New Gondola facilities are game changer for Courchevel Le Praz

Courchevel is rightfully regarded as one of the world's best ski resorts. It is located in France's massive Three Valleys/Trois Vallees region, the largest ski area in the world. With over 600km of pistes and over 200 ski lifts it's hardly surprising that the ski chalets in Courchevel attract skiers and snowboarders of all tastes and abilities.
Courchevel is in fact four main ski resort villages at different locations on the mountainside. Each has a unique style and character and offers something different. At the highest altitude, Courchevel 1850 is famous for its glamorous shops, expensive restaurants and ultra luxury chalets.
Courchevel Le Praz at 1300 enjoys being amongst the trees and truly delivering the traditional ‘chocolate box’ style with low wooden buildings, pretty lights and the smell of wood smoke in the air.Courchevel 1650 is the original resort location and offers a busy resort centre and good access to the slopes. There’s also Courchevel 1550 or Courchevel Village, situated down the piste from 1850 with a mixture of chalets, apartments and a small but lively resort centre.
Beginners and advanced skiers alike can cover a huge amount of ski terrain and then all meet up in the same mountain restaurants for a well deserved vin chaud and lunchtime raclette. The 3 Valleys is easily accessible from many international airports, including Geneva, Grenoble, Lyon and Chambery and is also within a good driving distance of the UK. There are, in effect, four Courchevel villages that make up the single resort. Courchevel 1850 (now better known for its Russian visitor and sky-high prices than for the superb skiing it offers), Courchevel 1650, Courchevel 1550 and Courchevel Le Praz. Courchevel Le Praz has a Telecabine lift which takes you directly into Courchevel 1850 in less than 10 minutes, as well as having a very fast chairlift linking Courchevel Le Praz to the La Tania ski area and then fast access to the Meribel and Val Thorens valleys.
The four villages of Courchevel all offer something different but there are good reasons we’ve chosen to situate our chalets in Courchevel Le Praz. Le Praz is a traditional, beautiful and idyllic Courchevel village that offer everything a great chalet holiday needs. Our chalets are in great locations near to the lifts, not far from the resort centre and with amazing views. Your Mountain Heaven chalet host welcoming you back after a great day, serving great dinners and giving you local advice completes the Courchevel chalet holiday experience.
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The 2017/18 season also sees the opening of a new 3km toboggan run from the summit of the Ariondaz gondola lift to Courchevel Moriond's (1650) snow front. This ultra-fun, illuminated night time descent guarantees a brilliant time for all, with a racing themed backdrop, 8 tunnels (400 metres of them!) and unusual obstacles. Open daily from 11am until ski area close and on Tuesday and Thursday evenings until 7:30pm. This is in addition to the free, floodlit 2.3 km toboggan run connecting Courchevel to Courchevel Village that is already in operation.
Aquamotion is only a few minutes walk from our chalets in 1650. There are different areas to suit everyone, an indoor lagon, the 25m pool, the outside lagon or the counter-current pool. For adults there is the Aquarelax Area where you will find salt caves, saunas, a hammam, caldarium and even a jet stream pool! The Aquawellness Area, Spa & Balneo offers a variety of treatments for you to relax. For more details please go to www.aquamotion-courchevel.com
There is an 8 lane bowling alley and an ice skating rink located in Courchevel 1850 and it's only a bus ride away from our chalets.
Ever fancied driving a piste basher? Well you can in Courchevel at around €90, in addition you can hire snowmobiles as well see this site for more details www.courchevelaventure.com and www.skivol.com
After a 10 minute training you will be taken up in a plane to and then in tandem with an instructor you will free fall for 45 seconds and then have a 5 minute ride under a canopy before landing this can be book at www.parachutisme.fr
Courchevel has its own airport and you can book flights over the mountain with the following company www.aeroclub-courchevel.com or try a helicopter flight from www.azurhelico.com or how about a hot air balloon flight from www.skivol.com
There is a 2km toboggan run between Courchevel and Courchevel Village and its open until 7.30pm
There are a number of companies offering tandem paragliding in the area.
You can hire a guide if you like to walk on many of the trails in the area and snow hiking maps are available at all of the tourist offices but also try this company www.naturelle-rando.com
There are many very good restaurants and bars in Courchevel, including:
- Azimut & Le Bistrot du Praz - two lovely restaurants in the centre of Le Praz
- Le Peupliers has a fantastic restaurant called La Table de Mon Grande - Pere, also a great bar for an apres-ski drink and there is a burger bar opposite that serves very high quality burgers
- La Cave des Lys - a traditional vaulted cellar, serves snacks as well a wine and beer
There are four airports within easy reach of our Courchevel resorts:
• Geneva – approximately 2.5 hours away
• Grenoble – approximately 2.5 hours away
• Lyon – approximately 2.5 hours away
• Chambery – approximately 1.5 hours away
These are only guide times and travelling periods are likely to increase during peak periods. All four airports can be reached by a number of airlines, including Easyjet, BA, Swiss, Flybe and Jet2.com.
We are pleased to be able to offer a transfer service; this is complimentary for our catered ski chalets in Courchevel and for our self-catered apartments we offer a very competitive rate.
Car Hire: For smaller groups, hiring a car is a cost-effective choice for bridging the gap from the airport to Courchevel. If you are arranging your car hire yourself from Geneva Airport, be sure to pick up your vehicle from the Swiss side of the airport so that you miss the motorway pass & reduce your travelling time.
Snow tyres are mandatory for all cars in Switzerland – unlike in France – and usually come with snow chains as well. If arriving at other airports ensure that you pre-book snow chains.
Please note that whilst traveling in the Alps snow chains are mandatory from December to April – you can be fined and denied access to the mountains if you do not have them.
Bus: There are bus services from Geneva Airport to Courchevel, although it is advised to reserve your seats beforehand to avoid disappointment – particularly in the peak periods where booking is essential. For those looking to use the bus, we recommend visiting either Alpski-Bus or Altibus. To get from Chambery airport this company operates a shuttle service Mobisavoie
Our chalets are approximately 600 miles from Calais, which is about a nine-hour drive (at peak times this may be much longer).
It’s a very easy drive and largely on motorways, providing a real opportunity to enjoy the French countryside along the way. Please allow approximately £100 for all motorway tolls. To get across the English Channel there are plenty of ferry services, plus the Eurotunnel. If you want to take a more leisurely drive, there are plenty of opportunities to stop off in scenic and interesting tourist spots.
You can travel directly via Eurostar or on the combined and cheaper Eurostar and TGV services directly from Paris. Rail services to our Courchevel resorts are excellent, as you can travel directly from the UK via the Eurostar and TGV services. You can then travel from Moutiers to our chalets by taxi, with taxi ranks available at the train station or if you have booked one of our catered chalets we provide the transfer free of charge.