Who looks after a two year old while the rest of the family skis? The nurseries and kindergartens of Courchevel, village by village: ages, hours and prices in 1850, 1650, 1550, La Tania and Le Praz.
Here is the question families actually ask before booking Courchevel, usually somewhere between choosing flights and choosing a chalet. Who looks after a two year old while the rest of the family skis? And can a four year old start lessons without a full day of tears?
The honest answer: Courchevel handles young children better than almost any resort in the Alps, but the kindergarten and nursery offer changes completely from one village to the next. A three hectare children's village in 1850, published nursery prices in 1550, a creche taking babies from six months in La Tania, and in Le Praz, almost nothing at all.
Here is the picture village by village, checked against the official ESF and town hall pages. For the day-to-day detail of how the ESF garderie itself runs, our Piou-Piou Garderie guide goes deeper. This article is about choosing the right village first.
The short version
| Village | Under 3 | Ages 3 to 5 | Good to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1850 | ESF nursery from 18 months | Village des Enfants club | Biggest setup, books out fastest |
| 1650 Moriond | Les Marmots day-care (from 6 months) | Club Piou Piou at Maison de Moriond | Piou Piou children must be potty trained |
| 1550 Village | Baby Club from 18 months, 9am to 5pm daily | Club Piou Piou, max 6 children per instructor | Clearest published prices |
| La Tania | Municipal creche from 6 months | Club Piou Piou, groups split 3s and 4-5s | Smallest village, creche places go fast |
| Le Praz | None on site | None on site | Gondola up to 1850, or drive to La Tania |
Kindergartens and nurseries, village by village
Five villages, five different answers. Here they are, from the top of the valley down.
Courchevel 1850: the Village des Enfants
The Village des Enfants is the flagship. It is a three hectare secured area in the heart of 1850, run by ESF Courchevel 1850, rebuilt around a full castle theme: ramparts, soldier armour and a resident dragon mascot called Drago, with meals served in a royal reception hall. It sounds like marketing. Watch children walk through the gates and it works.
Two age tracks matter here. The nursery takes children from 18 months to 3 years: a licensed garderie with early-years staff, a playful introduction to snow, and morning, afternoon or full-day formats, listed from 235 euros on the ESF site.
From 3 to 5, children join the Village des Enfants club itself, the first-skis programme, listed from 368 euros. Beginners spend the first days entirely inside the secured village, so no lift pass is needed at the start of the week. Depending on progress, instructors take them out onto the mountain towards the end of the week.
Sessions run Monday to Friday on non-holiday weeks and start Sunday during school holidays. Exact hours and the season's full price grid are on the ESF booking pages, and lunch supervision is charged separately.
One warning that applies double in 1850: Christmas, New Year and the February holidays sell out. Not "book soon" sell out. Actually full. If your dates are festive week, book the childcare before you book the restaurants.
Courchevel 1650 Moriond: Club Piou Piou and Les Marmots
Moriond is the sunniest village and a natural family base, and its ESF runs a proper Club Piou Piou for ages 3 to 5 from the Maison de Moriond, right in the centre.
Mornings run 9:15 to 11:45, afternoons 2:15 to 4:45 or 2:30 to 5:00, and you can combine both into a full day. Weeks are sold Sunday to Friday or Monday to Friday. As a guide from the current ESF price pages: five mornings from around 318 euros, five full days from around 429 euros, six full days up to around 523 euros depending on the week. At lunchtime the team takes over in a dedicated meal space, with catered meals as a booking option from 41 euros a day. Children finish the week with a Piou Piou medal, which in our experience gets displayed at home for years.
One rule to know before you book: children must be potty trained. The 1650 club does not take children in nappies.
For children under three, ESF 1650 does not run a nursery. The village answer is Les Marmots, the tourist day-care centre in Courchevel Moriond, which welcomes children from 6 months to 5 years. It is run through the town hall, and bookings go through the municipal site rather than ESF. Hours and winter prices are published there each season.
Courchevel 1550 Village: La Maison des Enfants
Here is the quiet surprise of this guide. Courchevel Village, the village most families overlook, has the clearest and most flexible childcare setup in the valley.
La Maison des Enfants sits at the foot of the slopes in the centre of 1550, at 215 rue des Rois. It is a 300 square metre space run by ESF Courchevel Village with qualified early-years professionals, and its Baby Club takes children from 18 months to 3 years, every day of the season, 9am to 5pm. You choose mornings (9 to 12), afternoons (2 to 5), or full days with or without lunch. There are two dedicated nap rooms, and the snow programme is exactly what you would hope for at this age: sledging, snowmen and treasure hunts rather than performance.
Prices are published openly, which is rare enough to note. For the festive period (21 December to 10 January), the current grid shows a single half-day session at 45 euros, five sessions at 205 euros, and a full day with lunch at 106 euros, or 489 euros for five days. Other weeks are cheaper. Check the current grid on esf-courchevel.com before you budget.
From age 3, children move to the 1550 Club Piou Piou, where ESF caps groups at six children per instructor, a lower ratio than you will find in most big resorts. Older children can combine ski lessons with supervised lunch and indoor activities at the Maison des Enfants, so a full childcare day is genuinely possible while both parents ski.
La Tania: the smallest village, babies from 6 months
La Tania is the family value play of the Courchevel valley, and its municipal creche, La Tanière des Croès, takes children from 6 months. For a baby under 18 months, this creche and Les Marmots in Moriond are the only collective options in the valley: the ESF nurseries all start at 18 months.
La Tanière des Croès sits in the La Grandzetta building and is run by the town hall, with a Famille Plus label. Winter opening dates, hours and prices are published by the mairie each season, and places are limited, so contact them well ahead. Tel +33 (0)4 79 41 25 14, resa.creche@mairie-courchevel.com.
For skiing, ESF La Tania runs Club Piou Piou with a detail parents will appreciate: separate groups for 3 year olds and for 4 to 5 year olds, so your three year old is not chasing five year olds all week. Mornings run 9:00 to 11:30 or 9:00 to 12:00, afternoons from 2:00, full days combine both, sold as 5 or 6 day weeks. Current prices range from a 63 euro trial half-day to roughly 485 to 530 euros for a full-day week, with supervised lunch packages at 142 to 152 euros. No lift pass is needed at the start of the week, and ESF La Tania offers 10 percent off on certain dates booked before 31 August 2026, one of the few genuine early-bird discounts in the valley.
Le Praz: plan around it, not in it
We will be straight about Le Praz, because we love it and it deserves honesty. It is the prettiest village in the valley and a smart base for a certain kind of family holiday. It has no kindergarten and no nursery of its own.
The workaround is geography. The Praz gondola takes you up to 1850, where the Village des Enfants handles everything from 18 months to 5 years. Families with a car also use La Tanière des Croès in La Tania, a few minutes away by road, especially for babies. For lessons rather than childcare, private instructors will happily meet you in Le Praz from age 3.
If daily drop-off convenience is the priority and your children are small, be honest with yourself before booking Le Praz. The morning logistics are the price of the postcard.
How to book, and when
Three rules cover almost everything.
Book absurdly early for peak weeks. Christmas, New Year and February half-term childcare fills months out, in every village. September is not too early for a February place. For festive week it is nearly too late.
Bring the paperwork. French collective childcare requires proof of up-to-date vaccinations, so pack your child's health record, the carnet de santé, or a recent medical certificate. ESF asks for it at nursery registration.
Match the village to the child, not the other way round. A baby under 18 months points you to La Tania or Moriond, a two year old with skiing parents to 1550 or 1850, and a four year old ready for medals will be happy at any Piou Piou club. For the wider choice, our family guide to Courchevel and ski school guide take the long view, and our family chalets page shows what is available for your dates.
Prices and hours quoted were checked on the official pages listed below in August 2026 and refer to the grids published at that date. Always confirm the current season's rates when booking.
Sources: esfcourchevel.com (Village des Enfants, ESF Courchevel 1850) · esf-courchevel.com and ski-school-courchevel.co.uk (La Maison des Enfants, ESF Courchevel Village 1550) · esfcourchevel1650.com and ski-school-courchevel1650.co.uk (Club Piou Piou, ESF Courchevel 1650) · esf-latania.com (Club Piou Piou La Tania) · mairie-courchevel.com (La Tanière des Croès, haltes-garderies) · courchevel.com (Les Marmots, day-care listing).
