Private transfer from Lyon-Saint-Exupéry Airport to Courchevel Le Praz

Le Praz, also signed as Courchevel 1300, sits at the foot of the resort and keeps the old Savoyard chalet character that the higher stations lost. It hosted the ski-jumping events of the 1992 Albertville Olympics, and the two Olympic jumps still stand above the village beside Lac de la Rosière, a small lake used for cross-country skiing in winter and walks in summer. A gondola links Le Praz directly up to the Courchevel 1850 pistes, so skiers stay here for quieter evenings and lower prices while reaching the same slopes. Families and returning regulars make up much of the clientele, and the Bistrot du Praz draws diners up from the valley. It is busiest from December to April, with a smaller hiking season in July and August.

The route leaves Lyon-Saint-Exupéry on the A43 motorway, running east past Chambéry and towards Albertville, which covers most of the distance on fast, straightforward road. After Albertville you follow the N90 up the Tarentaise valley through Moûtiers, the service town for the Trois Vallées resorts. From Moûtiers the character changes completely: the road climbs in a long series of switchbacks for around twenty kilometres, gaining height steadily until Le Praz appears as the first Courchevel village on the way up. The final climb is the slow part, and in snow conditions it demands winter tyres or chains. Allow roughly three hours in normal conditions, more on busy Saturdays when the whole resort changes guests and the valley road between Moûtiers and Courchevel backs up.

Try to avoid a Saturday arrival if you can: that is changeover day across the Trois Vallées and the Moûtiers-to-Courchevel road is at its slowest. Give your driver the exact chalet or residence name in Le Praz, since the village has narrow lanes and the main Courchevel 1850 road bypasses it on the way higher up. Ski luggage and boot bags should be flagged when booking so the right vehicle comes. In winter, factor extra time for the final climb and dress for arrival altitude of around 1,300 metres even if Lyon was mild. If you are heading onward to 1850, Moriond or La Tania, confirm it, as each has separate access and parking. Flights into Lyon are frequent, making it a reliable alternative to Geneva or Chambéry for this valley.