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THREE VALLEYS
Les Trois Valles or The Three Valleys is the famous ski destination in the Savoie region of France. It is the largest ski area in the world- it has more than 600 km of ski slopes, resulting in 18.5 Sq. km of groomed runs. In addition, there are 120 km for cross-country skiing. The three valleys made up by Meribel, Courchevel and Val Thorens. It is also the best connected as all the three regions are interlinked and a single ski pass ensures access to all three. The whole area is connected solely with ski lifts and slopes. Les Trois Vallées has 183 ski lifts, which can transport 260,000 skiers per hour. Other equipment owned by the operating companies includes 1,920 snow cannons and 76 piste bashers.
The whole expanse of the three valleys is a skier’s heaven. Over 200 lifts, 600km of well linked, all-ability pistes including 100 blue runs, 145 red runs and 28 black runs plus off-piste to match, an area lift pass giving access to all of the skiing in the Three Valleys.
Assurance enough that there is something for everyone.
All the skiing facilities together with the wonderful Alpine atmosphere, excellent mountain restaurants & pubs, reliable snow and modern ski resorts and excellent facilities make this destination one of the most sought after. With a top altitude at over 11000ft, good snow conditions are guaranteed- making for superb skiing.
Most of the resorts in the Three Valleys offer skidoos, snowshoeing, ice skating, indoor swimming pools, tobogganing, and parapenting. It is a beautiful area for winter walks and there are 110kms of cross-country skiing trails. Employees in the area include 424 ski patrollers and 1,500 ski instructors.
http://www.les3vallees.com
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MERIBEL
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Meribel lies in the middle of the Les Trois Valles. Over the past few years, Meribel has grown yet managed to preserve its rustic atmosphere. The resort actually consists of five separate parts but the two main areas, which comprise the vast majority of the accommodation, are Meribel-Centre and Meribel-Mottaret. Both are largely chalet and apartment based, with a limited choice of hotels, meaning that the restaurant selection could be better. There are enough bars and clubs to keep the younger crowd happy. Meribel refers to three neighbouring villages in the Les Allues commune of the Savoie département of France, near the town of Moûtiers (45.401° N 6.5655° E). The villages are within the Vanoise National Park.
Meribel Les Allues is a ski resort that was developed adjacent to the traditional hamlet of Morel, with its centre situated at about 1400 meters above sea level. The original skiing development was promoted by British Colonel Peter Lindsay, who spotted the potential of the valley in 1938; his family continues to have a financial stake and his grandchildren now ski in Meribel. Peter Lindsay's ashes and those of his wife are scattered on the Burgin Mountain. Under his guidance, the resort was developed in a "traditional" chalet style.
A more modern village, Meribel-Mottaret, has also been built near the head of the Allues valley at an altitude of 1700 meters.
Meribel Village is the much less developed traditional village located on the road to Courchevel, also located at about 1400 meters.
Meribel is the only single resort to offer 16 high capacity gondola lifts. In addition, there are 18 chair-lifts (including one 8-seater and 6-seater), 14 drag-lifts, 8 telebabies and 1 moving walkway.
http://www.meribel.net/
http://www.merinet.com/
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COURCHEVEL:
In the far left of The Three Valleys, the expanse of Courchevel consists of 5 joined resorts: Courchevel Le Praz 1300, Courchevel 1550(the original Courchevel), Courchevel 1650(Moriond), Courchevel 1850, and La Tania. The numbers indicate the altitude in meters of each of the villages. Courchevel 1850 is the largest of the skiing villages in the resort area, and has some challenging skiing. With its elite appeal, it is the most expensive resort in France. The shopping and Apres-ski facilities here are the best.
http://www.courchevel.com
VAL THORENS:
At 2300 meters altitude, Val Thorens is the highest ski village in Europe. It is located in the commune of Saint-Martin-de-Belleville in the Savoie département. It’s north facing slopes guarantee snow throughout the ski season and secures Val Thorens as a skiing destination out of high season. It is a purpose built resort which offers doorstep skiing in its’ own area and then access to over 600 km of pistes the whole of Les Trois Vallées with links to Meribel and Courchevel.
The high altitude provides for a very long ski season with the ski infrastructure typically closing in early-middle May. Many of its slopes face north and north-west, providing for good snow conditions. This means that the slopes are not as sunny and thus the resort attracts a crowd more interested in skiing than “terracing”. However, the resort itself is south facing, and many tourists enjoy sitting in the sunshine outside after skiing.
http://www.valthorens.com/
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