Méribel
A village of chalets among the trees, at the very centre of Les 3 Vallées
Méribel occupies the middle of the three valleys, the Allues valley in Savoie, with Courchevel to the east and the Belleville valley to the west. The village lies at about 1,450 metres, with Méribel-Mottaret further up at about 1,750. That position makes it the natural base for Les 3 Vallées, a ski area of some 600 kilometres of piste shared by eight resorts: in every direction the next valley is only a lift or two away, so you can ski a different one each day and still be home by evening. The season runs from early December to mid-April.
So green in summer, in winter the valley becomes a village of chalets in the snow, with forest running down between the pistes. The building rule laid down by the Scotsman Peter Lindsay, who had the first lift built here in 1938, still holds: timber, stone and slate. At the Chaudanne the pistes and lifts meet, a few steps below the main street. The chalets are scattered across the hillside, many at the edge of the trees and close to a run.
Our Méribel residences
The Méribel experience
The village under snow
In winter the Chaudanne is the heart of Méribel: the gondolas leave from here for the Tougnète and the Saulire, and late in the afternoon the runs come down out of the forest to finish at its door. Above it is the main street, with shops, bakeries and bars. Higher up the hillside is the altiport, at about 1,700 metres, with a gentle nursery slope and cross-country tracks through the spruce.
Further up the valley, at Méribel-Mottaret, you clip into your skis at the door. Beyond it lies the Lac de Tuéda, a sheet of white in winter on the edge of the nature reserve, with cross-country tracks and snowshoe paths beneath the stone pines. Down the valley, Les Allues keeps its church of Saint-Martin, and anyone wanting a soak after skiing can drive down to the thermal baths of Brides-les-Bains.
At the centre of the Three Valleys
According to the ski area, Les 3 Vallées has about 600 kilometres of piste, from Brides-les-Bains to Val Thorens and Orelle. From Méribel you cross the Saulire to Courchevel, or the Tougnète and the Mont de la Chambre to Les Menuires and Val Thorens. Within the valley itself the high point is Mont Vallon, where a gondola climbs to 2,952 metres above Mottaret. The links between the valleys open in early December.
The Roc de Fer is the valley's best-known run. The women's Olympic races were held on it in 1992, and the women came down it again at the 2023 World Championships, shared with Courchevel. The broad runs through the forest are a blessing on days of flat light. Off-piste is strictly for those with a mountain guide; heli-skiing is banned in France.
Terraces, the Ronnie and the Folie Douce
On the mountain the food is Savoyard: tartiflette with reblochon, fondue, crozets and diots with polenta. Just below the mid-station of the Saulire Express is Méribel's Folie Douce, with music and performers on the terrace; those who would rather not ski down afterwards can take the gondola back to the village.
Lower down, just below the Rhodos mid-station, is Le Rond Point, known to everyone as the Ronnie, where a band plays most afternoons. At the foot of the slopes in the centre, Jacks is the place for anyone who would rather not walk far after the last run. With the cheese comes a Jacquère or a red Mondeuse, and after dinner a glass of génépi.
A week in Méribel
The gondola to 2,952 metres, the highest point of the Méribel valley.
Across the Saulire into the eastern valley, and back to Méribel in the afternoon.
The run of the 1992 Olympic women's races and the 2023 World Championships.
Tracks through the spruce above the village, and further up the valley by the Lac de Tuéda.
A floodlit toboggan run, finishing at the Yeti Park.
A tandem flight with an instructor over the snowbound Three Valleys.
Did you know
Opened in 1950, the first lift from Burgin to the Saulire was also the first link between Méribel and Courchevel.
At the 1992 Albertville Olympics, every women's alpine event was held in Méribel.
In March 2022 Courchevel and Méribel staged the World Cup Finals, a dress rehearsal for the 2023 World Championships.
Les 3 Vallées takes in eight resorts, from the spa town of Brides-les-Bains to Orelle, which lies over in the Maurienne valley.