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19-492: Courchevel ( French pronunciation: [kuʁʃəvɛl] ) is a French Alps ski resort located in the Tarentaise Valley . It is a part of Les Trois Vallées , the largest linked ski areas in the world. Courchevel also refers to the towns of Courchevel 1300 (Le Praz), Courchevel 1550, Courchevel 1650 (Moriond), and Courchevel 1850, which are named for their altitudes in metres. The resort centre of Courchevel

38-779: A 6th star ranking for hotels, named "palaces". Eight hotels in France have received this rating, of which two are in Courchevel's Jardin Alpin area. The resort has seven restaurants with Michelin stars , of which four have two stars, including Le Chabichou . It also hosts a variety of luxury shops including Louis Vuitton , Hermès , Valentino , Loro Piana , Prada , Cartier , Fendi , Dior and Chanel . The majority of Courchevel's visitors are Gulf Arabs and Russian all of whom are considered luxury clientele. Many Russians visit during New Year and Russian Orthodox Christmas on 7 January. As

57-719: A rapid and coordinated response from 130 firefighters played a pivotal role in mitigating the emergency, underscoring their crucial efforts in containing the fire's impact on the community. In May 2018, Courchevel was named a joint host of the 2023 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships with Méribel. It was the first time since 2009 that France had hosted the FIS World Championships, when they took place in Val d'Isère . Races in Courchevel will finish in Courchevel Le Praz. A new super-leisure centre called L'Alpinium

76-564: A result, the first two weeks of January are high season weeks in Courchevel. The resort is also very popular with Arabs, especially those from the Middle East. As a result of this popularity the resort's name is now associated with the super-rich in Russia and Middle East. Courchevel has one of the largest bases for ski instructors and other seasonal workers due to the size of the three valleys area. Courchevel's couloirs are considered some of

95-842: Is a ski region in the Tarentaise Valley in the Savoie department of Southeastern France , to the south of the town of Moûtiers , partly in Vanoise National Park . Since 1971, it has been possible to ski the interlinked valleys using a single ski pass. Thus, Les Trois Vallées is the largest connected ski area in the world which is linked solely by ski lifts and slopes. It claims to have about 600 km (370 mi) of ski slopes, resulting in 18.5 km² of groomed runs, while an independent expert measured about 493 km. In addition, there are 120 km for cross-country skiing. Les Trois Vallées has 183 ski lifts, which can transport 260,000 skiers per hour. Other equipment owned by

114-408: Is at 1,747 metres (5,732 ft). Sports events from the 1992 Winter Olympics and the 2023 World Ski Championships took place in Courchevel. The ski resort is considered exclusive, attracting wealthy clientele including royal families. It hosts one of the largest concentrations of 5-star ranking luxury hotels . Courchevel used to be part of the commune of Saint-Bon-Tarentaise but in 2017 it

133-534: Is no go-around procedure, as most of the world's airports have; there is merely a very steep hill which has seen a few accidents since the airport first opened. Larger propeller aircraft such as the Twin Otter and Dash 7 (carrying up to 50 people) have been regular users of the airport over the years, but have since been phased out of use and smaller Cessnas and helicopters are now the main users. The History Channel program Most Extreme Airports , ranks it as

152-566: Is under construction in Le Praz and will improve connections to Courchevel 1850 and provide more parking. Courchevel is the most eastern resort of the Three Valleys , the biggest connected ski area in the world. It consists of four satellite villages: Courchevel Le Praz, Courchevel 1550, Courchevel 1650 and Courchevel 1850. Its highest resort, Courchevel 1850, is considered exclusive, attracting wealthy clientele including royal families. In

171-626: The Maurienne valley . It is adjacent to Val Thorens, but can also be accessed using a long gondola lift from Orelle . The following ski resorts are in Les Trois Vallées: Within the Tarentaise Valley , there are various other resorts such as Paradiski ( Les Arcs , La Plagne ) and Espace Killy ( Val d'Isère and Tignes ). A weekly lift ticket in Les Trois Vallées used to allow one to ski one day in each of

190-427: The 2011–2012 season, Courchevel rebranded, changing the names of each of the four villages in a move away from the association with altitude. Courchevel 1850 is now known simply as Courchevel, Courchevel 1650 was renamed Courchevel Moriond; Courchevel 1550 is now called Courchevel Village and Courchevel 1330 was renamed Courchevel Le Praz. Courchevel has 24 luxury hotels with a 5-star ranking. In 2011 France introduced

209-764: The 7th most dangerous airport in the world. 45°24′54″N 6°38′02″E  /  45.41500°N 6.63389°E  / 45.41500; 6.63389 French Alps At 4,808 metres (15,774 ft), Mont Blanc , on the France–Italy border , is the highest mountain in the Alps, and the highest Western European mountain . Notable towns in the French Alps include Grenoble , Chamonix , Annecy , Chambéry , Évian-les-Bains and Albertville . The largest connected ski areas are: The other large ski areas are: A range of winter and summer activities are available in

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228-441: The French Alps. In the winter, these include skiing and snowboarding as well as alternatives such as snowshoeing, sledging. There is a range of other activities that happen such as gliding which most happens during the summer months. Summer activities include hiking, mountaineering, biking and rock climbing. Les Trois Vall%C3%A9es Les Trois Vallées ( French pronunciation: [le tʁwɑ vale] ; "The Three Valleys")

247-482: The biggest concentration of world-class ski resorts in the world. The most widely-known neighbour systems are Paradiski ( Les Arcs , La Plagne ) and Espace Killy ( Val d'Isère and Tignes ). A weekly lift ticket in Courchevel/Les Trois Vallées gives one a choice to ski one day in each of the other two systems mentioned. There were once plans to interlink all systems and resorts to create

266-520: The largest ski area in the world (by far); however, that vision ended with the creation of the Vanoise National Park . The Courchevel valley also includes the town of La Tania , built as competitors' accommodation for the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville . Le Praz hosted the Olympic ski jumping and Nordic combined competitions for those games that took place at Tremplin du Praz . There

285-506: The most difficult black runs in the world. Courchevel's sister city is Park City, Utah in the United States, and it has a red-graded ski piste named "Park City". Courchevel's airport has a very short and steeply sloped runway, with a length of 525 metres (1,722 ft) and a gradient of 18.5%. The airport has a dangerous approach through deep valleys, which can only be performed by specially certified pilots. On landing there

304-413: The operating companies include 2,300 snow cannons and 73 snow grooming machines operated by 160 snow groomers who work in shifts during the night. Other employees in the area include 424 ski patrollers and 3,000 ski instructors. As implied by its name, the area originally consisted of three valleys: Saint-Bon , Allues , and Belleville . The skiing area has since been extended into a 'fourth' valley,

323-424: Was a ski jump in Courchevel 1850 on the snowfront, which was removed recently due to safety precautions. During the pre-dawn hours on January 20, 2019, an inferno ignited within a structure located in the hamlet of Courchevel 1850, designated for seasonal resort workers. This unfortunate event claimed the lives of two individuals and left a minimum of 22 others with injuries. As documented by a local French newspaper,

342-554: Was merged with La Perrière into the new commune of Courchevel . In spite of the name, the commune's administrative offices are not located in Courchevel, but still in the nearby village of Saint-Bon-Tarentaise. Courchevel is in the Tarentaise Valley , Savoie département , Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region . Courchevel is part of the Trois Vallées, which comprises the resorts of Courchevel, La Tania, Méribel, Les Menuires-Saint Martin, Val Thorens and Orelle. The original resort

361-472: Was planned during World War II with a study in 1942 by the Vichy regime and in a doctorate by the town planner Laurent Chappis . Chappis was a natural choice to direct the development of the resort in the immediate post-war years. Courchevel 1850 was significant as it was the first resort in France to be constructed from scratch, rather than based around an existing village. Within the Tarentaise Valley lies

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