Courchevel or St. Moritz for a Luxury Ski Holiday (2026–27)
Two of the Alps' most glamorous resorts, and two very different holidays: one is a vast linked ski area with villages built for skiing in and out, the other a historic town in the Engadine with a winter of events on a frozen lake.
- Choose Courchevel for the skiing itself: it is part of Les 3 Vallées, 600 km of linked pistes, with 150 km of marked slopes of its own.
- Choose St. Moritz for the place: the Engadine town where winter tourism began in 1864, host of two Winter Olympics, with races and polo on its frozen lake.
- St. Moritz's Corviglia opens on 28 November 2026 and Courchevel on 4 December; both run to April 2027.
- Courchevel has an altiport at 2,006 m; St. Moritz has Engadin Airport, Europe's highest-altitude airport, and a three-hour train from Zurich.
- In Switzerland a catered luxury chalet starts from around US$2,000 per night; the finest in both resorts book up to a year ahead.
The short answer
Choose Courchevel if the skiing is the point: it sits in Les 3 Vallées, which describes itself as the world's largest ski area, with 600 km of linked pistes, and its villages are built for skiing in and out. Choose St. Moritz if the place is the point: a historic town in the Engadine, where, by its own account, winter tourism was founded in 1864, with a calendar of races, polo and the Cresta Run that no ski area can match. Both are first-rate for luxury; they suit different travellers.
The skiing
Courchevel has 150 km of marked slopes of its own and connects to the rest of Les 3 Vallées, 600 km of pistes across seven resorts, between 1,100 and 3,230 metres. Its villages step up the mountain: Le Praz at 1,300 metres, La Tania at 1,400, Courchevel Village at 1,550, Moriond (long known as Courchevel 1650) and Courchevel 1850.
St. Moritz skis across several separate mountains rather than one linked area. Corviglia, above the town, has 155 km of slopes and 24 lifts, topped by Piz Nair at 3,057 metres; Corvatsch has 120 km of slopes, a top station at 3,303 metres and what St. Moritz calls the longest illuminated slope in Switzerland, at 4.2 km; and Diavolezza has a glacier run of around 10 km, described as the longest in Switzerland. Between them, they suit a skier who enjoys a different mountain each day.
When each opens in 2026–27
- St. Moritz: Corviglia from 28 November 2026 to 4 April 2027, with the Piz Nair section from 19 December; Corvatsch from 21 November to 25 April; Diavolezza from 19 December to 2 May.
- Courchevel: 4 December 2026 to 18 April 2027, with Courchevel Village, Moriond and La Tania from 5 December, and the full Les 3 Vallées linked area from 5 December.
Hanukkah 2026, from sundown on 4 December to 12 December, falls on Courchevel's opening week, when St. Moritz has been open for a week. The most reliable snow in the Alps is in January and February; every resort's dates are in the 2026–27 ski season guide.
Getting there
Courchevel is about two hours by road from Geneva (179 km) or Lyon (176 km), and 1 hour 15 minutes from Chambéry; its altiport, at 2,006 metres, takes light aircraft from Geneva in about 35 minutes. St. Moritz is three hours from Zurich by train or by road, and Engadin Airport at Samedan is, by its own account, Europe's highest-altitude airport, at 1,707 metres. The Glacier Express links St. Moritz with Zermatt in about eight hours, and the Bernina Express runs south to Tirano in Italy.
For the non-skier
Courchevel has more than 50 km of groomed Nordic trails, an aquatic centre, ice skating, dog sledding and scenic flights. St. Moritz has more: around 230 km of cross-country trails in the Engadine, and a winter of events on and around the frozen lake. In 2027 that means the Snow Polo World Cup from 22 to 24 January and White Turf horse racing, held since 1907, on 7, 14 and 21 February. St. Moritz hosted the Winter Olympics in 1928 and 1948, and the Cresta Run, first built in 1884, still runs from just before Christmas to early March.
How we plan it
We start from how you ski and how you spend the evening. For Courchevel that usually means choosing the village first; for St. Moritz, choosing the weeks around the events. In Switzerland, a catered luxury chalet starts from around US$2,000 per night, rising sharply for the finest chalets in peak weeks, and in both resorts the best chalets book up to a year ahead. See also our Switzerland ski guide, St. Moritz, The Grand Winter, France and where to spend New Year. To begin, speak with an advisor.
Questions, answered.
Courchevel if the skiing is the priority: it is part of Les 3 Vallées, with 600 km of linked pistes, and its villages are built for skiing in and out. St. Moritz if the place is the priority: a historic Engadine town where winter tourism began in 1864, with polo, horse racing and the Cresta Run on and around its frozen lake. Both are excellent; they suit different travellers.
St. Moritz's Corviglia opens on 28 November 2026 and runs to 4 April 2027, with Corvatsch from 21 November to 25 April and Diavolezza from 19 December to 2 May. Courchevel opens on 4 December 2026 and runs to 18 April 2027, with the full Les 3 Vallées linked area from 5 December. January and February bring the most reliable snow in the Alps.
Courchevel, in one linked area: 150 km of its own marked slopes, connected to the 600 km of Les 3 Vallées. St. Moritz skis across separate mountains: Corviglia with 155 km of slopes, Corvatsch with 120 km and Diavolezza, whose glacier run of around 10 km is described as the longest in Switzerland. Courchevel suits mileage; St. Moritz suits a different mountain each day.
Courchevel is about two hours by road from Geneva or Lyon and 1 hour 15 minutes from Chambéry, and its altiport, at 2,006 metres, receives light aircraft from Geneva in about 35 minutes. St. Moritz is three hours from Zurich by train or road, and Engadin Airport at Samedan, at 1,707 metres, is described as Europe's highest-altitude airport. We arrange the private transfer either way.
St. Moritz. Beyond around 230 km of cross-country trails, its winter is built around events: the Snow Polo World Cup from 22 to 24 January 2027 and White Turf horse racing on the frozen lake on 7, 14 and 21 February, plus the Cresta Run. Courchevel offers more than 50 km of Nordic trails, an aquatic centre, ice skating, dog sledding and scenic flights, but its life revolves around the pistes.
The Snow Polo World Cup from 22 to 24 January 2027, described as the world's only high-goal polo tournament on snow, and White Turf international horse racing on the frozen lake, held since 1907, on 7, 14 and 21 February 2027. The Cresta Run operates from just before Christmas until early March. St. Moritz hosted the Winter Olympics in 1928 and 1948.
In Switzerland, a catered luxury chalet starts from around US$2,000 per night, rising sharply for the finest chalets in peak weeks such as Christmas, New Year and February. Courchevel chalets are quoted chalet by chalet and week by week, so your advisor gives the figure once the dates and the party are known. In both resorts the finest chalets book up to a year ahead.
Switzerland
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