For keen slope-bashers who dislike tacky purpose-built resorts, Méribel is difficult to beat. It is slap in the middle of the Three Valleys - the biggest inter-linked winter sports area in the world. With 200 lifts and 600 km of slopes, and endless off-slope possibilities, it is difficult to be bored in a fortnight here. Fans of Courchevel and Val-Thorens sniff at Méribel's local slopes, but since Mont Vallon and the top of the valley were opened up some years ago, Méribel can stand comparison on most counts.

Méribel is built entirely in tasteful chalet-style, with wood siding everywhere. And the center is very pleasant with raised walkways by the shops above the one-way road. The village has grown rapidly in recent years and now spreads widely over the mountainside. It is very popular with British visitors, many of whom own chalets here. And English can be more commonly heard than French on the slopes and in the bars. Regular visitors love it and wouldn't be seen anywhere else.

Unlike most French holiday ski resorts, Meribel has retained an atmosphere of the traditional skiing village, despite having grown enormously in recent years. Meribel-Mottaret is situated two miles (4km) up the valley and is better suited for the skiing, but not the nightlife. The resort was founded by the English early in the last century and is still very popular with British holidaymakers.