Meribel 3 Valleys, France

For Beginners

Beginners and intermediates will usually find that a local-area lift pass, covering the Meribel Valley, offers more than enough to keep them occupied for a week-long ski holiday. You'll find plenty of wide-open blues and reds, connected by world-beating lift infrastructure.

For Intermediates / Advanced

More experienced and more adventurous skiers and snowboarders may wish to travel further, opting for a full-area Three Valleys lift pass. This will give you access to the Belleville and Courchevel valleys, as well as the central Meribel valley. That's a total surface area four times the size of Paris. For many, it is this seemingly limitless expanse of off-piste terrain that makes the region so attractive. Even confident skiers are advised to use a ski guide for this. Let us know you plans and we can arrange one for you.

Meribel Village

Meribel is a purpose-built ski resort, built by a British army colonel in 1936. And its connection with the United Kingdom remains undiminished in the twenty-first century: 37% of all annual visitors are from Old Blighty. For this reason, you will likely hear more English spoken than French in Meribel, though the local culture remains strong in food, drink and certain local customs.

Despite its comparatively young age, Meribel retains many of the traditional charms which make the French Alps so distinctively attractive. It escaped the concrete-block phase of 1970s ski resort architecture mostly unscathed.

Meribel's reputation would have many believe that it is a destination for the affluent alone, but this isn't quite true. There are many affordable chalet companies based in Meribel, especially in the satellite villages further down the valley. It is not exclusively a luxury holiday destination.

Getting to Meribel

There are a number of airports suitable for Meribel but we would recommend Geneva (GVA) as the best airport to fly into. If this is not suitable we can also recommend Lyon (LYS). Transfers from Geneva (GVA) or Lyon (LYS) typically take about two hours.

Chambery (CMF) is also an option but It is usually better to avoid Chambery if possible as even though it is closer there are far fewer transfer options available.

Please note where possible it is best to book flights that land any time between about 09:00 in the morning and 18:00 in the evening as this is when the scheduled transfers are most available. For transfers we can recommend the following companies:

• 3 Valleys Transfers
• Ben's Bus
• Pleisure Transfers
• Alps 2 Alps