- Lift-linked from the villageThe smallest lift-linked area of the 24 resorts we have a connected figure for. That is piste you can reach from the village without a bus, not what the pass covers.
- 41.5km
- The village126m below the median of 1,350m across the 55 resorts we cover.
- 1,224m
- Top of the skiing18m above the median of 2,697m across the 55 resorts we cover.
- 2,715m
- SeasonThe standard Alpine season, shared by 42 of the 55 resorts we cover.
- December to April
Is Courmayeur right for you?
Courmayeur sits on the sunny Italian flank of Mont Blanc, a chic little town where the skiing comes with some of the best mountain food in the Alps. The village sits at 1,224m and the skiing tops out at 2,715m, and the season runs December to April.
Courmayeur at a glance
- Ski area
- Courmayeur Mont Blanc
- Best for
- Off piste · Food lovers · Couples
- Fly to
- Geneva, Turin or Milan Malpensa
- Transfer
- About 1h30 by road from Geneva
- Doorstep skiing
- Limited, use lifts
Who Courmayeur suits, and who it suits less
Best for
- Off piste. The Skyway Monte Bianco climbs to Punta Helbronner at about 3,466 metres, the start of guided off piste in the Vallée Blanche area for experienced skiers.
- Food lovers. Lunch is a proper part of the day, with handmade pasta, polenta, Alpine cheeses and Valle d'Aosta specialities, and two hours on a terrace counts as time well spent.
- Couples. The stone town, the pedestrian Via Roma, an aperitivo as the light fades and the Pré Saint Didier thermal spa down the valley make an easy week for two.
- Non skiers. Non skiers can ride the Skyway for the glacier views, soak in the pools at Pré Saint Didier and stroll the cafés and delis of the Via Roma.
- Snow sure. We measure 72 percent of the piste above 1,800 metres, and the main ski area above the town reaches 2,715 metres.
Less good for
- Mileage chasers. The lift company counts about 42 kilometres of marked piste, so skiers who want to cover big distances every day will find the home area compact.
- Beginners. The main ski area is a cable car ride up from the edge of town, with no true ski in ski out, which adds a daily step for first timers.
Skiing from 1,210m to 2,715m, village at 1,224m.
Where these heights are
- Lowest skiing
- 1,210mDolonne.
- Village
- 1,224m
- Top of the skiing
- 2,715mOur measurement of the highest marked piste.
- 11 runs blue33%
- 17 runs red52%
- 5 runs black15%
Counted by the resort, covering Courmayeur Mont Blanc. No official kilometres by colour are published.
No green: Italian pistes are graded from blue.
- Black piste
- 4.6km, 11% of the pisteLess than the median of 11% across the 55 resorts we cover.
- Ski area
- Courmayeur Mont Blanc, 42.4kmNot linked on skis to another area.
- Lift pass
- Courmayeur and Mont Blanc pass area, 410km
- Cross country
- 22km of trails
Sources
- Village height: courmayeur-montblanc.com
- Lowest skiing: courmayeur-montblanc.com
- Runs by colour: courmayeur-montblanc.com
- Runs by colour: courmayeur-montblanc.com
- Cross country: lovevda.it
- Top of the skiing: our measurement of the highest marked piste
- The steep end: our measurement of the OpenStreetMap piste map
The published figures were read on 29 October 2026.
41.5km, and you can ski all of it.
- 16km blue38%
- 22km red51%
- 4.6km black11%
- Improvers, blue into redFine
- Confident intermediatesFine
- Strong skiersThin
The spreadIt scores 0.87 for evenness, where 1 is a perfect three way split between blue, red and black. The largest share is red, at 51%.
Longest pistePiste 11, 1km of red with 260m of vertical.
Courmayeur Mont Blanc is one lift-connected domain, so 41.5km is what you can ski from Courmayeur without a bus. The pass is marketed at 42.4km. 41.5km is our figure for what the standard pass covers from Courmayeur.
Our own measurement of the run geometry around Courmayeur comes to 42km of graded piste, and that is what the profile below is drawn from.
Sources: courmayeur-montblanc.com, skiresort.com
Courmayeur among its Italian peers
Of these five, Courmayeur has the joint third highest village, 1,224m. The median across the 55 resorts we cover is 1,350m.
Know the mountain before you go.
The skiing
The pistes are mostly intermediate and beautifully groomed, with serious off piste on the Italian side of the Vallée Blanche for the adventurous with a guide. It is a resort where a long, wine soaked lunch is part of the plan.
The village and the evenings
The old town is elegant and welcoming, with cobbled streets, smart shops and a relaxed Italian warmth. It is a joy to wander in the evening.
Beyond the skiing.
Free, and worth knowing
The three Tor walks. Three low routes that the commune itself prepares and grooms after snowfall, part of a project it calls Courmayeur a passo slow. Free, no ticket, no lift, and they start from places a guest can walk to. Tor de Dolonne is 500 m with 50 m of climb from Dolonne hamlet opposite the old town, and the commune calls it the simplest and suitable even for the youngest. Tor d'Entreves is 1.5 km with 100 m of climb from Entreves, where Val Veny and Val Ferret meet by the Skyway base.
Free local buses in winter. Last winter the commune paid for local public transport outright, so the Val Ferret green line and the Circolare Courmayeur blue line carried everybody for nothing from Boxing Day to the beginning of April. It is run by Arriva Italia and promoted by the council as a sustainable mobility measure, and it is what makes Val Ferret reachable without a car.
Snowshoeing on marked itineraries. Four marked itineraries are published by the tourist board and they carry the same Tor names as the walks, plus longer routes out through Val Ferret and Val Veny towards the Toula glacier. Nothing is ticketed. You hire the snowshoes if you have not brought any, and there are six rental shops in town doing it: 4180 Rental, Ski In Courmayeur, Savoye Sport, Mont Blanc Ski Service, Noleggio Courmayeur and Lo Chalet Ski Rental.
The prepared pedestrian trail up Val Ferret. Ten kilometres of prepared pedestrian trail running from Planpincieux up the valley to Lavachey, laid alongside the cross country pistes and flat almost all the way. It is the best long walk in the resort for somebody who does not want to climb anything, and the free winter bus goes to the bottom of it.
Welcome Winter, the season opening. Courmayeur opens its winter with a run of free concerts and live shows in the village, announced by the commune and known as Welcome Winter. It is the one free event series that recurs here year after year, and it lands right at the start of the season when a lot of guests are looking for something to do in the evening.
A few of the rest
Skyway Monte Bianco. The biggest thing here for somebody not skiing, and the first thing to tell them is that it has nothing to do with the ski pass. Two stages from Pontal d'Entreves at 1,300 m. The first cabin takes about four minutes up to Pavillon du Mont Frety at 2,200 m, where there is the Cave Mont Blanc, billed as the highest wine cellar in Europe and open for tastings, an exhibition gallery, a restaurant and a bar. Over 50 euros.
Cross country skiing in Val Ferret. Thirteen named loops and variants from Planpincieux at 1,580 m up towards Lavachey, classic and skating, and at eleven euros for a day ticket it is the cheapest thing on this mountain by a distance. The Foyer at Planpincieux is the hub: ticketing, changing rooms, showers, a ski school, rental with a waxing service, and a baby snow park for anybody too small to be on the trails. Under 20 euros.
Dog sledding in Val Veny. Dogsledman run a team of thirty huskies in the heart of Val Veny, at the foot of the Mont Blanc massif. A session starts with a theory briefing and then you drive the sled yourself with an instructor alongside, which is the difference between this and most of the dog sledding in the Alps, where you sit and are driven. Booking is direct with Fabrizio Lovati rather than through an agency. Price on request.
These are our own picks, not paid placements. Prices and opening times change, so it is always worth checking before you set off.
17 places we would send you to
The mid station of the Skyway cable car, and it is self service but plated far better than that suggests, with proper tableware and composed dishes.
About a kilometre above the centre, walkable on forest paths that cut the road hairpins, or a short drive.
Dark wood historic rooms in two parts, a formal front with the bar and small round tables, and a back room with soft seating.
These are our own picks, not paid placements. Opening times and ownership change, so it is always worth checking before you set off.
Getting there
Geneva is about an hour and a half away through the Mont Blanc tunnel, with Turin a similar distance on the Italian side.
- Genevaabout 1h30 by road
- Turinabout 1h40 by road
- Milan Malpensaabout 2h20 by road