Here 4 the Apres

When you think of Paris, you always think … so much amazing food … Michelin Star restaurants! But did you think you could go skiing and also experience a Michelin Starred restaurant in the French Alps? Well Les 3 Vallees has 20 Michelin Stars at 12 Gastronomic restaurants in 2023! This was our experience at Azimut, which was a one star Michelin Restaurant in 2022. It does appear they lost their Michelin star since 2022. Regardless, the food was amazing, so would still highly recommend the experience!

How did we choose Azimut?

Honestly, we choose the least expensive lunch option! Here is a link to 2023 menu. The lunch menu is listed as 65 Euro in Winter 2023 and includes a starter, main course, cheese OR dessert. When we went in 2022, the chef also included an Amuse Bouche.

Where is Azimut located? How do I get to Azimut?

Azimut is located in Courchevel at the lowest altitude 1300m village of Le Praz. We happened to be staying in Brides-les-Bains, so we could have in theory just taken a 15 minute taxi from our hotel to the restaurant, but what is the fun in that? Instead we took the Olympe Gondola to Saulire Express Gondola in Meribel. And then skied all the down in Courchevel using Lac Creux (blue) Run to Altiport (blue) Run (yes you get to see the famous Courchevel airport!) to Bellecote (green) Run which gets you to the Courchevel 1850m village with all the fancy shops like Louis Vuitton and Fendi. If you ski a little past the village and two gondolas heading back up on your right (Verdons and Chenus), you’ll see a small tunnel that you can ski down, where you can choose to take Praz Gondola down, or ski down the Amoureux (red) or Brigues (red) Runs to the bottom of the Praz Gondola. Using google maps, you can see you can walk down a long path to the main part of town.

If you’re coming from Val Thorens, you might need a bit more time. But take Plein Sud or Pionniers lift up, ski over to 3 Vallees Gondola or Lift. Exit left, but take a sharp right to drop into Meribel. The catwalk is very easy to miss since this is all above the treeline, and all you see is white. Follow the Lac de la chambre (blue) run down to Plan des Mains lift. Ski down Sittelle (blue) run to Martre (blue) run to get you to Meribel Mattaret town. From there you can find the Saulire Express gondola, which from the top you can drop into Couchevel.

Test Run

Since we had made a lunchtime reservation, with 2 long gondolas up and according to the Les 3 Vallees map, the top of Saulire Express at the top of Courchevel is 2470m going down to La Praz at 1300m is 1470m vertical or a little under 4400 ft vertical with quite a few flat areas (which my snowboard friends always complain about), we decided to do a test run the day before to see how long it would take to get down to Azimut. I highly recommend this! And bonus, if the weather is nice, there is this cute little cafe a short walking distance from Praz gondola with outdoor seating where you can enjoy a glass of champagne!

Can I wear ski gear in Azimut?

We were wondering this very same question. We called the restaurant to check and they said “of course that is fine.” We did get some funny looks from some of the other patrons, but we are in a ski town, maybe YOU’RE the one dress inappropriately! And while ski boots are not comfortable, there is definitely a novelty to being dressed in ski gear while enjoying a Michelin Star meal! Unsure if this is only the case for lunch. I would recommend giving them a call to ask about dinnertime dress code.

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What was on the lunch menu at Azimut?

The lunch menu included many courses including an amuse bouche, squash soup, a scallop dish, foie gras dish, beef with truffle dish, cheese course, and a coconut dessert. The first image shows the menu is more detail. It was a very good value considering how much was included. Good thing we were skiing to burn all those calories off!