Les 3 Vallées
Six hundred linked kilometres — the largest ski area in the world and the reference for groomed cruising — with ten villages, from palace-hotel Courchevel 1850 to Orelle in the valley.
Published 1 October 2026 · SkiDomain data · scored 1–9, owner-reviewed
The mountain
Les 3 Vallées on SkiDomain’s mountain criteria, each scored 1–9. The ski area is scored once; where you stay is the separate decision below.
| Lift-served altitude | 1,100 m to 3,230 m |
| Ski area type | Interconnected, large |
| 2026/27 season | first lifts 21 November 2026; main season 5 December 2026 to 18 April 2027; last lifts 2 May 2027 |
Season dates from the official site, checked 27 August 2026.
Where to stay: 10 villages
The same lift pass, different weeks. Each village is scored on its own for the holiday around the skiing.
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Courchevel 1850
Luxury village · True ski-in/out / direct lift
Families 7Luxury and service 9Range of places to stay 6Village character 8Dining 9Après and nightlife 7For non-skiers 8
- More Michelin stars than any ski village on earth.
- 600 km linked; the largest area in the world.
- Palace hotels as a category.
Stay Les Airelles (palace, the reference); Cheval Blanc (palace, LVMH, spa); Hôtel des 3 Vallées (4★, centre, the sensible choice)
Eat Le 1947 at the Cheval Blanc (three Michelin stars, Gault Millau 19/20 — five tables, book weeks ahead); Le Sarkara at Le K2 Palace (two stars, dessert-led); Baumanière 1850 at Le Strato (two stars); Sylvestre Wahid at Les Grandes Alpes (two stars, chef's table); L'Altitude at K2 Altitude (star, new 2026); Alpage (star); Le Chabichou (star, four toques — the Savoyard institution); Le Cap Horn on the mountain (lunch)
Marc’s tip
1850 is the expensive one by design; Moriond 1650 and Le Praz sit on the same lifts at half the price and 1650 has the better sun.
1850 is the expensive one by design; Moriond 1650 and Le Praz sit on the same lifts at half the price and 1650 has the better sun.
Courchevel Moriond 1650
Family/upmarket · True ski-in/out / direct lift
Families 8Luxury and service 8Range of places to stay 9Village character 7Dining 9Après and nightlife 7For non-skiers 6
- The 3 Vallées is the reference for groomed cruising.
- A village, not a resort.
- The honest way into the 3 Vallées — hotels and apartments at half the 1850 price.
Stay Hôtel Portetta (4★, English-speaking, ski-in/out); Le Manali (5★, at the piste); Fahrenheit Seven (4★, lively, young)
Eat Le Chabichou in 1850 (Michelin star, four toques) and the 1850 tables a bus away; Le Farçon in La Tania (star, ski-in lunch); La Cave des Lys for the evening
Marc’s tip
The same lifts as 1850 at half the price, better sun, and a real village; the Aquamotion pool is a bus away. Drop into 1850 for dinner and come home to sensible prices.
The same lifts as 1850 at half the price, better sun, and a real village; the Aquamotion pool is a bus away. Drop into 1850 for dinner and come home to sensible prices.
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La Tania
Purpose-built / family · True ski-in/out / direct lift
Families 9Luxury and service 7Range of places to stay 9Village character 6Dining 7Après and nightlife 7For non-skiers 6
- The 3 Vallées from a base that costs a fraction of Courchevel 1850.
- Nearly the whole village skis from the door.
- Quiet; the honest trade-off, with Courchevel and Méribel a lift away.
Stay Le Telemark (4★, at the piste, the village's hotel); Chalet-hôtel Le Christina (half board, British-run); apartments in the Kalinka residence
Eat Le Farçon (Michelin star — ski-in, rustic-chic lunch); La Taïga (the village restaurant, book); Le Bouc Blanc on the mountain
Marc’s tip
A car-free village in the trees between Courchevel and Méribel, ski-in/out to both and thirty minutes to Val Thorens — the whole 3 Vallées from a quiet, friendly, largely British base at a fraction of the Courchevel 1850 price.
A car-free village in the trees between Courchevel and Méribel, ski-in/out to both and thirty minutes to Val Thorens — the whole 3 Vallées from a quiet, friendly, largely British base at a fraction of the Courchevel 1850 price.
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Méribel Centre
Classic resort village · Direct lift / short walk
Families 8Luxury and service 8Range of places to stay 9Village character 8Dining 8Après and nightlife 7For non-skiers 6
- The hub of the world's largest linked area.
- Chalet architecture, British atmosphere.
- The Rond-Point and the Folie Douce.
Stay Le Coucou (5★, Maisons Pariente, the new benchmark); Hôtel Le Kaïla (5★, spa, at the piste, Michelin-starred restaurant); Hôtel Le Merilys (4★, centre, ski-in/out, sensible)
Eat L'Ekrin at Le Kaïla (Michelin star); Le Cèpe; Le Clos Bernard in the forest (the evening)
Marc’s tip
The middle of the 3 Vallées — Courchevel one way, Val Thorens the other, both in twenty minutes. Chalet-style by law, so it looks like a village even when it isn't. Méribel Village and Les Allues are cheaper and quieter.
The middle of the 3 Vallées — Courchevel one way, Val Thorens the other, both in twenty minutes. Chalet-style by law, so it looks like a village even when it isn't. Méribel Village and Les Allues are cheaper and quieter.
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Méribel-Mottaret
High-altitude purpose-built · True ski-in/out / direct lift
Families 8Luxury and service 7Range of places to stay 9Village character 6Dining 7Après and nightlife 8For non-skiers 6
- Ski-in/out everywhere.
- The hub of the 3 Vallées.
- Purpose-built; the honest trade-off.
Stay Hôtel Le Mottaret (4★, ski-in/out, the reference); Hôtel Alpen Ruitor (4★, family-run); the Mottaret residences (for a family)
Eat L'Ekrin at Le Kaïla in Méribel Centre (Michelin star, a bus away); Côte Brune; Les Pierres Plates at the top of the Saulire (lunch)
Marc’s tip
Méribel's high, functional satellite at 1,750 m — ski-in/out from every door, the fastest link to Val Thorens, and the 3 Vallées' centre point in every direction. Méribel Centre is a bus for the evening; stay here for the skiing.
Méribel's high, functional satellite at 1,750 m — ski-in/out from every door, the fastest link to Val Thorens, and the 3 Vallées' centre point in every direction. Méribel Centre is a bus for the evening; stay here for the skiing.
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Val Thorens
High-altitude purpose-built · True ski-in/out / direct lift
Families 7Luxury and service 8Range of places to stay 8Village character 4Dining 7Après and nightlife 8For non-skiers 5
- 2,300 m; the last week of the season is skiable here.
- Ski-in/out everywhere.
- Purpose-built; the honest weakness.
Stay Altapura (5★, ski-in/out, the reference); Hôtel Koh-I Nor (5★, the highest hotel in Europe); Hôtel Fitz Roy (5★, Beaumier, the design one)
Eat Les Explorateurs at the Pashmina (Michelin star); Le Diamant Noir at Koh-I Nor (chef-led); Chalet de la Marine on the mountain (lunch)
Marc’s tip
The highest resort in Europe and the surest snow in the 3 Vallées — ski-in/out from every door, the whole Belleville valley below, and a night out if you want one. Purpose-built and it looks it; the mountain is why.
The highest resort in Europe and the surest snow in the 3 Vallées — ski-in/out from every door, the whole Belleville valley below, and a night out if you want one. Purpose-built and it looks it; the mountain is why.
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Les Menuires
Family/value purpose-built · True ski-in/out / direct lift
Families 8Luxury and service 4Range of places to stay 8Village character 3Dining 5Après and nightlife 6For non-skiers 4
- The same 600 km at Menuires prices.
- Reberty is ski-in/out.
- The honest weakness; stay at Reberty, not La Croisette.
Stay Chalet Hôtel Kaya (4★, Reberty, the best); Hôtel L'Ours Blanc (4★, Reberty, ski-in/out); the Reberty 2000 residences for a family
Eat La Bouitte at Saint-Martin-de-Belleville (Michelin-starred, four toques — a taxi down the valley); La Marmite de Géant in Reberty; Les Yourtes des Belleville
Marc’s tip
The 3 Vallées' value base — purpose-built and honest about it, but Reberty is the pretty end, ski-in/out, sunny and quiet, with Val Thorens and Méribel twenty minutes on the lifts. La Bouitte alone justifies the choice for anyone who eats.
The 3 Vallées' value base — purpose-built and honest about it, but Reberty is the pretty end, ski-in/out, sunny and quiet, with Val Thorens and Méribel twenty minutes on the lifts. La Bouitte alone justifies the choice for anyone who eats.
Saint-Martin-de-Belleville
Traditional village · Direct lift / short walk
Families 7Luxury and service 6Range of places to stay 7Village character 8Dining 7Après and nightlife 4For non-skiers 5
- La Bouitte.
- The prettiest village in the 3 Vallées.
- Quiet; the honest trade-off.
Stay La Bouitte's rooms (5★, René and Maxime Meilleur's house, the reason to come); Hôtel Saint-Martin (4★, family-run, in the village); La Bouitte's Alpage (for a group)
Eat La Bouitte (Michelin-starred, four Gault Millau toques — the Meilleur family; book the week you book the trip); La Ferme de la Choumette (the Savoyard evening); Le Corbeleys on the mountain
Marc’s tip
The 3 Vallées' secret — a real Savoyard village of stone and slate with a baroque church, one gondola into Les Menuires and the whole area beyond, and the best restaurant in the Alps in the middle of it. Quiet, pretty, and thirty minutes from Courchevel on skis.
The 3 Vallées' secret — a real Savoyard village of stone and slate with a baroque church, one gondola into Les Menuires and the whole area beyond, and the best restaurant in the Alps in the middle of it. Quiet, pretty, and thirty minutes from Courchevel on skis.
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Brides-les-Bains
Spa/value valley town · Gondola/cable car from base
Families 8Luxury and service 7Range of places to stay 8Village character 7Dining 6Après and nightlife 8For non-skiers 7
- The 3 Vallées at spa-town prices.
- The thermal baths and a real little town.
- No skiing to the door; the honest weakness.
Stay Grand Hôtel des Thermes (4★, the spa-town institution, the thermal baths next door); Hôtel Le Golf (4★, family-run); Mercure Brides-les-Bains (the value)
Eat The Grand Hôtel's dining room; La Fabrik (the evening); lunch is up the mountain — the Olympe gondola puts you in Méribel in twenty-five minutes
Marc’s tip
The cheapest door to the 3 Vallées — a Belle Époque spa town at 600 m with the Olympe gondola straight up to Méribel, thermal baths for the afternoon, and hotel prices a third of Courchevel's. The catch is the gondola ride each way and no skiing back to the door; for a week that's about the mountain and the budget, not the village.
The cheapest door to the 3 Vallées — a Belle Époque spa town at 600 m with the Olympe gondola straight up to Méribel, thermal baths for the afternoon, and hotel prices a third of Courchevel's. The catch is the gondola ride each way and no skiing back to the door; for a week that's about the mountain and the budget, not the village.
Orelle
Small valley base · Gondola/cable car from base
Families 8Luxury and service 7Range of places to stay 8Village character 7Dining 7Après and nightlife 7For non-skiers 5
- The cheapest way onto the 3 Vallées pass.
- The top of Val Thorens.
- No village; the honest weakness.
Stay The Hameau des Eaux d'Orelle residence (apartments at the gondola, the only real choice); nothing else — Orelle is a gondola station in the Maurienne valley
Eat The residence's bar; Le Cheval Blanc in Orelle village; lunch is up at Val Thorens
Marc’s tip
The back door to the 3 Vallées — a gondola from the Maurienne motorway straight up to Val Thorens, the cheapest 3 Vallées bed there is, and the 3,230 m Cime Caron at the top. A base for a keen skier on a budget with a car; there is no village.
The back door to the 3 Vallées — a gondola from the Maurienne motorway straight up to Val Thorens, the cheapest 3 Vallées bed there is, and the 3,230 m Cime Caron at the top. A base for a keen skier on a budget with a car; there is no village.
Getting there
Nearest main gateway in our data: Geneva (GVA), about 3 h door to door.
By road: Geneva 2 h 30, Lyon 2 h 30, Turin 3 h 30, Milan 4 h 30 and Zurich 4 h 45.
Passes
| Epic Pass | Limited · 7 days · Seven consecutive days |
2026/27 season; allocations change each autumn. See Epic in Europe and Ikon in Europe.
Is Les 3 Vallées right for you? SkiDomain weighs your dates, ability, group, pass and priorities across 69 ski areas and 178 villages, and tells you which ski area — and which village — fits, and why.
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Researched by SkiDomain, the ski destination matcher of Expeditioner Travel. Scores are our researched judgement on a 1–9 scale, reviewed by the owner before publication; hotel and restaurant picks are Marc’s. Expeditioner earns commission on bookings and no resort pays for placement.