Megeve ski resort guide & reviews Ski area, apres-ski, things to see & do in Megeve
Resort review
Megève started its rise to fame as an international ski resort around 1910 when the Rothschild family started to spend their winter holidays here. By the 1950s Megève was one of the most popular ski resorts in Europe attracting the wealthy and famous and this is still the case today.
Walking around the centre of the village and in the picturesque Place d'Eglise, you get the feeling that you're in a chic resort with designer shops everywhere! Not just for shopping though, Megève is heaven for food connoisseurs with its own 2 Michelin star restaurant - Flocons de Sel and more than 80 other restaurants in the village and on the slopes.
Very much a family ski resort, Megève offers many activities for children in both summer and winter and in terms of skiing, the gentle slopes are ideal for the young ones.
Megeve ski area guide
Megève offers plenty of skiing for all levels but its fair to say its not as challenging as the terrain offered by Chamonix. In contrast, Megève provides lovely rolling pastures and quiet backwaters such as the hamlets of St Nicolas de Veroce, Le Bettex and Communales.
Ski holidays Megeve are excellent for families of mixed abilities, as well as beginner to intermediate skiers and snowboarders. Megeve is part of the Evasion Mont Blanc chain of resorts that offers 217 pistes covering 445km with 116 lifts.
| Key information (whole area) | |
|---|---|
| Altitude | 1113m |
| Top lift | 2350m |
| Family | |
| Beginner | |
| Intermediate | |
| Expert | |
| Piste (km) | 445 |
| Longest run | 10 km |
| Off piste | |
| Cross country | 95 km |
| Season | Dec - April |
| Snowboard parks | 1 |
| Heli Skiing | ✘ |
| Summer skiing | ✘ |
| Glacier skiing | ✘ |
| Babysitting | ✔ |
| Creche | ✔ |
| Apres ski | Chic & sophisticated |
Beginners
Beginners and children are very well catered for with kids’ clubs at key points so parents don’t have to trek far to drop off or pick the kids up. There are also very good ski schools in the resort too, so you can get everything arranged locally, saving you time and effort.
Intermediate
If you’re looking for wide, motorway pistes that aren’t too taxing you’ll love Megève. Not yet linked to Megève (although there is talk of this happening in the next few years) is the skiing village of Praz sur Arly which is just 4km away by car.
Praz sur Arly is certainly worth visiting as it is part of the massive Espace Diamant ski area giving further possibilities for ski touring around the resorts of Crest Voland and Les Saisies.
Advanced
For good skiers there's plenty of off piste and the powder tends to remain untracked for several days which is rare!
Après-ski
The après-ski in Megeve is chic and sophisticated with lively cafes, wine bars and some excellent restaurants to choose from. For late night partying, Megeve has some of the best night clubs in the area.
Things to See & Do
- The "Megève Polo Masters" is an international polo tournament played on snow
- The "Snow Golf Cup" is a unique golf tournament, held on snow on Megève's Mont d'Arbois plateau
- Snow-showing
- Winter hiking
Our view on Megeve
Skiing in Megeve is fun for everyone - brilliant connenected pistes for all levels and lots of them. The mountain restaurants are some of the best we have come across and offer a high standard of cuisine on a par with the exceptional restaurants in the resort.
Try and avoid skiing towards the end of the season as the slopes only hit a max altitude of 2350m and so many of the lower runs tend to lose their snow cover.
If you like Megève, you may also want to look at Cortina in the stunning Italian Dolomites - another chic resort, superb skiing and fantastic cuisine and Beaver Creek in Colorado.
