Megève or SkiWelt: the French village or the Austrian giant
The Ski Snug teamUpdated 12 October 20266 min read
Megève and the SkiWelt sit in different countries but come out of our matching engine as a pair: the SkiWelt is the closest Austrian resort to Megève, and Megève the closest French resort to the SkiWelt. Both are traditional, both are built around gentle skiing, both open from December to April, and both are made for families.
Neither is high, and anyone choosing between them should start there. After that the choice is fairly simple. The SkiWelt has far more skiing. Megève has the village, the food and nearly 500 metres more height at the door. Which of those your group values more is the whole answer.
The numbers, side by side
| Figure | Megève | SkiWelt |
|---|---|---|
| Village altitude | 1,113 m | 620 m |
| Top of the skiing, measured | 2,402 m | 1,958 m, a lift top; the highest piste starts at 1,828 m |
| Ski area | Evasion Mont Blanc pass, quoted at 400 km across several villages | Wilder Kaiser, quoted at 270 km, not checked by us |
| Piste we measure around the resort | 189 km | 258 km |
| Green and blue | 104 km, 55% of the piste | 133 km of blue and easier, 51% of the piste |
| Black | 23 km | 20 km |
| Marked off piste itinerary | 5.2 km | 10.8 km |
| Piste steeper than one in four | 20% | 24% |
| Piste gentler than 15% | 32% | 34% |
| Piste at or above 1,800 m | 15% | Under 1% |
| Season | December to April | December to April |
| Nearest airport | Geneva | Innsbruck or Salzburg |
The two resorts grade their runs in different countries, so the colours do not compare cleanly. The steep and gentle rows do, and on those the two are close. The rows that split them are size and altitude.
Size: the SkiWelt, by a distance
We measure 258 kilometres of piste around the SkiWelt, 69 more than Megève's 189, and the third most of the 55 resorts we cover. It is the most of the 13 Austrian resorts we cover, and our own description of it is one of the largest linked areas there is. Its area is quoted at 270 kilometres, a figure we have not checked; the measured one is the safer guide.
Megève is no small resort. Its three sectors, Rochebrune, Mont d'Arbois and Le Jaillet, give a week plenty of variety, and its lift pass, Evasion Mont Blanc, is quoted at 400 kilometres. That is a pass across several villages rather than Megève's own skiing, so the like for like figure is our 189.
If your group measures a week in kilometres, the SkiWelt gives you more ground to cover than all but two of the 55 resorts we cover.
Altitude: Megève is higher, and neither is high
The SkiWelt's village sits at 620 metres, the lowest of the 55 resorts we cover, and Megève's 1,113 is 493 metres higher. On the hill the gap holds. The SkiWelt's lifts reach 1,958 metres, the lowest top of the 55 resorts we cover too, and the highest piste we measure there starts at 1,828. Megève's skiing reaches 2,402, 444 metres above the SkiWelt's top lift.
The shares tell the same story. At Megève, 67 percent of the piste we measure is above 1,500 metres and 15 percent is at or above 1,800. At the SkiWelt it is 21 percent above 1,500 and under 1 percent at or above 1,800. Half of Megève's piste sits above 1,607 metres; half of the SkiWelt's sits below 1,283.
Neither is snow sure on our measure, and we would not pretend otherwise. Nobody can promise snow at any resort, and both of these feel a thin winter. Megève gives you more height to play with, which is worth having. If snow is your first worry, neither is the answer.
The skiing: gentle at both, and the SkiWelt has more of it
Both are easy going mountains, and they are close on the measures that compare across a border. About a third of the piste at each is gentler than 15 percent, 32 percent at Megève and 34 at the SkiWelt. Megève has 20 percent steeper than one in four and the SkiWelt 24, both under the 26 at a typical resort we cover, and the SkiWelt's share is the smallest of the 13 Austrian resorts we cover.
104 km blue and easier 55%62 km red 33%23 km black 12%
133 km blue and easier 51%106 km red 41%20 km black 8%
Marked off piste itinerary, kept out of the piste totals: Megève 5 km, SkiWelt 11 km.
Where the SkiWelt pulls ahead is simply quantity. It has 133 kilometres of blue and easier piste, the most of the 13 Austrian resorts we cover and 28 more than Megève's 104 of green and blue. Megève's green is the part we can count separately: 34.7 kilometres of it, which matters in somebody's first week.
The gradients agree on the easy end. They are averages per run segment, and a run's grade is set by its steepest pitch, so read them as how a week feels rather than a verdict on any one run. The SkiWelt's blues average 15.6 percent against Megève's 16.3, and its reds 22.0 against 23.1. Both resorts' longest run is a blue. The SkiWelt's, the Hagstein, runs 4.3 kilometres with 639 metres of drop. Megève's, La Croix, runs 2.6 kilometres with 395. Long, easy cruising is what both of them do best.
Who each one actually suits
Megève suits families who want children to learn on gentle slopes with good ski schools, couples who want a romantic village and very good food, and three generations on one holiday. The village has medieval roots, cobbles and sleighs in the street, and Mont Blanc on the skyline. Lunch on a sunny terrace is a ritual, the restaurants in the village range from bistros to tables with Michelin recognition, and evenings are candlelit and calm rather than loud.
The SkiWelt suits families too, and groups who want a traditional, friendly Austrian week with more easy skiing than all but three of the 55 resorts we cover. We list its strengths as a big area, value and families. Confident intermediates who like to rack up distance will run out of week before they run out of runs.
The bit nobody tells you
The SkiWelt has the gentle reputation, and on blues and reds it earns it. But it is the one with more for a strong skier. Its blacks average 28.5 percent, against 23.3 at Megève, whose blacks are the gentlest of the 17 French resorts we cover. It has 2.3 kilometres of double black, where Megève has none, and 10.8 kilometres of marked off piste itinerary to Megève's 5.2.
The longest of those itineraries, the Moderer Route, drops 915 metres over 3.3 kilometres. Megève's longest, the Piste Emile Allais, drops 601 over 2.3. So if your group is gentle skiers plus one strong one, the SkiWelt keeps the strong one busier without leaving the area. At Megève, our own guide's answer is a day trip to Chamonix.
So, which one
the village matters: the cobbles, the food and the calm evenings. Also if you want the extra height, with 15 percent of the piste at or above 1,800 metres and most of it above 1,500, and Geneva for the flight.
you want the most skiing, the most blue and easier piste of the 13 Austrian resorts we cover, steeper blacks and more itinerary for the strong skier, and a traditional, friendly Austrian week that is good value.
Both are gentle, both suit a family, and neither is high, but Megève's village is nearly 500 metres higher and half its piste sits above 1,607 metres, and height is the one thing no amount of piste makes up for. The SkiWelt is the right answer when the size of the area is the reason you are going, and if you can be flexible with dates, it is a very good one.