Luxurious Chalet in Courchevel 1850N°001
Courchevel, France
Private poolSki-in/ski-outSpa
From $26,829 per night
Photo by Velion IcarusFrance's alpine heartland, from Courchevel's pistes to Annecy's lake
Rhône-Alpes is the great sweep of southeastern France that holds Mont Blanc, the world's largest linked ski areas and the gastronomic capital of Lyon. Its glamour resorts, Courchevel and Megève above all, are where the luxury chalet was perfected: ski-in doorways, spa floors, private chefs and concierge service against some of the most celebrated mountain scenery in Europe.
- Courchevel, crown of Les Trois Vallées, the largest linked ski area in the world
- Megève's cobbled village charm, born as a resort in the 1920s and still among the most elegant in the Alps
- Chamonix and the Mont Blanc massif, with the Aiguille du Midi cable car at 3,842 metres
- Lake Annecy's turquoise water, lakefront cycling and old-town canals
- Ski-in chalets with pools, spas and hammams, staffed and concierge-managed
Known forCourchevel and Les Trois Vallées, Megève's village elegance, Mont Blanc and Chamonix, Lake Annecy, Lyon's gastronomy
Best time to visitDecember to April for skiing; June to September for lakes, hiking and cycling the great cols
Nearest airportGeneva (GVA) for the northern Alps, Lyon (LYS) for the Tarentaise, Chambéry (CMF) in winter
Ideal forSkiers and snowboarders, multi-generational family gatherings and summer lake-and-mountain holidays
Premium Alpine Chalet With Wellness & GamesN°002
Courchevel, France
Spa
From $23,994 per night
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Courchevel, France
Private poolSpa
From $20,768 per night
Elegant Mountain Escape With Indoor PoolN°004
Courchevel, France
Private poolSpa
From $16,994 per night
Sophisticated Chalet With Ski Slope AccessN°005
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Private poolHot tub
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Elegant Alpine Retreat With Private PoolN°006
Courchevel, France
Private pool
From $14,727 per night
396homes available
1–9bedrooms
up to 18guests
113with a pool
Rhône-Alpes in pictures
Where to stay in Rhône-Alpes
Events not to miss in Rhône-Alpes
- Early December
Critérium de la Première Neige, Val d'Isère
The Alpine Ski World Cup's traditional early-season French stop brings the world's fastest racers to the Tarentaise. A high-energy way to open the winter if you are in the valley for the first snows.
- Mid-July
Jumping International de Megève
Megève hosts international showjumping on grass at the foot of Mont Blanc, with an elegant village-fete atmosphere. One of the smartest weeks of the alpine summer.
- Late July
Cosmojazz Festival, Chamonix
Free jazz concerts staged at altitude, on mountain lakes and terraces around Chamonix, with evening sets in town. Music and Mont Blanc scenery in one unforgettable programme.
- Early December
Fête des Lumières, Lyon
Lyon's historic festival of light transforms the city with large-scale illuminations over several evenings around 8 December. Worth pairing with a gastronomic stopover en route to the slopes.
Rhône-Alpes through the seasons
- Winter (December – April)
The world's largest linked ski areas
Courchevel's Trois Vallées, Megève's tree-lined pistes and Chamonix's legendary steeps, with Michelin-starred lunches and chalet spas between runs.
- Spring (May – June)
Snowmelt lakes and quiet villages
Waterfalls thunder, valley trails open and Annecy's lakefront comes alive before the crowds. A serene window for touring the region by car.
- Summer (July – August)
Lake swimming, cols and mountain festivals
Warm water at Annecy, balcony hikes facing Mont Blanc, the great Tour de France climbs and festivals from Megève's showjumping to Chamonix's Cosmojazz.
- Autumn (September – November)
Golden larches and Lyon's table
Clear, quiet weeks for hiking and cycling as the forests turn, then the season closes with Lyon's Fête des Lumières and the first snows on the summits.
The Area and Where to Stay
The region's chalet royalty clusters in two valleys. In the Tarentaise, Courchevel rises through its villages to Courchevel 1850, the most exclusive address in French skiing, with direct access to the 600 kilometres of Les Trois Vallées; neighbouring Méribel and Val Thorens share the same lift map. To the north, Megève spreads around a car-free medieval core beneath Mont Blanc, a resort shaped by discreet elegance since the 1920s, with Saint-Gervais and Combloux alongside. Chamonix suits alpinists and freeriders; Annecy, with its lake and canalled old town, makes a gentler summer base. Chalets here set the global standard: boot rooms and ski-in access, pools, hammams and cinema rooms, with in-chalet chefs and drivers. Our concierge coordinates staff, passes, instructors and tables at altitude before you arrive.
Things to Do
In winter the skiing is simply the best-connected on earth: Les Trois Vallées from Courchevel, the Evasion Mont-Blanc slopes around Megève, and expert terrain at Chamonix beneath the Aiguille du Midi. Off the snow there are Michelin-starred mountain lunches, dog-sledding, heliskiing across the border, ice climbing and spa afternoons. Summer transforms the region: hike balcony trails facing Mont Blanc, ride the Aiguille du Midi cable car to 3,842 metres, cycle the legendary cols of the Tour de France, and swim, sail or paddleboard on Lake Annecy. Golf courses at Megève and Courchevel open with the snowmelt, and paragliding over Annecy or Chamonix is a rite of passage. Lyon, the region's capital, rewards a cultural and gastronomic detour on the way in or out.
Food and Local Flavour
Rhône-Alpes eats magnificently at every altitude. Savoie's chalets serve fondue, raclette and tartiflette built on Beaufort, Reblochon and Abondance cheeses, while Courchevel and Megève concentrate some of the highest densities of Michelin stars in the mountains. Below, Lyon's bouchons and grand tables have made the city a byword for French gastronomy, and the vineyards of the northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie and Hermitage among them, are within a morning's drive, as are Savoie's own crisp alpine whites. Markets in Megève, Bourg-Saint-Maurice and Annecy provision a chalet beautifully. Most guests settle into a rhythm of long mountain lunches and private-chef dinners at home, with the concierge securing the hard-to-book tables on and off the slopes.
When to Visit
The ski season runs December to April, with high-altitude links keeping Courchevel and Les Trois Vallées reliable throughout. Christmas, New Year and February half-terms are the social peaks and book earliest; January is cold, quiet and superb value for the terrain; March gives long, sunny days on spring snow. Summer, from mid-June to mid-September, is the Alps at their gentlest: warm lake water at Annecy, high trails clear of snow, and villages in full festival mode, while chalet rates sit well below winter's. Autumn brings golden larches and empty roads for cyclists before the first snows return, typically dusting the summits from October.
Getting There
Geneva (GVA) is the workhorse gateway for the northern French Alps, roughly an hour from Megève and Chamonix and two and a half to Courchevel. Lyon Saint-Exupéry (LYS) serves the Tarentaise resorts in similar time, and Chambéry (CMF) operates winter ski flights closer still. Rail is excellent: TGV services reach Annecy and the Tarentaise valley stations, with Moûtiers the stop for Courchevel. Private transfers, helicopter connections into the altiports at Courchevel and Megève, and in-resort drivers can all be arranged by our concierge, and a car is only really needed if you plan to tour beyond your resort.