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Bars
and Clubs
Each of the Courchevel stations has its
own selection of bars and clubs. You can't go wrong with this
list of our favourites.
1850
TJs
- Shooters, cocktails and Sky!
Gringos - Tequila and Mutzig!!!
Bar L'Equipe - Chilled vibe, great food and cute staff
Le Kalico - Late-night dancing
destination
The Blue Room (né Isba)
- Get away from it all
The Jump - Fast becoming workers'
favourite
La Grange - Cheesy nightclub
1650
Rockys Bar - Pints and football
Le Bubble Bar - new bar
with internet terminals
Signal - Quiet Mutzig bar
1550
La
Taverne - French and local
Chanrossa - Footie location
The Bar 1550 - The cheapest drinks in Courchevel?
Le Praz/La Tania
Darbeilo - Genuine French bar with Mutzig
The Ski Lodge
- Friendliest atmosphere in the Alps, plus football
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Off-piste*
The Butcher's Run - Allegedly
once skied after every new snowfall by the butcher from Le Praz
(or a ski-man from Jean Blanc Sport, but this just doesn't sounds
as good). Take Col de la Loze and then trek up the ridge to
the left, following it round to the right for about 30 minutes.
The descent is directly towards the cable car station. This
run is dangerous, it's sometimes better to look at others' tracks
Sous La Telepherique - Technically on-piste, but you'll never
find more testing marked run.
Roc de Fruit - Creux Noirs to the top and follow the ridge
to the left until a large, pyramidal rock blocks your path.
Dropping down in the Courchevel direction is likely to be better
and safer than the south-facing Lac de Tueda descent on the Meribel
side
*These runs are for experts
only, taken at your own risk, in company and with
the appropriate equipment.
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Moguls
Suisses – the moguls on this
run, particularly at entry can be massive. Many
a plank has been broken here - proceed with caution.
Dou les Lanches - follow the run down under
the chair for some testing moguls
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Speed
Saulire to Plantrey (900m vertical)
Saulire to 1550 (1200m)
Saulire to Le Praz (1450m)
Stade via the Plantrey chair (for a quick buzz)
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Snowparks
There is a decent snowpark beneath the Plantrey
chair that offers plenty of opportunities for air.
The freestyle area beneath Verdons is flat and not
very exciting. More fun is playing off the lip
of the ridges around Biollay.
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Events
Red Ski Team – great aerials team, usually visit in
Jan.
Roc Merlet Derby - downhill from top to base in 1650 (March 3)
FreeRide classic - fantastic extreme ski race (March 11)
End of Season Ball - The chance to dress
up! (April 12)
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Famous
visitors
David Couthard, Ian
Botham, Didier Deschamps, Youri Djorkaeff, Eddie Jordan,
Cedric Pioline, Graeme Souness, Jacques Villeneuve,
Yannick Noah, Henri Leconte, Gerard Depardieu
plus almost every French media star.
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Away
Days
Courchevel is better than most resorts as
the variety of villages offers a day out in itself.
If you work in one of the other stations, try exploring
Le Praz for a day. This is still a genuine mountain
village, with original farmhouses instead of purpose-built
blocks.
Only a 20 min drive is
Champagny. From here you can take the bubble lift
to the edge of the La Plagne ski area and gaze back
at Courchevel on the other side of the valley, feeling
miles away. Annecy remains the best option further
afield, with a large choice of shops and restaurants.
On a fine day, hire a pedalo and head for the centre
of the lake to escape.
If you just want a different mountain to play on, then
try one of the other Tarentaise resorts. If you have
a 3V pass you get up four days in other resorts. Val
or Tignes will take you about 1 ½ hours to get to.
Alternatively, Chamonix
is only two hours away and a Vallée Blanche trip or
just the Aiguille du Midi is something you’ll never
forget.
If you don't have a car, try John at 3V
Transfers
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Shopping
In a resort where there's a choice of lingerie
shops (generally used more by the Parisians than saisonniers),
there's plenty of places to spend your hard earned cash
all through the Forum Centre in 1850. In particular
Prends ta Luge has good boarding/skate gear. There
are also White Stuff and Fat Face shops..
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Internet Cafés
Prends Ta Luge (Forum Centre, 1850)
Webski (Next to Hotel Olympic, 1850)
Bubble Bar (1650)
The Bar (1550)
More details
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Eating Out
On those occasions when your need to get away from the kitchen,
you can still get good value for money about the resort:
1850
Chabichou (2* Michelin resto for when the parentals come!)
Le Kalico - Well priced
menu
Le Jump - Ideal quick snacks
1650
Potiniere - Quieter evening away
Le Plouc - Ditto
1550
Cortona - Good value pizza
L'Oeil de Boeuf - Intimate top-notch dining
Le Praz/La Tania
The Ski Lodge (La
Tania) - Great VFM
Darbeilo - Specialities a speciality
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Mountain
Restos
If you're guiding or skiing with a group of guests, these
restaurants are good bets for a lunch stop:
The Ski Lodge
(La Tania)
Le Kalico (1850)
Le Casserole
Chenus
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McDonalds
The nearest 'Royale
with Cheese' is in Albertville (45 mins).
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Shopping
Day
The main shop every
week will usually be at Provencia in Moutiers. The
supermarket is well geared up for chalet companies
and allocates several aisles purely for their use.
You may also use the Cash and Carry just opposite
and Mr Bricolage (round the corner), particularly
for stocking up at the start of the season.
There is a good, but
pricey supermarket in the Forum Centre (1850).
Better value is the one in 1550.
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Transfer
Day
Courchevel is a bastard
for transfers! While the usual transfer times
(Moutiers 30min, Chambèry 1 3/4hrs, Lyon 2hrs and
Geneva 2hrs) apply, what is more difficult to allow
for is how long it will take you in resort.
This is due to the fact
that for the vast majority of the season, buses are
not allowed into Courchevel 1850. Probably many
resorts would benefit from this as it undoubtedly
eases traffic flow, but it won't make your transfer
day any easier. Incoming buses are usually serviced
by minibuses which then transfer guests to their individual
chalets. If it goes well, it goes well, but
if it doesn't you can have guests getting to their
accommodation an hour after they've arrived in resort.
Depending where your
chalets are in 1550 you may also need to use minibuses
to transfer there as some are not accessible for larger
vehicles.
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Après-ski
Events
Courchevel has a number of suppliers all willing to help you put
together your après programme. Try approaching L'Equipe
or TJs for a Quiz Night.
They are always keen on extra business and can be persuaded to offer
free drinks.
For speciality evenings, Le
Kalico in 1850 can seat up to 100 for fondue, raclette or hot-rock.
Alternatively, the Darbeilo (Le Praz) offers a more authentic
French evening, as well as being less expensive.
Other popular options
include Skidoos, parapenting, ice skating, tobogganing,
bowling, snowboarding lessons and a race day.
The extra distance also makes a trip to Val Thorens
a great option. Guests can ski over there and
then catch a bus back at the end of the day.
Alpe Evasion in Moutiers can help with booking coaches.
More avant ski than apres ski, Ski Physique help you to keep in shape off the hill with the following classes at 11am at Dicks Tea Bar in Meribel
Mon - Circuit
Tues - Yoga
Wed - Pilates
Friday - Booty Shaking Dance
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Living
If you work a winter
in Courchevel, where you live can have an impact difference
on your season. For example, if you live in
Le Praz, you'll probably end the season knowing most
other workers in the village plus a number of the
locals. If you live in 1850, most bars you go
to will be full of other season workers, many of whom
you will never even meet, let alone know their name.
That said, living in
1850 has to be the best option, with Le Praz a close
second. The key is that wherever you live in
both, it will never take you too long to get into
the main lift system. 1550 and 1650 both have
a more intimate atmosphere, but they can't match Le
Praz, they certainly can't match the nightlife in
1850 and neither have as good connections to the snow.
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CdS
Search
If you’re thinking of doing a season in Courchevel then why
not search through the Club
des Saisonniers to see who else has worked there and what advice
they may be able to offer.
Discounts
There are numerous benefits
available to members of the CdS.
Join
Anyone who has done a season or has a firm offer from
a tour operator may
join the Club des Saisonniers. |
