Courchevel Recommendations

Updated 15th March 2005

www.flickr.com More of IanL's photos tagged with courchevel

see also www.courchevel.com for lots of info, tel nos, weather, etc.

If there is anything you think I have missed out and should be included please give details using the comments field at the bottom.

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Try Kaluma Ski for all your travel needs:
Courchevel, Meribel, Verbier, St Anton and more.

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Skiing

There is so much skiing in the 3 valleys that it is difficult to know where to start. In Courchevel, the first place to head to is the top of Saulire - here you have access to the Saulire bowl (and couloirs if you're feeling brave), Suisses and around into Chenus and Creux. Courchevel 1650/Bel Air area has some good skiing and is generally much quieter than 1850. Hop down into Mottaret for the Meribel side and onwards into Val Thorens and the other valleys.

On busy days avoid the log-jam at Verdons and Saulire and head instead for Plantrey chair (ski under the bridge in 1850 towards 1550, then turn left), Biolley and Suisses or Vizelle to the top.

Restaurants

On the mountain

• La Soucoupe [+33 (0)4 79 08 21 34]
  - great restaurant. Grill specialities. Near the top of the Chenus/Loze/Plantrey lifts.

• Le Cap Horn [+33 (0)4 79 08 33 10]
  - very large, swish and expensive restaurant. Seafood specialities. Great on a sunny day. Don't go here expecting quick service.



• Le Panoramic [+33 4 79 08 00 88]
  - Top of the Saulire cable car station. Great views and very good food. Eat in the restaurant upstairs instead of the self-service downstairs. Good curried chicken brochette.



• Chalet des Pierres [Tel. +33 (0)4 79 08 18 61]
  Piste des Verdons
  - Most expensive omelette in the French alps. Excellent tartiflette. Massively over-priced wine list, but this is Courchevel!

  
  Chalet des Pierres

• Le Bel Air [+33 (0)4 79 08 00 93]
  - Courchevel 1650, Gondola station

In Courchevel 1850 Village

• La Chapelle [+33 (0)4 79 08 19 48]
  Cozy restaurant, grill specialities. Has changed hands, allegedly not as good as previous owner.
• Le Grand Café [+33 4 79 08 42 97]
  Asian/fusion specialities. Quite incongruous for a ski resort but works. Waitresses don't wear much either, which may swing it for some people.
• Le Bateau Ivre [+33 (0)4 79 00 11 71] Michelin **
• Le Chabichou [+33 (0)4 79 08 00 55] Michelin **

  

Further afield

• La Bouitte [+33 (0)4 79 08 96 77] Michelin 1*
  - in St Marcel - just above St Martin de Belleville

La Bouitte Photos

If there is sufficient snow you can ski here directly (with a small off-piste section at the end to drop into St Marcel - turn left off the biolley piste - marker 10 - now with a small La Bouitte signpost), or ski directly to St Martin de Belleville. Allow just over an hour from Courchevel 1850 if skiing directly. This is one of the best restaurants in the 3 valleys and even better for being so far out of the way. They also have some fantastic rooms if you want to make a night of it.
Lunch or dinner can be a simple 2 course or belt-wrenching 9+ course extravaganza. Some of the better things on the menu include: escalope of foie gras with sweetcorn in a honey and balsamic glaze, Fillet of Beef with pecan nuts, however everything is very good and the menu changes according to the season.  The cheese board is fantastic too. The wine list is extensive and has some interesting selections, if not the swathes of grand crus that you might expect from a higher-starred michelin place. Some of the best value wines on the list are from the Savoie, with some interesting older wines and vendanges tardives wines that suit the foie very well.
N.B. Don't miss the last lift - it's a long taxi ride back. If skiing you should be thinking about leaving around 3:30-4:00pm (depending on the time of year) to make the connections back to Courchevel. Alternatively get a helicopter... it's actually quite reasonable (when compared to your final food & wine bill). If driving, it's around an hour to Courchevel 1850 on clear roads.


La Bouitte, St Marcel

• La Transhumance [+33 4 79 08 94 03], Béranger
  A very simple restaurant in the tiny hamlet of Béranger below St Martin de Belleville.
  Involves a long off-piste trek (a guide is pretty much essential) from the "Roc de Fer" lift above Meribel.
  Don't expect a menu, the food comes straight out of the kitchen and they serve whatever they are cooking on that day.
  Note: The Transhumance was the historical practice of trekking sheep and other cattle from the low valleys to the mountains for the summer months.
  
  
• Le Ya-Ca [+33 4 79 08 41 04], Le Praz
  A very nice little restaurant off the back streets of le Praz. On first appearance you are in somebody's backroom, but the food and ambience soon convince you otherwise. If you are in time get the house speciality Gigot d'Agneau, which is slow cooked infront of the large fireplace in the dining room. Varied, seasonal menu.

Bars

Courchevel is strangely lacking in quality bars. Le Jump in the Hôtel de la Croisette is the saisonnaires favourite and has a good atmosphere. It is also the smokiest bar in the alps due to the lack of venting. Piggy's is the Irish bar below the croisette. Le Kalico is on the basement level of the Forum.

There are plenty of other bars, none of which spring to mind instantly. If it's a quiet, civilised drink you're looking for, go to one of the hotel bars.

Accomodation

• Hotels - Quality, at a price [see also courchevel.com]
• Chalets

  Cheaper options include self catering (which can be arranged through the tourist office) and the excellent Club Alpin (details here).

Photos

courchevel photo album

Links

• Courchevel Official Website
• Kaluma Ski

• Courchevel Saisonnaire's mag

3-Valleys Links:

• Les 3 Vallees
• Meribel
• Les Menuires

Press:
Times story 20 Dec 03
Guardian 3 Dec 01

Telephone numbers, dialling from UK, start +33 4

[This was first posted in February 2004]