Méribel
The British resort in Les Trois Vallées -- 600km of connected pistes, a British pub, and French skiing.
Our Take
Méribel is the geographic center of Les Trois Vallées -- the world's largest linked ski area at 600km of pistes connecting Courchevel, Méribel, and Val Thorens across three valleys. The British adopted Méribel after World War II when Scottish soldier Peter Lindsay essentially built the resort, and the British presence is still visible in the village's unusual-for-France timber chalets and the density of English voices on the lifts. The skiing accesses the full Trois Vallées network from a central position -- Courchevel is one gondola away, Val Thorens two more lifts beyond that. The resort's own skiing spans both sides of the valley: the Tougnète side with north-facing runs and the Saulire summit area at 2,700 meters connecting to Courchevel. Méribel's own terrain is solid intermediate territory with good expert options above the treeline, but the value proposition here is access to the 600km circuit rather than any particular feature of the resort itself. The Altiport (yes, Méribel has a small airstrip) gets occasional private aircraft landings. The village architecture is the most coherent in the Trois Vallées. The skiing is world-class. The après-ski is reliably excellent.
Nerd Stats
Trois Vallées Total
600km
Méribel Own Pistes
150km
Summit Elevation
9,842'
No. of Lifts
67
Fun Facts
- Méribel was essentially founded by a Scottish soldier, Peter Lindsay, in 1938 -- which explains the distinctly un-French timber chalet architecture.
- Méribel-Altiport at 1,733 meters is a real functioning airstrip -- private planes land on the ski slope runway. It's as unusual as it sounds.
- Les Trois Vallées 600km of pistes is genuinely the world's largest ski area by connected piste -- the circuit takes three focused days to complete.
- Méribel hosted the women's Alpine skiing events at the 1992 Albertville Olympics.