Resort information for Méribel

Méribel occupies the central valley of the Three Valleys system and consists of two main resort villages: the original Méribel with its wood-clad, low-rise, chalet-style buildings – one of the most tastefully designed purpose-built resorts; and the newer Méribel-Mottaret, built for slope-side convenience, which looks modern, despite wood cladding on its apartment blocks, but is still more attractive than many.

Most of the slopes are above the tree line, but there are some sheltered runs for bad-weather days. Piste classification is not always reliable – a problem compounded by exposure of many slopes to a lot of sun. The Méribel valley runs roughly north-south, and in late season you soon get into the habit of skiing one side in the morning and the other after lunch. There is a highly efficient lift system, following huge investment over the years, making the area virtually queue-free most of the time. The real problems result from the tidal flows of people between the three valleys in the morning (when the tide coincides with the start of ski school) and in the late afternoon.

There are lots of mountain restaurants on the piste map, but few that are worth singling out, and there aren’t enough places to meet the demand, so many get very crowded. There is a reasonable selection of restaurants in the villages, from ambitious French cuisine to pizza and pasta. Méribel’s après-ski revolves around British-run places and it rocks – loudly. The ring of bars around the main square do good business at tea time and there are a couple of alternatives to the loud pubs. Méribel-Mottaret has far fewer shops and bars and much less après-ski than Méribel, and some visitors have found it ‘lacking in atmosphere’.