Courchevel's winter season runs from 4 December 2026 to 18 April 2027. Which part of it suits you depends on what you want: empty slopes, the holiday atmosphere, long days for photos, or a calm week. Below is the season broken into periods, with the dates that actually shape crowds and light.
Season dates for 2026-27
Courchevel 1850 opens first, on Friday 4 December 2026. Courchevel Village, Moriond and La Tania start the next day, 5 December, which is also the day the whole Les 3 Vallées network links up, including Méribel and Les Menuires. The season ends on 18 April 2027, but Moriond and La Tania stop a week earlier, on 11 April.
If your dates fall outside that window, the only option in the same ski area is Val Thorens, open from 21 November 2026 to 2 May 2027. It sits at the far end of Les 3 Vallées, so from Courchevel it is a long day out, not a base.
Early December: quiet and short days
The first two weeks are the quietest of the season. The French school holidays have not started, and many people wait to see how much snow has fallen. In the first days some lifts may not be running yet, so check the live lift map on courchevel.com before you go up.
The trade-off is daylight. Around the winter solstice the sun rises at about 8:08 and sets at about 16:54 by the official tables for Courchevel. In the mountains the sun goes behind the ridges earlier than that, so the warm light ends well before five. Plan outdoor photos for late morning and early afternoon, and use the last hour for the villages, when the lights of the shops and chalets come on.
Christmas and New Year: the busiest fortnight
The French Christmas school holidays run from Saturday 19 December 2026 to Monday 4 January 2027, the same dates for the whole country. This is when Courchevel 1850 is at its fullest. Book restaurants for the holiday evenings well in advance, and expect the Croisette, the shopping area in the centre of 1850, to be crowded after the lifts close.
If you want the decorations in your photos without the crowds, go out early. At 9 in the morning the streets of 1850 are almost empty and the low sun lights the chalet roofs. The first days after 4 January also work: decorations are often still up and most of the holiday crowd has gone home.
January: space on the slopes
From the second week of January to the start of February there are no French school holidays at all. This is the month for space on the slopes and an easier time booking accommodation and restaurants. By mid-January the sun rises at about 8:07 and sets at about 17:17, so days are getting longer but are still short.
Snow cover varies from year to year, so look at the official webcams on courchevel.com a few days before you leave. January light stays low all day, which gives long shadows on the snow and texture in the mountains. Fresh snow followed by a blue sky the next morning is the combination to wait for.
February: the French school holidays
The French winter holidays are split into three zones, and together they cover almost five weeks. Zone C, which includes Paris, is off from 6 to 22 February 2027. Zone A is off from 13 February to 1 March, and zone B from 20 February to 8 March. So from 6 February to the first week of March there are always French families on holiday, and the stretch where two zones overlap, from 13 February to 1 March, is the busiest of the winter after Christmas.
The upside is longer days: by mid-February sunset is around 18:01. If February is your only option, Moriond and Village are calmer in the evening than 1850, and an early start on the lifts helps.
March: the best compromise
From about 8 March, when the last zone goes back to school, until early April, Courchevel is quieter again and the days are long. Around 15 March the sun rises at about 6:44 and sets at about 18:40. On 28 March 2027 France moves to summer time, so from that weekend sunset by the clock comes after 19:30.
For photos, March is the most forgiving month. You have light from early morning into the evening, the sun is higher, so faces are not lost in deep shadow, and the snow at altitude is usually still good. If you want one week that balances snow, space and light, mid-March is a reasonable bet.
April: spring snow and the end of the season
The spring school holidays start on 3 April 2027 for zone C, 10 April for zone A and 17 April for zone B, so April gets busier again, mostly with families. Moriond and La Tania close on 11 April, the rest of Courchevel on 18 April.
By 10 April the sun sets at about 20:13. Spring snow is usually firm in the morning and soft after lunch, so ski early and keep the afternoon for terraces and walks. Le Praz is the lowest village, at 1,300 metres, so in April a base higher up keeps you closer to the better snow.
Which village to base yourself in
Courchevel is five villages on one mountainside, linked by lifts and free shuttles, so you can sleep in one and spend your evenings in another. Courchevel 1850 is the historic centre and the busiest, with the Croisette, the big hotels and most of the nightlife. Moriond, which used to be called 1650, sits on a wide sunny shelf and has its own bars and restaurants with a calmer evening. Courchevel Village, at 1,550 metres and formerly called 1550, is the quietest and popular with families. Le Praz, at 1,300 metres, is the old village built around a lake, with a bell tower and narrow streets.
For photos, staying in 1850 means you can be out on empty streets at sunrise without taking a shuttle. Le Praz gives you a traditional village and a lake, which look very different from the rest of the resort.
Getting there from Paris
The nearest station is Moûtiers (Moûtiers-Salins-Brides-les-Bains). TGV trains run from Paris Gare de Lyon, and the trip takes roughly four and a half to five hours. From Moûtiers the road up takes about 30 minutes by taxi or by Altibus coach. Altibus puts its winter 2026-27 tickets on sale from mid-October 2026, so book early if you travel on a holiday Saturday.
By plane, the closest large airports are Geneva and Lyon-Saint-Exupéry, each about two hours by road, with Chambéry about 1 hour 15 minutes away. Altibus also runs transfers from all three.
Planning photos around the calendar
December and January give low light all day but short days. Christmas week gives you decorations and the busiest streets. February means long days and the most people. March gives the most usable light per day with fewer people. April brings spring snow, late sunsets and terraces.
Whatever the month, leave a free morning for the day after a snowfall, and check the forecast and webcams the evening before. Phone and camera batteries drain fast in the cold, so carry a spare in an inside pocket.
Ilia Pisarenko is a photographer based in Paris.