Courchevel 1850: The Birkins are as Real as the Snow.

January 3rd — January 10th, 2026

Wow. I have never seen this many Birkins and Kellys in one place unless I was walking back from work in Paris through Place Vendôme during Fashion Week, trying to catch a glimpse of a celebrity outside the Ritz.

But Courchevel? Different level. A Kelly on the slopes. A fur coat at every other turn. Every few steps, another woman glides past in full fur with a bag that probably deserves its own insurance policy. Exotic animals should be nervous.

Okay, enough about the bags. The entire infrastructure around Courchevel is luxury with a capital L. Luxuryyy.

We stayed at a beautiful chalet with the most incredible views. It was technically ski-in/ski-out, although I will say the “ski-in” part definitely requires a bit of skill and is not exactly beginner-friendly. But honestly, waking up to this view from my bedroom made up for everything.

Accommodation

All jokes aside, I would highly recommend staying in a chalet, especially if you have a car. Chalets are usually much more cost-effective than hotels in Courchevel, especially for a large group. A lot of the hotels here are ultra-exclusive five-star properties with Michelin-starred restaurants inside, like Aman, so the prices are, naturally, ridiculous. [Fun fact: Courchevel has 14 Michelin-starred restaurants in and around the resort, because apparently regular ski-town food was never going to cut it here.]

This is especially true during the peak post-Christmas holiday period, when everything is already at its most expensive. For a group like ours, a chalet made much more sense.

Dining

Dinner in Courchevel was wonderful. We went to La Ferme Saint Amour, Restaurant Le Farçon, and La Table de Madame, and honestly, all of them were fantastic. Restaurant-wise, it is very hard to go wrong in Courchevel. Even the non-Michelin spots have their own charm, which says a lot about the standard here. For the Michelin restaurants, definitely make sure to book early.

Another great option is hiring a private chef. After a full day of skiing, there were definitely nights when none of us wanted to shower, change, and make ourselves presentable enough for a Courchevel restaurant. So the perfect solution was having chefs come to us.

The food quality was not quite the same as the restaurants, but it was still amazing. And for a large group like ours, it was especially nice to relax, talk loudly, laugh over dinner, and not worry about disturbing anyone else.

The Downtown – Charming and Expensive

Supposedly, Courchevel has a wonderful après-ski scene, but unfortunately, sickness spread through our entire group, so I can’t really speak to it from personal experience. Very glamorous, I know.

What I can say is that the town itself is beautiful. Price-wise, there is not exactly a wide range of shopping options — it is mostly designer stores and luxury boutiques — but the shopping area is fairly large and really lovely to walk around. Even if you are just window-shopping, it is truly beautiful.

Finally Skiing

Honestly, the skiing experience higher up felt pretty similar to other resorts I’ve been to in the Alps: beautiful views, massive terrain, and solid real snow, depending on the weather. It is stunning, of course, but in terms of the actual skiing, what makes Courchevel stand out is less the mountain itself and more everything built around it.

But as you ski down, that is where Courchevel really starts to separate itself. The slopes are dotted with amazing ski-in/ski-out restaurants, glamorous terraces, and, somehow, a Moncler store you can literally ski into. Only in Courchevel.

Alright, that is probably enough on Courchevel for now. In the next post, I’ll talk about how it connects to the rest of Les 3 Vallées, including skiing over to Val Thorens and making it all the way to the summit.