The friendly middle of the Three Valleys.
Méribel sits right in the centre of the Three Valleys, which makes it the natural base if your group wants to roam the whole area without long journeys home. The chalet style building code keeps it looking pretty, and the mood is relaxed and family friendly rather than flashy.
Know the mountain before you go.
The skiing
From the village you can drop into either side of the valley and reach Courchevel or Val Thorens with ease. The home runs are gentle enough for improvers and the wider area has enough steep and off piste to keep strong skiers busy all week.
The village and the evenings
Méribel Centre has the shops and the buzz, while Mottaret sits higher for the most reliable snow and the quickest lift access. Families tend to love it because so much sits within a short walk.
Beyond the skiing.
Free, and worth knowing
La Luge du Doron. A gentle sledge only slope, fenced off from skiers, with a free magic carpet carrying you back to the top. That last part is what makes it the best free thing in the resort, because nobody wants to walk up a hill forty times. Open until eight, and the carpet runs on Monday evenings.
The Altiport sledging area. A second free fenced area, very gentle, reserved for small children. Baby sledges can be hired if you have not brought one.
Seven free ski lifts. Meribel and Mottaret have seven lifts you can use without buying a pass at all, serving netted beginner zones that are groomed every night. If somebody in the group is learning and the rest are not, that is a week of practice for nothing.
The winter walking trails. Seventeen marked routes, and unusually for a French resort they publish the distance, the time and the ascent for every one of them. Green routes start at 1.8 km, blue go to 5 km, and the red Meribel Centre to La Traie is 5.4 km and takes three hours.
The climbing wall. Free access outside lesson times, which is a rare thing and worth knowing on a wet afternoon. Guided lessons available at all levels if anyone wants them.
A few of the rest
Himalaya by Night. Two kilometres of groomed sledge run under the stars at Mottaret, and it is the cleanest priced activity in the whole ski area. Nine fifty for a run, twenty for the whole evening, and free for children under eleven if they are with you. Under 20 euros.
Mission Black Forest. A 3.4 kilometre themed toboggan run with four hundred and seventy metres of descent and twenty eight bends, reached on the Tougnete gondola with the sales desk in the departure station. Helmet and sledge are included and you must use theirs. 20 to 50 euros.
Snowmobiles. Three versions: a sporty outing for people who can already ride, a supervised tour with an instructor for anybody sixteen and over without a licence, and a mini circuit where four to twelve year olds drive small machines under supervision. That last one is the useful one. Price on request.
All 18 picks for Méribel, dining included, live in the Ski Snug app.
These are our own picks, not paid placements. Prices and opening times change, so it is always worth checking before you set off.
Getting there
Fly to Geneva or Chambéry and transfer in around two and a half hours, or come by car and use the covered parking.
Méribel guides
Not sure where to stay in Méribel?
Our Méribel team will match you to the right chalet, apartment or hotel. One team, one price, zero faff.