Planning your trip - Courchevel - France

Being such a big resort, there are plenty of transport links to take you from the surrounding airports to your particular village (most fly into Geneva). Located in the French Alps, Courchevel is home to some serious skiing, with access to the Three Valleys, making it very popular. For this reason, it’s always advisable to book well in advance for transfers and accommodation.

Airport transfer times

Airport	Distance to Courchevel	Approx. transfer time by road	Approx. transfer time by train
Chambery	110km	1 hour 30 minutes	1 hour 30 minutes (0)
Geneva	149km	3 hours 30 minutes	4 hours (2)
Grenoble	127km	2 hours	2 hours (1)
Lyon St Expury	187km	2 hours 15 minutes	2 hours 30 minutes (1)

Top tips for...

Flying

The majority of airlines fly into Geneva (Switzerland), which is 150km from Courchevel and has the most transport links to transfer you to the resort. The next biggest airport is Lyon St Exupery which has public buses to the ski stations. The smaller airports of Chambery and Grenoble are closer but have fewer public transport links.

One of the things to look out for is that quite often, the cheaper the airline, the more complicated and expensive their baggage policy is. This can make carrying skis or snowboards to your destination costly if you are not prepared.

Train

Unfortunately there are only a couple of trains a week - normally Fridays and Saturdays. Eurostar runs a direct train from London on these days that stop in Moutiers for Courchevel. The Snowtrain, run by Rail Europe, means a change in Paris but you can party all night in their legendary ‘disco carriage' - the ruin of many people's first day skiing!

If you are after more flexibility, you can take the train to Paris and change onto the French train to the Alps.
Remember to make sure that you have organised a transfer to get from the train station to the resort as some of these trains can arrive very early in the morning.

Transfers

If you use a bus transfer, try to book your tickets well in advance - the buses can get very busy and some companies act on a reservation-only basis.

Hiring a car is the most flexible option of traveling to Courchevel and it means you can travel around to see other resorts. Be aware though that you will have to pay to park your car in paid parking for your time there (around €70 for seven days). There is a free car park in the smaller village of Le Praz. You are required by law to carry snow chains.

For door-to-door, taxis are a good option, although not the cheapest.

Self-drive

Driving to Courchevel will take you about 12 hours once you reach Calais or Boulogne. The motorways are the quickest route but you will have to pay around €50-60 in toll charges each way. If you are driving down on a Saturday, beware that the road after Albertville becomes a bottleneck for all traffic heading to the ski resorts in this part of the Alps.

Before you go, check with your car insurers that you will be covered for your time in Europe. Carry a warning triangle, spare light bulbs, flash light and a first aid box. And don't forget the snow chains!

Courchevel & the 3 Valleys guidebook

Courchevel

Report date:	30 Apr 2008
Last snowed:	na
Fresh snow:	cm
Lifts open:	na out of 57
Snow depth
Lower slopes:	0cm
Upper slopes:	0cm
Piste information
On-piste:	na
Off-piste:	na
Resort runs:	na

Snow conditions

Resort is closed for the season