Courchevel or Val Thorens?
Val Thorens takes 5 of 9, with 2 too close to call. That still does not settle it — only the categories you care about count.
France
Courchevel
Immaculate piste grooming and the best beginner terrain in the Alps, wrapped in Europe's most expensive lift-served real estate. The lower villages (1550, 1650) deliver most of the skiing at a fraction of 1850's price.
Worth knowing. 1850 is priced for people who do not ask what things cost.
Choose it if
A non-skiing partner
About £1,750 a week from London
France
Val Thorens
Europe's highest major resort at 2,300 m, which buys near-guaranteed snow from late November to early May. The trade-off is a purpose-built village with little charm and a treeless bowl that turns miserable in a whiteout.
Worth knowing. Purpose-built and treeless — a whiteout leaves you nothing to see by.
Choose it if
Budget and après
About £1,305 a week from London
Side by side
| Courchevel | Val Thorens | |
|---|---|---|
| Snow reliability | 59/100 | 96/100 |
| Size of the ski area | 600 km linked | 600 km linked |
| Top lift | 2738 m | 3230 m |
| Cost before travel | €1825 | €1290 |
| Families with young kids | 9/10 | 7/10 |
| Snowboarders | 6/10 | 8/10 |
| A non-skiing partner | 7/10 | 4/10 |
| Budget and après | 2/10 | 6/10 |
| Off-piste | 6/10 | 7/10 |
Bold marks the winner. Rows where neither is bold are close enough that the difference would not change a decision. Cost excludes travel, which depends on where you leave from.
Piste kilometres, lift counts and prices are indicative and compiled from public sources — they have not yet been checked against the resort's own figures for this season. Costs are planning estimates, not quotes. Spotted one that is wrong? Tell us.