Local Culture & Cuisine: What to Eat & Explore Near Your French Chalet

Local culture reveals itself through the senses – gustatory, visual, and olfactory. The first bite of Beaufort aged in mountain caves, its crystalline texture dissolving on your tongue. The warmth of melted Reblochon in tartiflette, bubbling golden beneath a crust that crackles as you break through. Wood smoke from chalet fireplaces mingles with the sharp clarity of Alpine air, whilst village markets fill with the sweetness of roasted chestnuts and earthy richness of cured meats hung to cure through winter months. This is Courchevel beyond the slopes, where Savoyard traditions unravel through every sense.
Near your ONE Hôtel Privé chalet in Courchevel 1850, Savoyard culinary practices don’t perform for visitors. They simply continue as they have for generations, and you’re granted the rare privilege of witnessing them from the inside.

The Savoyard Table

Winter food in the Alps carries purpose. Fondue arrives at the table in a heavy pot, the cheese molten and glossy. You dip bread, the crust giving way to a soft interior now coated in Gruyère or Comté, perhaps laced with kirsch that adds a subtle bite. Tartiflette layers everything generously: bacon crisped until it shatters, onions softened to sweetness, Reblochon melting into potatoes until the whole dish becomes unified, indulgent, impossible to resist. Raclette offers its own theatre, cheese scraped whilst still steaming onto your plate, pooling around potatoes and charcuterie.
La Table Savoyarde wraps you in weathered wood and soft light, the kind of place where mountain stone absorbs decades of conversation and laughter. Here, fondues follow ancestral recipes, each ingredient sourced with care. Le Coquelicot and Le Blanchot in Courchevel 1850 serve as your base for discovering these authentic flavours, whilst your concierge arranges access to the region’s most celebrated dining experiences.

Beyond the Slopes

When you’ve had your fill of skiing, the mountains present different pleasures. Dog sledding pulls you deep into Praméruel forest, eight huskies working in silent coordination, their breath visible in cold air as you glide beneath trees heavy with snow. The musher speaks quietly, sharing stories as darkness gathers or sunset paints everything rose and gold.
Snowshoeing ventures into pristine landscapes inaccessible to skiers. Guided tours lead through untouched terrain where fresh snow remains unmarked and the silence of the mountains envelop you. The experience strips away distraction, leaving only breath, cold air, and the vast quiet of Alpine wilderness.
At Aquamotion, heated pools steam into mountain air whilst you float, gazing up at peaks that seem close enough to touch. The contrast of warmth against cold sharpens everything. Sauna heat opens your pores. Steam rooms blur the edges of thought. Salt caves restore what altitude and exertion have depleted.

Access Beyond Arrival

Staying at Le Coquelicot or Le Blanchot means your concierge doesn’t simply book tables. They arrange private visits to fromageries where Beaufort wheels age in caves carved into mountain sides. They introduce you to artisans whose hands shape wood and metal using techniques unchanged for centuries. They connect you with historians who can explain why villages sit where they do, why certain traditions survived whilst others faded.
For those ready to experience Savoyard culture as participants rather than observers, ONE Hôtel Privé, chalets provide both sanctuary and starting point. You will never, in other words, have to wonder what things to do at your chalet in France. Visit our website to explore our properties and begin planning your immersion into Alpine traditions that reveal themselves slowly, generously, to those willing to pay attention.