Méribel
sits centre stage at the heart of The Three Valleys, the largest
linked skiing area in the world. Courchevel, La Tania, St Martin de
Belleville, Les Menuires and Val Thorens are all just a ski lift
away, forming a vast skiers’ paradise of over 600km of groomed runs
and 198 lifts. If you don’t see a certain kind of lift here, it
hasn’t yet been invented.
With
mountain peaks rising to 3,300 metres, the snow cover is often the
envy of other resorts, even in late April. Some 550 snow canons
cover more than 350 acres. From La Chaudanne, the main Méribel
gateway, every lift leads into a different valley, for example, take
the Burgin lift to Saulire for fashionable Courchevel or Tougnete
for the high altitude skiing of Val Thorens. The domain is immense
and with the best lift system to be found anywhere, all levels of
skier can ski the three valleys in a day without once removing their
skis. In recent years, Orelle, a fourth valley, is fast developing
behind Val Thorens.
The
Three Valleys, as well as some of the best skiing in the world,
offers some of the best lunchtime and evening dining of its kind.
From the Michelin-starred La Bouitte in St Martin de Belleville, the
increasingly popular Le Farçon in La Tania, the über-cool Cap Horn
in Courchevel to the traditional Savoyarde charms of Chez Kiki and
the newly-opened Espace Confort le Plan des Mains at the foot of
Mont-Vallon, visitors will have their taste buds continually
delighted.
