Courmayeur, at an altitude of a little over twelve hundred metres, lies in the Aosta Valley on the Italian side of Mont Blanc. It is an attractive traditional village that enjoys a spectacular landscape. Courmayeur has one hundred kilometres of pistes with the highest lift at two thousand eight hundred metres. Although the slopes are mainly suited to intermediate skiers, advanced skiers have wonderful opportunities for off-piste skiing with mountain guides. Ski schools provide excellent ski tuition from the age of four and board tuition from the age of seven. There are crèche facilities for babies from six months but since places are limited, early booking is recommended. Courmayeur’s attractive chalet style hotels and apartments provide accommodation to suit most budgets. Its restaurants serve a diverse cuisine and cater for most tastes and pockets, and there are a good number of shops. Courmayeur’s bars and pubs provide a lively nightlife. A Courmayeur ski holiday offers great skiing, a stunning landscape and a sophisticated village centre.
Located beneath Mont Blanc and having access to one hundred kilometres of pisted slopes, a Courmayeur holiday offers good snow cover throughout the season. It is a charming resort with a warm and welcoming atmosphere that offers a lively après ski scene. It is considered to be good value for money.
A Courmayeur ski holiday is particularly popular with intermediate skiers as the majority of slopes accommodate their level of ability. The village centre is ideal for the non-skier or part time skier as it offers a variety of activities.
The Courmayeur ski season lasts from the beginning of December until the first week of April.
Courmayeur is a charming resort surrounded by spectacular scenery with a transfer time from Geneva of ninety minutes. Located in Italy beneath the Mont Blanc Massif it has over one hundred of kilometres of pistes that are accessed by more than twenty lifts. Although novices have some good nursery slopes, there are few of the confidence boosting blue runs necessary for them to progress to red. Intermediates have the best choice of slopes, almost two thirds of which are red runs. There are demanding red runs and a small number of black for the advanced skier. The off-piste opportunities are numerous but a mountain guide is strongly recommended. Courmayeur is a good venue for boarders as most of the lifts are chairs giving them easy access to the slopes. Cross country skiers have thirty-five kilometres of trails. Ski schools offer excellent tuition for skiers from the age of four and from boarding from the age of seven. A crèche provides childcare facilities for babies from the age of six months.
Courmayeur has a good range of accommodation to suit most budgets with some hotels and apartments having door step skiing. Restaurants, including a good number of mountain eateries, serve an eclectic menu that satisfies most tastes and bars and pubs provide a lively nightlife. Dolonne, a small village just one kilometre from the resort centre, combines with Courmayeur to provide a range of recreational activities. These include a large sports centre with an ice rink, tennis and squash, and a climbing wall. There is also a swimming pool with sauna and a hot tub. The Palaghiaccio Ice Centre offers evening entertainment with ice shows and ice discos complete with disco lighting.
A Courmayeur ski holiday is considered to be good value for money. Skiing beneath Mont Blanc, the landscape is stunning and snow conditions remain good throughout the season. The cobbled stoned traffic-free village centre has many good restaurants and shops where the non-skier can spend their days and where skiers can enjoy the après ski scene.
Courmayeur’s bars, pubs, clubs, cafes and restaurants all combine to provide a lively nightlife. Although some offer live music and others have discos where you can dance into the early hours, Courmayeur evenings remain fairly relaxed and are never raucous.
Courmayeur has a pedestrianised centre with a good number of shops and boutiques selling a variety of goods including gifts and souvenirs. There are of course many sports shops and also food stores for essential provisions. An outdoor market arrives every Wednesday.
Courmayeur has a large number of cafes and coffee shops, pizzerias and restaurants serving a wide variety of fare, from fast food to gourmet eating, and from traditional alpine food to international cuisine. Pasta and pizza feature prominently on menus and rarely disappoint, especially when accompanied by a good Italian red.
