It’s been a busy year already in the 3 Valleys with lots of upgrades and new features in many of the resorts across this mega ski area. With Courchevel and Meribel hosting the 2023 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships there has been heavy investment into the ski area and a whole range of exciting new developments.
Les 3 Vallées make up the largest ski area in the world with 600km of piste across the 8 resorts. These include: Courchevel, La Tania, Meribel, Brides les Bains, Les Menuires, Saint Martin de Belleville, Val Thorens and Orelle. Here's what's new for winter 2019/20...
Opening dates for 2019/20
Courchevel: 07/12/2019 – 26/04/2020
Meribel: 07/12/2019 – 26/04/2020
Val Thorens: 23/11/2019 – 03/05/2020
New self-driving electric shuttle bus
New innovation in Val Thorens
Val Thorens will be the first ski resort in the world to introduce a self-driving electric shuttle bus. The driverless shuttle holds 15 passengers and will operate around the car-free village. It’s free and hop-on hop-off. The amazing vehicle is packed full of cutting edge multi sensor technology, cameras and GPS and can operate at up to 25 kmph for 9 hours on a single charge. The shuttle bus will begin its service in December 2019.
New base station in Courchevel Le Praz
The new €27 million multi-service building, named ‘L’Alpinium,’ opens this season and operates as the new base station for the new Le Praz cable car and features an indoor car park, a welcome area, lift pass ticket office, ski lockers, and a play area for children.
New spas in Brides-Les-Bains & St Martin De Belleville
The Grand Thermal Spa in Brides-Les-Bains has undergone a huge €15 million refurbishment with new luxury treatment and water pool areas. This is now one of the biggest spa centres in France! A new outdoor spa, Lys Spa, is located in the heart of the village at Place du Biolley in St Martin De Belleville and features 3 hot tubs, sauna, a wellness area, herbal tea room and changing facilities. Tickets start from €5.
Grand Thermal Spa
New Igloo village in Val Thorens
We are super excited for this new addition to Val Thorens! This season a new Igloo village will open close to the resort and will feature an Ice Bar, a restaurant serving mountain favourites and ‘cool’ bedrooms carved from ice.
New ski lifts
The Saint Martin 1 gondola has been upgraded to increase capacity by 30%, transporting up to 2400 people per hour. A further €15 million has been invested in Le Praz Gondola, linking Le Praz to Courchevel 1850. Journey time has decreased to just six minutes and now seats 10 people – up from 4.
New ski runs
2 new red runs will open in the Roc de Fer area of Meribel. This area has mostly been blue runs in the past and now experienced skiers can enjoy the new Gypaete and Daguet pistes.
The Creux Noirs area in Courchevel has been redesigned for this season, replacing the old chairlift with a new 350m long drag lift for quicker access to the top of this new freeride area. The red and black slopes won’t be groomed this season so skiers and snowboarders can enjoy the fresh snow on a powder day.
A new funslope opens in Orelle this winter. The new skicross circuit is accessible from the Peyron chairlift.
New Igloo Village
New ski guiding in Brides-Les-Bains
Brides-Les-Bains have teamed up with ESF Meribel to offer guided tours of the whole ski area every Sunday to help guests get their bearings and show off hidden gems. Book your spot at the Brides-Les-Bains tourist office on Saturday before 5.30pm. Tickets are €25 pp.
New food and drink spots
Jack’s bar returns to Meribel this season in a new location near the Parc Olympique. Val Thorens welcomes ‘Red Square,’ a 95% organic delicatessen and wine cellar. Packed lunches and sushi will be available to order. A pancake house ‘Galerie Peclet’s’ and bar/streetwear ‘Wild & Savage’ also opens in Val Thorens this winter.
New chalets in Meribel
We have 2 new chalets for our Meribel programme this season: Chalet Simone is in a fantastic location in Meribel Mottaret just 250m from the main lifts and Chalet La Fugue is a beautiful wooden chalet right in the centre of Meribel, close to the tourist office.
View ski deals to 3 Valleys