Meribel - introduction

You’ll have heard of Méribel before you get there. It has a bit of a reputation as a place to party. But Méribel is much, much more than that – it’s an attractive village with direct access to some of the finest ski slopes in the world.

The resort lies in valley number two of the awesome playground of the Three Valleys, so you are superbly placed for a day’s skiing exploration in either direction, to Val Thorens, Les Menuires and St Martin (in the valley to the west), or to Courchevel and La Tania (to the east).

You’ll be hard pushed to ski all Three Valleys in a day. Indeed, you’ll be very hard pushed to ski every run in the Three Valleys in a week.

The less prettily-named part of the village is Méribel-Mottaret. At 1,750m, in terms of skiing, it is Méribel’s gem. The slopes coming over from St Martin at the top half of Méribel-Mottaret are often quiet.

On the facing side of the mountain, long zigzag runs head back down to Méribel-Mottaret from Saulire.

You probably won’t ski Méribel without coming across some slush. Towards the end of the season, the home runs down the main lower slopes are often churned up. The upside of this: sunshine.

Highlights

• Perfect jumping-off point to one of the best ski ranges in the world
• A great party town
• Good ski school provision for kids
• Lovely pathways and empty slopes if you know where and when to look

Lowlights

• Bottom areas of slopes tend to get slushy in the late afternoon sun from the end of March
• The Three Valleys are popular so some slopes get busy