Megève Ski Area France
Megève/Saint-Gervais Ski Area is 2 of the 4 ski areas which make up the Domain Evasion Mont Blanc.
Mountains: Mont d´Arbois, Rochebrune, Cote 2000, Mont Joly and Mont Joie.
The Villages at the base of the skiing are beautiful Megève, St. Gervais, St. Nicolas de Veroce, Combloux and La Giettaz. Megeve is charming, historic, made even more famous with the filming of “Emily in Paris” skiing here.
Megeve is among France’s oldest and most-famed ski resorts. Like Courchevel, Megeve is popular with upscale downhillers, for its luxury hotels, designer shopping, apres ski and haute cuisine in the medieval village and up on the ski slopes. Skiing on four mountains, its mostly easy and intermediate terrain, the largest ski area is Mont d’Arbois – known for tree-lined runs (hence the name boi = woods) linking to the spa town of St Gervais. Unfortunately Megeve is not super high Alps elevation, and snow can be limited these days around the lower mountain and village.
Mont Joly is the highest and most challenging skiing at 2525-meters. Here you will find the most difficult trail, the black diamond “Grand Chamois” or a narrow red trail that swerves down the mountainside. Megeve offers some newer modern lifts but many of Megeve’s lifts are dated, with pomas, and older chairs due for an upgrade. Surprising, given how fancy the clientele is at Megeve, and pricey the lodging, that ski lifts aren’t more sophisticated. Lift plans are in the works and some new lift lines have been cut but some of these lifts have been pending for years.
Definitely ski over to Cote 2000, where you will find interesting north facing runs like the Marmotte. This area offers dramatic views staring up at the Alps wall below the backside of Italy’s Courmayeur. Some open snow fields above the lifts offer easy-to-reach off-piste if you are willing to invest in a short climb.
The town of Megeve is at a low elevation and it is a rare winter these days when you can ski to the base, instead you must download the gondola. Up on the mountain, the grassy moderately pitched slopes hold up with modest snow. There is some snowmaking and excellent grooming to manage the snow on the pistes. Despite the low elevation, Megeve has off-piste skiing, with far fewer free-riders than the nearby legendary Chamonix at Mont Blanc.
Megeve’s après ski, Mont d’Arbois is home to one of the infamous Folie Douce après ski dance party, where a show with dancers, lights and pop music pumps out every afternoon, and expensive drinks like Aperol Sprtiz and champagne flow at high elevation (you can ride the lifts down in lieu of skiing). Other Folie Douce resorts with the same après ski format include Val d’Isère, Alpe d’Huez and Meribel at Les Trois Vallees.
In the beautiful town of Megeve, Bar St Paul is a popular après-ski spot for locals, along with Wake Up, Cocoon and Le Nano Caffè. Just strolling the chi-chi shops in your furry boots or sipping an Aperol Spritz by the ice-rink seems to be the “it crowd” apres ski activity.
Megeve has the most restaurants of any French ski resort, with many Michelin stars. Megeve’s luxury hotels include Four Seasons, Hotel Le Chalet Blanc, Grand Hotel Soleil d’Or, the most of any ski resort in France. In 1921 Baroness Rothschild opened the first luxe hotel here, and its had a well-heeled, glitzy vibe ever since.
Megève’s upscale reputation (and glamorous portrayal on Emily in Paris) brings the downside of being pricey! We loved our on-mountain chalet lunches, sitting on a chic sun terrace, at l’Ideal 1850 and L’Alpette, but lunch entree prices are often $40 and up, and a small glass of local French wine can be $15 Euros, versus $5 – 8 Euros at other French resorts.
Megeve is absolutely spectacular, surrounded by dramatic Alps including Mont Blanc at over 15,000′ soaring above. The village is postcard perfect, historic and charming, decorated in winter holiday lights.
While Megeve’s older lifts are a tangled network, and it’s not super challenging ski terrain, its a fun family ski holiday, very accommodating to non-skiers as well with shopping and the pretty village. Chamonix and Mont Blanc are close, just 20 km, as the bird flies, you can take a train to ski Chamonix. Megeve is just an hour from Geneva airport, in France’s Haute Savoie Alps. Other nearby ski areas to visit include Grand Massif and and Les Sybelles 2 hours south.
Megève/Saint-Gervais Ski Resort Ski Stats:
Elevation: 850 – 2353M, 7,720′
Vertical Drop: 1503-meters, 4,931′
Lifts: 81
Trails: 400 km
Megeve Tourism
