Courchevel 1850, 1650 or 1550: which village should you choose?

Say “Courchevel” and you are naming a staircase of villages. From Saint-Bon, at around 1100m, up to Courchevel 1850, six villages share the same ski area, which is linked to Les 3 Vallées, and free shuttle buses run between them. Even so, a week at 1850 is nothing like a week at Le Praz. Before you choose a chalet, then, you need to choose your village: its atmosphere, and the lift you will take first thing each morning. Here is what each one offers, and who it suits.

Six villages, one ski area

Courchevel was created in 1946, following a development plan drawn up by Laurent Chappis. For a long time its villages were named after their altitude. Since the early 2010s, Courchevel 1650 has been called Moriond, 1550 has become Courchevel Village and 1300 is now Le Praz. 1850, officially renamed plain Courchevel, still goes by its number in everyday use, the tourist office included, and you will often hear the old numbers for the others too.

Two things set them apart: the lift that leaves from the village, and the life you find there in the evening. The ski area itself is shared: 150km of pistes between 1300m and 2740m, linked via the Saulire to Méribel and on to the rest of Les 3 Vallées. Where we describe each village, the words in quotation marks are those of the Courchevel tourist office and Les 3 Vallées.

Courchevel 1850: everything on your doorstep

At the very top, Courchevel 1850 is the “historic and symbolic heart of the resort”, in the tourist office’s words. The grand hotels, the gastronomic restaurants and the rue de la Croisette, lined with luxury boutiques, sit a few steps from the foot of the pistes. This is the liveliest part of the resort.

For skiing, 1850 is where the main routes begin. The Verdons gondola, followed by the Vizelle gondola or the Saulire cable car, takes you towards Méribel, while the rebuilt Chenus gondola opens up the pistes that run down to Le Praz and La Tania. For your first turns, the Bellecôte and Cospillot drag lifts and the magic carpets in the Jardin Alpin zen zone are free. Full lift details are on the ski area website.

Above the village, the altiport has a 537m runway at 2007m with a gradient of up to 18.5%: planes land uphill. For younger guests, the ESF ski school’s Village des enfants takes little ones from 18 months, and its ski club takes children aged 3 to 12.

Who is it for? Anyone who wants everything to hand: the pistes and restaurants a few minutes away, and evenings that carry on without waiting for a shuttle bus.

Courchevel Moriond (1650): sunshine and an easy pace

Long known as Courchevel 1650, Moriond spreads across what the tourist office calls a “wide, naturally sunny balcony”. It feels lively but relaxed, the pace is gentler than at 1850, and Les 3 Vallées nicknames it “the sunny one”.

The Ariondaz gondola leaves from the foot of the pistes and opens up the Moriond sector. For beginners, the Petit Moriond gondola, the Mickey drag lift and the Western ski park magic carpet are free. From the top of the Ariondaz, the Moriond Racing sledging run, which you pay for, races 3km down to the foot of the pistes, with a 450m drop. Les Marmots, the municipal crèche, takes children from 6 months to 4 years.

Who is it for? Sun-seekers and families taking up skiing, in a village small enough to feel personal and linked directly to the ski area.

Courchevel Village (1550): peace and quiet, five minutes from 1850

Historically known as Courchevel 1550, Courchevel Village holds what the tourist office calls a “discreet but central place”. It is peaceful, with direct access to the ski area, and Les 3 Vallées describes it as a village where “the family spirit prevails”.

The Grangettes gondola reaches 1850 in five minutes, and the Grandes Combes chairlift and the Roys drag lift are free for everyone, so you can learn without buying a lift pass. The 2km sledging run that winds down through the forest from 1850 finishes here. And Aquamotion, opened in December 2015, gathers pools, a wellness area and an indoor surf wave across 10500m².

Who is it for? Families, and anyone who wants the calm of a village without giving up 1850, five minutes away by gondola.

Courchevel Le Praz (1300): the lakeside village

Further down, Le Praz curls around its lake and its bell tower. The tourist office calls it the “historic village of the resort”, with its narrow lanes and a “more local heart”; Les 3 Vallées speaks of “authenticity and serenity”, of old stone and mazots, the small wooden granaries of Savoie.

The village has an Olympic past, too: at the 1992 Albertville Games, its ski jumps hosted three ski jumping events and two Nordic combined events. The Éclipse piste, used for the 2023 World Championships, finishes close by. The Le Praz gondola takes six minutes to reach 1850, and at the end of the day you can ski from the Saulire all the way back to the village, a drop of almost 1500m.

Who is it for? Those who prefer the charm of a Savoyard village and quiet evenings, with 1850 six minutes away by gondola.

La Tania and Saint-Bon: forest and roots

La Tania, at 1400m, was built in the early 1990s in a forest clearing, and has been part of the municipality of Courchevel since 2017. The tourist office notes its “understated architecture and family atmosphere”; Les 3 Vallées calls it a “pedestrian resort”. Its gondola, renovated for this winter, climbs to Bouc Blanc, at almost 1900m. From there, pistes lead to Le Praz and, via the Dou des Lanches chairlift, to Méribel, and you return to the village on the Plan Fontaine green run. The Mon Tania magic carpet and the Troïka drag lift are free for everyone, so you can learn without buying a lift pass.

At the very bottom, at around 1100m, Saint-Bon is the main village of the municipality, gathered around its Baroque church and old houses. Les 3 Vallées calls it “the cradle of Courchevel”: in 1908, Agathe Curtet opened a café-restaurant here, which has since become the Hôtel du Lac Bleu. No lifts leave from Saint-Bon, but free shuttle buses link it to the other villages.

Who is it for? La Tania for family skiing in the quiet of the forest; Saint-Bon for a traditional village, as long as you are happy to take the shuttle bus every morning.

Courchevel’s villages at a glance

Getting from one village to another

Staying lower down needn’t stop you dining higher up. Free shuttle buses serve every village, out to the hamlets and as far as Bozel. The village gondolas at Le Praz, Grangettes and Jardin Alpin run on a lift pass or a pedestrian pass. And between 1850 and Courchevel Village, a 2km sledging run winds down through the forest: it is free and open from 10am to 7.15pm, for ages 6 and up, and you come back up on the Grangettes gondola or by shuttle bus. Routes and timetables are in our guide to the Courchevel shuttle bus.

AEC tip. Start by checking where your first lift of the morning leaves from. A well-placed chalet in a lower village can prove more practical than one at 1850 that sits far from the pistes: what shapes your week is the distance to the lift, more than the altitude.

Where to stay

Each village has its own page of chalets and apartments to rent: Courchevel 1850, Moriond, Courchevel Village, Le Praz and La Tania, or you can browse the whole resort in our Courchevel rentals. If you already know what you want, our selections will get you there faster: chalets with a pool in Courchevel 1850 and ski-in ski-out chalets in Courchevel. Before you book, our guide to renting a luxury chalet answers the practical questions.

Simplest of all is to write to us: give us your dates and the number in your party, and our agents will put together a selection for you, village by village.

All that will remain is to choose, one December evening, between the sunshine of Moriond and the lights of 1850.

Frequently asked questions