Meribel Luxury Ski Resort

Built almost entirely in chalet style, Meribel is one of France's most attractive ski resorts, and with a lively village centre, people are drawn back to Meribel year after year. Nestling in the middle of the extensive Three Valleys, the skiing opportunities are endless and it is certainly the most convenient base from which to explore the 189 lifts and 600km of piste that make up what is the largest truly linked ski area in the world.

Méribel actually consists of several areas:

Méribel Les Allues is the main town, normally just referred to as Méribel.

Approx. 2 miles out of town is Méribel Village. Developed only a few years ago, this village is very small and up market with luxury apartments and chalets served by its own chairlift to Méribel Altiport. (Perfect for total beginners). It has one very friendly Pub, two excellent restaurants, one ski/board shop, one supermarket ,and a superb bakery. A free bus service connects with the main town.

Raffort village is also just out of town, with one restaurant and a gondola connection to the main resort. Raffort is mainly privately run chalets that usually have their own minibus service.

Les Allues is the original village with its ancient church and village oven. Here there is 3 restaurants, 1 English bar, supermarket, ski/board shop, and newsagents. This is the nearest you will get in Méribel to a small traditional style village. It has its own direct gondola link to the main town. (Approx. 15 minutes)

Méribel Mottaret, usually just called Mottaret is a satellite resort higher up the mountain. A good choice for very early or late season holidays. It has a very good choice of restaurants and several bars.

Méribel
The principal Méribel settlement is simply called Méribel and sprawls up a west-facing hillside from 1,400m to 1,750m. Méribel Centre (1,450m) is the commercial core – a one-street village with the tourist office as its focal point. It has a number of boutiques and souvenir shops beyond the usual sports shops, and one main supermarket.

Both sides of the open valley are extensively networked with modern lifts, which improve each year. The lift capacity is so high that queues are a rarity but, as a result, the main runs inevitably become overcrowded.

The western side of Méribel culminates in a long skiable ridge, which separates it from the beautiful Belleville Valley and the resorts of Val Thorens, Les Menuires and St Martin de Belleville. The eastern side rises to the rocky 2,738-m summit of Saulire and the Col de la Loze at 2,274m. Beyond lie La Tania, the Bozel Valley and Courchevel. At the head of Les Allues Valley rises Mont du Vallon (2,952m) – the most easterly of the horseshoe of 3,300-m peaks accessed from Méribel and Val Thorens.

Méribel has a surprisingly limited choice of recommended restaurants for a resort of its size, mainly because such a large proportion of its clientèle eat in their catered chalets. Les Enfants Terribles has typical French food of a high quality. La Cava is recommended for fondue, while La Taverne offers pizzas and Savoyard dishes and has established itself as one of the resort’s main rendezvous. Chez Kiki specialises in charcoal grills, and the surroundings are appealing. La Chaumière is ‘old-style traditional French’ and Le Boa à Mil is ‘an excellent cellar dive’. In Mottaret, Ty Sable is strongly recommended, and Hotel Tarentaise, on the edge of the piste, is British-managed and popular with the French for its food. The central Côte Brune is still a culinary mainstay. Au Temps Perdu (‘extensive range of crèpes’) and Pizzeria du Mottaret are both praised, while Le Croix Jean-Claude is also warmly recommended.