There’s a choice of a host of activities to indulge in such as igloo building. At the resort leisure centre, Parc Olympic, you could enjoy a range of activities from a relaxing massage to sooth those achy legs to swimming and skating on its Olympic-size ice rink. A completely new experience for us was ski-joring. It’s basically ski-ing while you are being pulled by a horse (or it could be by dogs) that you have to steer (or try to!). It was fast, exhilarating, and I’d definitely do it again as would my 13-year-old son and husband, who were fans of this newfound activity. While we enjoyed an introductory lesson in the safety of a penned in snowy paddock with Le Coeur Equestre Des 3 Vallees, once you’ve honed your skills you can even venture onto selected pistes, for extended fun.
Getting to and from Meribel, was straight forward. We enjoyed a smooth sailing with DFDS from Dover to Calais with priority boarding and very comfortable priority lounge access, which included free drinks, snacks, and day beds to put your feet up on. And, while there are airports nearer to the resort of Meribel, travelling by ferry and car, even adding on the tolls you’ll need to pay en route, driving is still, more often than not, the cheaper option.
But facing a near nine-hour car journey is a daunting one, so I would recommend breaking the journey up with an overnight stay somewhere near the half way mark, which is exactly what we did. I can highly recommend a stay in the beautiful city of Dijon, and a meal at Maison Milliere restaurant based in one of Dijon’s oldest houses.
Situated behind the Cathedral of Notre Dame – make sure you follow the lucky carved owl trail around it – the food here is fantastic, the service was excellent and the historic building intriguing too. On the way back we stopped off at Hotel Les Remparts in Rue de Verdun, Chaumont, Haut-Marne, Champagne, which was full of character.
All in all, Meribel is now our favourite French ski resort!