3 Vallees

5.0Ski map

The best ski area in the world, with a few nuances: huge, beautifully kept, and expensive.

The Belleville valley in the 3 Vallees, with Les Menuires below the pistes1300 to 3230 m
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Forecast at 2000 m today: low / high, modelled snow depth, and new snow in the last 24 hours.

Terrain5.0
Snow4.5
Lifts4.5
Village5.0
Mountain food5.0
Après5.0
Families4.5
Value4.5
Best for
Experts
Intermediates
Families
Beginners

Is the 3 Vallees worth it?

For a good skier, it is the best ski area in the world. Everything is here and everything is well kept: grooming every night unless there is a storm, modern lifts, great food on the mountain and places to stay at every price.

The nuances are size and cost. Beginners will not use most of it and are better off in a smaller resort. Courchevel especially is very expensive. Big snowfalls can close the links between valleys, and getting here means a flight to Geneva or Lyon and a three-hour drive, usually by car.

The skiing

Experts

Two runs stand out. The Grand Couloir, off the top of the Pas du Lac gondola, curves into Courchevel like a huge half-pipe. Coqs, under the Combes chair in Mottaret, is a long, perfectly built red to the village. Then make a sunny-day trip to Orelle.

Find a run you love near where you stay and be on it when the lifts open. That first hour sets up your whole day.Our insider tip

Intermediates

Stick to the Courchevel and Meribel sectors: lots of wide, interconnected pistes, groomed every night. Buy the full area pass and explore.

Beginners

You will not feel most of the advantages here. Stay local, buy the valley pass, and ask your instructor before you pay for more.

Day routes

Plan your days

The area is so big that how you plan a day matters as much as where you stay.

1500 m2000 m2500 m3000 mMottaretSaulire1850Saulire and the Grand Couloir2 h 30Black1500 m2000 m2500 m3000 mMottaretColVal ThorensVal Thorens and backFull dayRed1500 m2000 m2500 m3000 mVal ThorensRosaelPlan BouchetBouchetOrelle and the highest pointFull dayRed1500 m2000 m2500 m3000 mMeribelLoze1850Col de la Loze, the scenic link2 h 30Blue1500 m2000 m2500 m3000 m1850SaulireMottaretColVal ThorensCime CaronThe full 3 Vallees traverseFull dayRed
All day routes and times from each village

Snow and when to go

Late in the season, go high. Val Thorens and Courchevel keep good snow into April, and our March and April trips have been fine.

Avoid basing yourself low from late March. La Tania, Le Praz and the lower runs melt first: crisp in Courchevel, watery at La Tania on the same warm day.

Lift pass and getting around

Buy the full 3 Vallees pass if you are an intermediate or better. Seeing how different the valleys are is the point of coming here. Beginners can save the money and buy a valley pass.

Queues form at the ridge crossings, worst between Val Thorens and Mottaret just after lunch. Go early, or go late and race the last lifts home if you are a strong skier. The biggest first-timer mistake here is getting stuck on the wrong side of a ridge.

Map

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Drag to move, scroll or pinch to zoom. Highlighted: the lifts and runs named in each route. Pistes, lifts, forests, lakes and villages © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Terrain from Mapzen/AWS Terrain Tiles.

Getting there

Fly to Geneva, Lyon or Chambery, then drive up the Tarentaise valley. Trains run to Moutiers, with buses and taxis up to the villages, but most people hire a car or book a transfer. Saturday traffic up the valley is heavy.