Courchevel 1650:
Courchevel 1650 is based on the original village of Moriond. Beside Chalet La Tarentaise the original village street with its small church, village pumps and many original houses stretches down the hill. The views of the St Bon Valley are wonderful, On the main road are a selection of bars, internet cafes, shops, a pharmacy, bakery, traiteur, 3 excellent supermarkets, gift shops, creperie, cinema and numerous ski shops and ATMs. There are two hotels, the Golf and the Manali with spas. There is a weekly street market where you can buy local cheeses, meats and wines.
Sounds too busy - not at all. It is small and considerably less pretentious and quieter compared to its large and glamorous neighbour Courchevel 1850 but with the advantage of a 7 minute free bus ride (at 10 minute intervals) to join in the larger social life in 1850 and indulge in a bit of celebrity spotting or at least admire the fur coats. Free buses also run to Courchevel 1550, La Praz and La Tania.
Three Valleys ski area:
Les Trois Vallées or The Three Valleys is the largest ski area in the world which is connected solely by ski lifts and slopes. It has more than 600 km (410 miles) of ski slopes, resulting in 18.5 km² of groomed runs. In addition, there are 120 km for cross-country skiing. Overall in the three valleys there are 335 runs ranging from beginners to really difficult and some beautiful off piste areas.
The three valleys are:
the Saint Bon with the resorts of Courchevel 1850, Courchevel 1650, Courchevel 1550, Courchevel- La Praz and La Tania
the Allues with the resorts of Meribel-Village, Meribel and Meribel-Mottaret
the Belleville with the resorts of Val Thorens, Les Menuires and St Martin-de-Belleville
In addition it is possible to access the resort of Orelle in the Maurienne Valley from Val Thorens.
Courchevel ski Resorts:
The greater Courchevel resort area has 150 kilometres of downhill pistes served by 62 chairlifts. It has wonderful areas for beginners with broad well-groomed slopes and 27 greens to practice on and as you progress 44 blue runs. It is equally challenging for the more experienced skiers with 38 red runs and 10 blackruns. Its couloirs are are renowned as some of the most difficult black runs in the world. In 1650, itself, the access to the ski slopes is in the centre of the village next to the Tourist Information Office. The slopes in 1650 are slightly quieter than most of the Three valleys - the beginner slopes both greens and blues are wide and friendly. Its a lovely run back at the ned of the day. The reds are challenging. Access to the Meribel valley or Courchevel 1850 and the rest of the Courchevel ski resort is fast with two crossover points from the 1650 area. For younger members of the family – the Indiennes piste has with information on Native Americans and a tipi village.
