French Alps · Méribel & Courchevel
In the heart of the Savoie, two names that define luxury skiing share the largest ski area on Earth: six hundred kilometres of interconnected slopes, chalet villages, Michelin-starred tables and French savoir-vivre in its snowbound form. All at your pace, all designed tailor made.
The destination
Les 3 Vallées is a simple idea taken to the extreme: three Savoie valleys stitched together by lifts until they became one gigantic white playground. You can have breakfast in Courchevel, lunch on a summit at nearly three thousand metres and ski home to your chalet in Méribel — without taking your skis off, without repeating a single run.
And there is the other half of the equation: here, skiing comes wrapped in the best version of France. Wood-and-stone chalets with the fireplace lit, palace hotels with legendary spas, starred restaurants high on the mountain, champagne served in the snow at sunset. No other winter destination combines skiing on this scale with hotels and dining at this level.
Méribel and Courchevel are the two gateways — each with a personality of its own: one is the chalet village at the geographic heart of the ski area, the other is the world capital of luxury skiing. Choosing the right base, the right chalet and the right week is what changes the trip — and that is exactly our job.
The ski area · Les 3 Vallées
First chapter
The numbers of Les 3 Vallées sound like an exaggeration until your first day on skis: hundreds of runs for every level, more than one hundred and sixty lifts and gondolas — among the fastest and most comfortable in the world — and eighty-five per cent of the area above eighteen hundred metres, which keeps the snow reliable from the start of the season to its very end.
In practice, this means never skiing the same mountain twice. Each morning opens a new map: one valley for the morning sun, another for cold snow, a summit for lunch with a view. Beginners get gentle, sheltered zones at altitude; strong skiers get faces that never seem to end. And those who prefer to watch can cross it all by gondola, with the show outside the window.
At 2,738 metres, the Saulire is the summit Courchevel and Méribel share — cable cars climb it from both sides. From the top, the Alps unfold as far as the eye can see, and runs descend for every taste, from wide reds to the mythical couloir. It is the ski area's calling card.
The great local sport is the ski safari: setting out after breakfast and stitching the three valleys into a single circuit, stopping for lunch wherever the view demands it. With a guide who knows every shortcut, even intermediate skiers complete the loop — and come home with a whole new benchmark for skiing.
Panoramic gondolas, hooded chairlifts with heated seats, queues that barely exist outside peak holiday weeks: the lift network of Les 3 Vallées is a world reference. The time between one run and the next becomes part of the experience — not a toll to pay.
Courchevel · The glamour
Second chapter
Courchevel was born in 1946 as the first resort in France designed from scratch for skiing — and it has been climbing ever since. Four villages stagger up the mountain, from the hamlet charm of Le Praz to the summit of Courchevel 1850, where palace hotels, haute-couture maisons and starred restaurants live side by side at the edge of the slopes.
It is the address with the highest concentration of palace hotels in the French mountains and a dining scene that includes a three-Michelin-star restaurant — a rarity in any ski resort on the planet. And yet skiing remains the star of the show: wide, immaculately groomed runs that reach the hotel door, a ski school of excellence and snow treated as an affair of state.
The highest village is the stage: the slopes spill onto La Croisette among haute-couture boutiques, jewellers and cafés. Here, ski-in/ski-out is taken literally — you glide from chalet to slope and from slope to hot chocolate without ever taking off your boots.
Courchevel has its own airport in the middle of the slopes: 525 metres of runway on an 18.5% gradient — one of the most scenic landings in aviation. Arriving by helicopter or mountain plane, straight from Geneva to the snow, is the most dramatic start a trip can have.
No mountain in the world dines like Courchevel: a three-star restaurant inside a palace hotel, twice-starred houses, even a restaurant devoted entirely to desserts. We book the right tables before you board — in the top weeks they sell out in a way the slopes never do.
Below 1850, Courchevel changes register at every bend: Le Praz keeps the charm of the original Savoyard hamlet, while Courchevel Village and Moriond have a family rhythm and afternoon-long sunshine. The altitude of your base sets the mood of the week — we help you get it right.
The ski day ends in slow motion: vin chaud on a terrace facing the sunset, champagne in the snow to a DJ's soundtrack at the altitude classics, hot chocolate for the whole table. From euphoric terraces to hushed salons, we point you to the right tone for your group.
When the slopes close, Courchevel lights up: shop windows glowing in the snow, hotel bars with encyclopaedic champagne lists, dinners that stretch deep into the night and discreet party houses. It is the most elegant nightlife in the Alps — without ever losing its composure.
There is a moment, at the top of the Saulire, when all three valleys open up at once under the sun — and someone always falls silent before the first turn. That is where the journey begins.
From Brazil to the top of the Alps, everything designed tailor made
Méribel · The heart
Third chapter
Méribel was born of an elegant stubbornness: in 1938, British colonel Peter Lindsay chose the Les Allues valley to create a resort — and imposed a rule that stands to this day: here you build only in Savoyard style, in wood, stone and slate roofs. The result is the most harmonious resort in the Alps, an entire village of chalets that ages beautifully with every winter.
And then there is the geography: Méribel is the middle valley, the exact heart of Les 3 Vallées. From here you can reach any corner of the ski area and ski all the way home — which is why loyal skiers call it the perfect base. The Anglo-Savoyard spirit completes the charm: fireside bistros and lively pubs, elegance without ceremony.
No towers, no bare concrete: in Méribel even the public buildings wear wood and slate. At the end of the afternoon, when the chimneys light up and the snow turns blue, the village becomes a postcard — and the apéritif on the chalet balcony, the best plan of the day.
Founded by the British on Savoyard soil, Méribel inherited the best of both worlds: the cuisine and elegance of France, the humour and easy conviviality of the English. It is the resort where you make friends on the chairlift — and where many travellers return every year, the way one returns home.
At the far end of the valley, the Mont Vallon gondola climbs to 2,952 metres for Méribel's most spectacular descents: nearly a thousand metres of vertical on wide-open runs, with the Vanoise glaciers in the scenery. The kind of run you talk about at dinner — and repeat the next morning.
Themed runs for the little ones, sheltered beginner zones, ski schools of excellence and chalets that fit the whole family — with a team to take care of everything. Méribel turns the children's first week on snow into the story they will tell all year long.
At the Albertville Winter Games in 1992, Méribel hosted the women's alpine skiing events and the ice hockey tournament. The legacy lives on: ski the Olympic run on your own two legs and end the day skating in the arena that watched history happen.
Méribel's signature is the runs that sweep down in wide curves through the pine forest — beautiful in the sunshine, magical when it snows. They are the perfect refuge on grey-sky days and the most scenic way to glide back to the chalet at dusk.
Beyond the slopes · The art of living
Fourth chapter
Half the magic of the Alps happens off the slopes. It is the spa morning in a heated pool facing the peaks, the snowshoe walk through the silent forest, the whole afternoon of fireplace and book at the chalet. Those who do not ski are never left out — they live the same mountain from another angle, in the same scenery.
And there is the Savoyard table, a chapter of its own: fondue and raclette made with local cheeses, tartiflette straight from the oven, altitude wines and proper hot chocolate. In summer, the same valley changes costume — flowering trails, mountain lakes, biking and altitude golf — and the chalets become the base for a whole other journey.
Heated pools steaming against the cold, saunas with windows onto the peaks, massages designed for skiers' legs. The most restorative après-ski in the Alps happens in a bathrobe — and in the palaces of Courchevel, the spas carry names that need no introduction.
Between one starred table and the next, the Savoie serves its winter classics: fondue, raclette and tartiflette, alpage cheeses and mountain charcuterie, all around fireplaces that look like stage sets — but are simply local life. Comfort in the form of cooking.
Tobogganing on a dedicated run, husky sled rides, snowshoe walks at dusk, skating on Olympic ice. The mountain fills entire days without a board on your feet — for the children, and for the adults who prefer their snow at a contemplative pace.
Day by day
A one-week skeleton to set the rhythm — in the Alps, any day will gladly trade places with another. Duration, pace and experiences are always adjusted to you.
Landing in Geneva or Lyon and a private transfer up the mountain — or, to start in grand style, a helicopter to the altiport. At the chalet the fireplace is already lit and the ski room fits everyone's boots and skis. A welcome fondue and the first night of mountain air.
A morning of reconnaissance with an instructor or guide: each at their own level, from the very first glide to rebuilding confidence. Lunch on a sun-facing altitude terrace and an afternoon of wide slopes to calibrate the legs — the whole ski area can wait until tomorrow.
Ski safari day: stitching the three valleys into a single itinerary, with the guide picking the right runs for the group. Panoramas from the top of the Saulire, cold snow in the neighbouring valley and the satisfaction of skiing home after crossing the largest ski area in the world.
A morning on Mont Vallon, with its descents of nearly a thousand metres and the Vanoise glaciers on the horizon. In the afternoon, the forest runs and a stroll through the chalet village — vin chaud on the square, shop windows and the blue hour painting the slate roofs.
A day with no agenda: a spa morning and heated pool, the boutiques of Courchevel 1850, snowshoes through the forest or simply fireplace and book at the chalet. The children have sledding and skating; the incorrigible skiers, one more full day of slopes at their disposal.
A final morning of skiing on the week's favourite runs and an afternoon of après-ski with champagne in the snow. At night, the grand finale: dinner at one of Courchevel's starred houses or the chef's menu served at your own chalet, by firelight. The mountain knows how to say goodbye.
An unhurried breakfast watching the first gondolas set off, and a transfer to the airport coordinated with your flight. The skis stay behind in the ski room's memory — and your benchmark for winter, recalibrated forever.
Gallery
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How we travel
A week in the snow is made of fittings: the valley, the chalet, the lessons, the equipment, the tables, the transfers. Every piece in the wrong place costs dearly on the mountain — so everything is solved before you board.
Courchevel or Méribel? Which village, at what altitude, how far from the gondola? The answer depends on your group — ski levels, children, who is not skiing — and is born from your profile, never from a ranking.
A palace hotel with a spa and three restaurants, a private chalet with chef and chauffeur, or the charming middle ground? We know the houses and what each one truly delivers — and we fight for the right room, facing the right mountain.
Ski pass in hand, equipment fitted at the chalet, lessons and guides booked at the right times — with instructors used to welcoming Brazilians. Nobody loses their first morning queuing at a rental shop.
Courchevel's starred restaurants and the most coveted altitude terraces sell out weeks ahead in the top season. We book the gala dinner and the lunch with a view before you board — at the good table, not the leftover one.
Geneva, Lyon or Chambéry; private car, train or helicopter to the altiport. We calculate the route, the timings and the snow on the road — and the driver waits with the car warm, even if the flight is late.
From boarding in Brazil to your return, a team follows the entire trip. Any surprise — a flight, a lesson, a special request at the chalet — is solved with one message, in your language.
Where to stay
We work with a tight selection of houses we know and trust — these are the styles that usually make it into our trips. The final choice is always designed with you.
Courchevel 1850 concentrates hotels holding the Palace distinction — the highest tier of French hotellerie: spas by legendary names, starred restaurants in-house, a ski room with its own butler and the slopes starting at the door.
An entire house of your own, with palace service inside it: a chef preparing every meal, a chauffeur on call, a private spa, a discreet team that solves everything. For families and groups it is the format that transforms the week — nobody waits for a table, nobody shares anything.
Houses of wood and firelight with just a few keys, lovingly-run kitchens and a mountain-home atmosphere — in Méribel and in Courchevel's villages. Luxury in its cosiest register, often with direct access to the slopes and always with the Savoyard soul intact.
Before you go
Practical information for those beginning to plan the trip.
The ski season runs from December to April — and each stretch of it has a personality. In summer, the same valley becomes a green mountain destination.
Brazilians do not need a visa for tourism in France for stays of up to 90 days — just a valid passport with comfortable margin beyond the return date. We check the current requirements and guide you step by step before departure.
We recommend travel insurance with specific winter-sports cover — an item many standard policies leave out and which makes all the difference on the mountain. We point you to the right cover for your group, including on-slope rescue.
The time difference is four to five hours ahead of Brasília, depending on the season — a gentle jet lag. In the resorts, English flows easily alongside French, and the mood is less formal than Courchevel's fame suggests: on the mountain, elegance means being comfortable.
The currency is the euro and cards solve practically everything. Technical clothing and equipment can be rented at the resort itself, in first-rate shops — you can travel light and gear up there, with everything reserved in advance.
The chalet is the bottleneck: the best houses and the finest palace rooms sell out almost a year ahead for Christmas, New Year and February. The earlier the conversation starts, the better the address — and the better the conditions.
After the roof, the agenda: the most sought-after instructors and guides, the starred tables and the special experiences also sell out in the top weeks. It is the layer we secure right after confirming the chalet.
To add on
Layers that fit naturally into a week in the Alps.
Split the week between Courchevel and Méribel — glamour on one side, chalet charm on the other — changing homes without leaving the ski area. The luggage travels by car; you, on skis.
A high-mountain guide just for your group: the right runs at the right time, untouched off-piste snow in safety and the first tracks of the day before the lifts open to the public. The whole ski area becomes a personal map.
Ski to the highest resort in Europe, in the ski area's third valley: high-altitude snow, glacier panoramas and lunch above two thousand metres — then back to the chalet by late afternoon, all on the same pass.
Trade the road for a helicopter: from Geneva to the Courchevel altiport in little more than half an hour, flying past Mont Blanc and landing in the middle of the slopes. The trip begins in the best seat in the house — the window seat.
A professional photographer capturing the family on the slopes, the proposal at the Saulire lookout, the group on an altitude terrace — with the Alps as the backdrop. The souvenir that appreciates over time.
Come back when the snow is resting: flowering trails, mountain lakes, biking on slopes turned single tracks and altitude golf. The same chalet, the same valley — a completely different journey.
