Three Valleys High: Where to Buy in the World’s Biggest Ski Resort

With 600km of well-groomed slopes, countless off-piste routes and an impressive selection of trophy chalets, the Three Valleys region of France is the holy grail for any skier. The world’s largest integrated ski area, the 3Vs is bigger than the five largest ski areas in the US put together, incorporating seven resorts and 172 lifts that serve 25 skiable mountains.

It all started 99 years ago, when the British skier Arnold Lunn led a small expedition to discover three parallel valleys: Saint-Bon, Les Allues and Les Belleville. Méribel and Courchevel opened first, but the newer resorts have recently celebrated landmark birthdays: following the 50th anniversary of Val Thorens, Saint-Martin-de-Belleville turned 40 in 2023. Now it’s the turn of the avant-garde-style Les Menuires, which hits 60 in 2024.

“Piste skiing in the 3Vs is hard to beat, particularly in Courchevel,” says Guy Murdoch, French Alps manager for Savills Ski. “The ski domain is magnificent – high altitude, varied and enormous. The villages are all very different from one another, offering luxurious shops and hotels in Courchevel 1850, charming Alpine architecture in Saint-Martin-de-Belleville and ski-in, ski-out accommodation in La Tania.”

For property buyers, there’s something for everyone here, whether your budget is €200,000 or €20m. But which location is best for you?

If a snow-sure resort with a long season is top of your list, look at high-altitude Val Thorens, 2,300 metres above sea level. It scored highest of the 3Vs on the Savills Ski Resilience Index for 2023-24. 

Yet many home buyers opt for Courchevel, with its various villages, including traditional Le Praz, family-friendly La Tania and Courchevel Village, lively Moriond and glitzy 1850. High-end hotels, Michelin-starred restaurants and designer shopping make Courchevel 1850 a favourite with elite skiers and their well-heeled guests. The resort’s oldest restaurant, Le Cap Horn, will celebrate turning 70 in typically exuberant style in the 2023-24 season.

Home to the most cosmopolitan mix of chalet owners in the 3Vs, 1850 continues to attract investors from the Middle East, as well as Europeans. “The quality of the lifestyle and the top brands set it apart from Courchevel’s other villages,” says Jérôme Lagoutte, head of Savills French Alps. 

Consistently high levels of demand have boosted prices in the resort by more than 15% since the pandemic, with an average asking price of €26,600 per square metre for prime properties, according to the Savills Ski Report’s Prime Residential Index for 2023-24. “The typical request is for a three-bedroom apartment at €3m-€4m, but for a chalet you need to pay at least €10m,” says Lagoutte.

French buyers predominate in nearby Méribel, despite its historic popularity with British skiers, says Ophélie Dupont of Savills Méribel. “Sitting in the middle of the ski area, Méribel is better connected to everything – including the highest slopes at Val Thorens and the train station at Moûtiers.”

Moûtiers is one of the stops on the Eurostar snow train service from London for 2024, with a change at Lille. Otherwise, the transfer from Chambéry airport to Méribel takes 1 hour 20 minutes. On arrival, thrill-seekers can savour the Ibex black run or enjoy ski touring with the Le Roc itinerary in Méribel-Mottaret.

The average asking price for prime property in Méribel is €16,100 per square metre, according to the Savills Ski Report, and that figure rises to €20,000-€35,000 per square metre for new properties near the slopes, especially those close to Le Rond Point. Dupont says the starting price here is about €2m. 

Your budget will stretch further in the original Méribel village, Les Allues, or in hamlets such as Le Raffort. Alternatively, consider Les Menuires, which remains an unshowy favourite for its snow-sure practicality. The average price per square metre here hovers just under €10,000. 

Gourmets often opt for the charming Saint-Martin-de-Belleville, which punches well above its weight for superb restaurants. It’s also where the area’s first microbrewery, Brava Vela, opened in 2023. But whether you’re a skier, a shopper or an epicurean, the 3Vs will give you the liveliest of seasons – wherever you buy.

Pictures from top: a view of Courchevel; Saint-Martin at night; skiing down the slopes of Courchevel (Alamy); and Meribel at dusk (Getty)