Meribel's History
Méribel refers to three neighboring villages in the Les Allues commune of the Savoie département of France. The most well known is Méribel Les Allues, with its centre situated at about 1400 metres above sea level. Méribel-Mottaret is a more modern resort found at an altitude of 1700 metres. Méribel Village is the much less developed traditional village towards Courchevel also located at about 1400 metres.
The name Méribel is derived from the Roman name ‘Mira Bellum’– beautiful view. The discovery of Méribel began in 1936, when an Englishman called Peter Lindsay first visited the valley of Les Allues and was immediately seduced by the valley’s charm and beauty. Following his first visit in 1936 Peter Lindsay decided to set up a company to develop a brand new ski resort. Later that same year the first lift, with a capacity 31 seats, was installed above Les Allues. The main construction of Méribel did not begin until after World War II in 1945 when Peter Lindsay returned to finish the job he started. He called in a young Parisian architect, Christian Durupt, and Paul Jacques Grillo to develop the resort. They felt it essential to maintain the authenticity of the Savoyarde region. Only wood and stone were used for the body of the structures, and mountain slate was used for the sloping roofs.
Even today, Méribel owes its beauty and charm to such foresight. Between 1946 and 1954 Lindsay developed 17 hotels, 40 chalets, 4 lifts and in 1947 the Méribel ski school was founded. Les Trois Vallées circuit started to take shape in 1950 when Méribel linked with Courchevel via the Burgin-Saulire telecabine. Ten years later Les Trois Vallées officially linked when the Tougnette bubble was built, linking the Belleville Valley to Méribel. Méribel-Mottaret was opened in 1972 and has itself expanded greatly over the last 30 years. The development of Méribel and Les Trois Vallées continues and 69 years following its discovery, the charm and beauty still exists as it did back then and is now one of the largest ski areas in the world.
