Courchevel ski season 2026-2027: the dates, and the week to take

Season Opening and Closing Dates

Courchevel opens on December 4, 2026 and closes on April 18, 2027. The full Three Valleys link runs from December 5 to April 18. These are the official dates, and they can move a little with the snow.

The dates are the easy part. The week you pick changes what is open, what you pay for the same place, and how fresh the team in your chalet is. I grew up in Courchevel, and this is what I tell people when they ask me.

Which week to take if your dates are free

Sonny: When someone asks me which week to take and he has no fixed dates, I say the third week of January. The prices go down. It is the same place, the same service, and the snow is really good.

I can show you the price part. On our own catalogue, read on 27 September 2026 and comparing only the same properties from one week to the other, New Year week costs 79% more than a normal January week. Christmas is 43% more. The first week of January is still 14% above. From the second Saturday of January the prices are back to the normal level, and they stay there until the February holidays, which go up again by 38% in the week of 6 February and then 75% in the week of 13 February.

What it means for the place you pick. In the third week of January the money you would spend on New Year gets you the same chalet for much less, or a bigger one for the same budget. If you wanted a chalet with a chef and staff and the festive weeks were too expensive, this is the week to look at it again.

• What each week of the season costs, week by week
• What is still free, week by week
• Chalets with a chef and staff

The first week of the season: the lifts open, the resort does not

I will be honest with you about the opening week.

Sonny: In the first week the big palace hotels are generally not open. Not all the restaurants are open. The shops are not open either. You need to wait one week or two before everything starts.

I had a family once who took the first week of the season. They arrived and saw that almost nothing was open. There were two restaurants open on the slopes, and no shopping. They were a little disappointed about that. But they still had a really good week in the chalet. You are close to your family, and you spend time with the people you love.

The good part is the price. On our catalogue, read on 27 September 2026, the opening week is 20% below a normal January week on the same properties, and the week before Christmas is 12% below.

What it means for the place you pick. That week, the chalet is the holiday. Choose it for the time you will spend inside, not for what is around it. If the restaurants and the shops are a big part of your trip, do not take the first week. Come one or two weeks later.

• What is free in the opening week, and at what price

April: good in the morning, long lunch after

Sonny: For me April is one of the most interesting times of the season. The days are longer, the clocks have changed, and it is warm.

I will be honest with you about the snow. It is generally really good in the morning, and horrible in the afternoon. But like this you have long lunches on the terraces in the sun, and you enjoy the weather.

So you ski early, and you stop early. If you want to ski hard from nine to five, April is not your week.

The price goes the same way as in December. On our catalogue, read on 27 September 2026, the first week of April is 18% below a normal January week on the same properties, and the closing week 22% below.

What it means for the place you pick. One thing comes from the official dates, not from me: Moriond and La Tania close on April 11, and Courchevel closes on April 18. For the last week of the season, stay in a village where the lifts still run.

• What is free in April, and at what price
• Properties in Courchevel 1850

Snow Conditions Throughout the Season

Courchevel benefits from its position in the heart of the Alps and significant investment in snowmaking. The resort can cover 450 hectares of pistes with artificial snow when needed, ensuring reliable skiing even in variable winters.

The resort itself changes a little every winter too. For this season's openings, rebrands and the World Cup night slalom on 22 December, see what's new in Courchevel for 2026-27.

Start of the season or end of the season

Sonny: The start and the end of the season, it is the same thing. The prices go down. The quality of service is the same, at a lower price.

If you have to choose between the two, my advice is the start of the season.

Sonny: The chalet teams are not tired. It is the start of the season, and everybody is at 100%. At the end of the season the teams have worked the whole winter, and you start to feel it.

What it means for the place you pick. If you take a chalet with staff, this matters more than the snow report. For the same price, take December and not April. If you take a place without staff, it changes nothing, and then April gives you the longer days.

• Chalets with a chef and staff
• The whole winter, village by village
• The two weeks that go first: Christmas and New Year