Courchevel Activities

Worth getting out of bed for

Viewpoint

A cable car can whisk you straight from Courchevel 1850 to the summit of Saulire at just over 2700 metres. Savour the view then steel yourself for the red and black runs that get you back down again. Some of the routes are very challenging so choose wisely.

Arts and culture

Galerie d'Art de l'Alpage apparently had a Picasso sculpture up for grabs a few seasons ago for a cool half a million euros. If you have half a million to spend then go and see what they have on offer this winter; if you don’t have half a million… well just pretend you do. Consider it practice.

Something for nothing

In the evenings the lifts are closed and the pistes between the resorts are opened up to toboggans; there’s a great two-kilometre run between Courchevel 1850 and 1550.

Shopping

What do you mean you didn’t bring your Prada ski suit? Fear not; you can buy it here. There are also Hermès and Christian Dior boutiques, Julian Joailliers jewellers and the Galerie d'Art de l'Alpage if you really want to splash out. Mere mortals may prefer to buy their ski fashions at Quiksilver in Le Forum shopping centre.

Daytripper

For really extreme sports head to La Plagne to shoot the bobsleigh run. Built for the Olympic Games in 1992, it’s possible to reach speeds in excess of 60 miles an hour as you hurtle along the 1500-metre-long course. Pulling over four Gs in the bends is exhilarating and terrifying in equal measure.

Children

Courchevel has an excellent ski school and its wide range of beginners’ slopes make it an ideal place to learn. The ski school’s Village des Enfants is just below the Forum Centre and has a Nursery Kindergarten for children as young as 18 months (www.esfcourchevel.com).Off the slopes there’s a popular ice rink and a ten-pin bowling alley in the Forum Centre itself.

Activities

Courchevel is part of the Trois Vallées ski area – the largest in Europe. There are over 200 ski lifts and almost 350 ski runs in the immediate area, offering suitable terrain for both beginners and experienced skiers. The resort’s high altitude usually guarantees excellent snow conditions and serious skiers will love the black Les Suisses run and the off-piste couloirs near The Saulire. You can also try skidooing, hot-air ballooning, parapenting, ice-skating, tobogganing and snow shoeing; contact Whitetracks on +33 (0)686 12 34 17, www.whitetracks.co.uk.

And...

Ever felt like tackling an Olympic ski jump? No, us neither – until now; Whitetracks offer the chance to go snow-rafting in an inflatable dingy down the 70 degree incline of the landing slope.