, three saunas, hammam, caldarium, and a full spa with champagne service. This is post-skiing recovery elevated to art.
adventure $$ - 11⛰️
France's only Olympic ski jumps - 1992 glory, 2030 return
Le Praz hosted ski jumping and Nordic combined at the 1992 Albertville Winter Olympics. The 90m and 120m hills still stand and will host the 2030 Winter Olympics. This is France's ONLY Olympic ski jumping venue. Free entry lets you stand at the base where athletes landed. Guided tours available. Le Praz village itself has Iron Age graves dating to 750 BC.
adventure Free - 12⛰️
Michelin star without the oligarch prices—in a village that forgot to be pretentious
La Tania is what happens when a ski village forgets to become insufferable. Built for the 1992 Olympics, it stayed family-friendly while Courchevel went oligarch. At its heart sits Le Farçon—a 1-Michelin-star restaurant named for the Savoyard potato-and-prune gratin that sustained mountain farmers. The prices are half what you'd pay at 1850 for comparable quality. The room is warm and unpretentious. The wine list favors Savoie producers. This is Michelin dining for humans.
adventure $$ - 13⛰️
Champagne après-ski at the world's most glamorous ski village
Le Manali is Courchevel's see-and-be-seen après-ski lounge where champagne flows and fur coats mix with ski boots. The heated terrace overlooks the slopes while inside, a roaring fire and live DJ create the ultimate Alpine luxury atmosphere.
adventure $$$