france-meribel travel wintersports Virgin Media
Extremely popular with British skiers, Meribel, the central resort in the world's largest lift-linked ski area, the 3 Vallées, is one of France's best venues for a skiing holiday.
The resort provides excellent skiing, each area providing something different, with easy access to other slopes along the mountain. There are a wide variety of slopes, which range from being suitable for beginners, through to the hardened professionals.
In fact, visitors are able to move quite freely between Meribel and Val Thorens, La Tania, Mottaret, St Martin de Belleville, Les Menuires and Courchevel, meaning there is no shortage of variety for all tastes.
The resort has a number of other top-quality runs linked to it via ski lift, giving visitors a superb all-round experience - the lifts are so good that queues are almost unheard of in Meribel.
Meribel is also a great resort for snowboarders, who will enjoy a challenging series of runs around the resort as well as two excellent snowparks.
Snow cannons cover 30% of the skiing area to boost snow cover when necessary.
Of course, there is also plenty to do if you are not into skiing, with various other sporting facilities available, including ice skating, tennis and squash courts, swimming, ten pin bowling and parachute jumping as well as plenty of relaxation in the form of saunas and jacuzzis.
Popular with the middle-aged set, and considered one of the more 'sedate' resorts on the skiing map, you are unlikely to find rowdy crowds of youngsters drinking the night away at Meribel.
The nightlife is good, without being boisterous. There are a number of places to go for a drink, ranging from a quiet afternoon beer, to cocktails and shooters with live music. Bars include Dicks' T-Bar, Jack's Bar, El Poncho and the Doron Pub.
There are also many self-service restaurants amongst the slopes, though there are some places where you can wine and dine your partner in style.
The area around Meribel is called the 3 Valleys. It has a good range of slopes for all levels of experience, and is surrounded by panoramic views that are second-to-none. Be sure to plan your skiing well - such is the vastness of the area that you may miss out on some spectacular runs otherwise.
Meribel tourism website
Address BP 1, Meribel, Savoie, 73551 France
Telephone: 0033 479 086 001
Fax: 00 33 4 79 00 59 61
Email: accueil@meribel.net
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