Megeve

A snowHead

I’m a nervous intermediate skier and want wide easy blues and greens based on what I have read on snowheads Megeve would suit me. I have found cheap flights and a very reasonable Airbnb. However we need to go 12th to 19th Feb as I have a 14 year old son at school. The Paris holidays are 15th Feb. Is it possible to manage the crowds or will it be horrible?
Also is there a bakery and supermarket in the town? We won’t have a car.
Thanks so much for your help

A snowHead

There are plenty of shops including a supermarket but some properties which advertise themselves as "Megeve" might still be a hike from the centre and lifts. It's a very expensive place so if an AirBnB is "very reasonable" there could be a reason....

And yes, I'm afraid it will be horribly crowded.

Sorry, this is all very negative but frankly I wouldn't go to Megeve in the Paris holidays. Italy is your best bet.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Les Saisies, not far from Megeve, would be a much better bet for easy greens and blues, and a much more compact place. A lot cheaper for eating and drinking but there's no "very reasonable" accommodation available at half term. But that'll be horribly crowded too.

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Thanks. Is there anywhere in Italy that you would recommend with a short transfer and easy blues?

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

As @Origen says, Megeve is expensive, it is a resort originally founded by one of the Rothschilds and still favoured by the wealthy Paris set (plus other rich people who want to emulate them). The same ski area is alternatively accessed from St Gervais if you want a more relaxed and less expensive base.

As with anywhere in France though, school holidays will make it busy. It isn't usually too bad once you are on the slopes, but there will be big queues for the gondolas up every morning as everyone wants to get their children to ski school on time.

For Italy, I would think that Pila would suit you, it is quite feasible to be based economically in Aosta at the base of the access gondola. Corvara is the other place that came to mind, but I suspect the transfer might not be straightforward.

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@j b, I have secret hopes on the gondola front, the new gondola is rated at 2800 people per hour compared to 1800 per hour for the old one.

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Yes, I think Pila is a good shout. Transfers probably not too expensive, and eating on the slopes hugely cheaper. Easy drive from Torino in a (cheap) rented car. Almost all motorway, and a car would be preferable if you stay down in Aosta. Personally I would prefer to stay up in Pila itself than in Aosta, and that's much more practical if you don't have a car. Walking from anywhere in Aosta to the gondola is, quite frankly, a bit of a pain. Though I believe you can leave your skis and boots up in Pila.

After all it is free

@Lbyrne, I would agree with the comments of others about Megeve. Also aren’t your dates Wednesday to Wednesday? That severely limits your options in peak season (and much of the rest of the season). Most accommodation is sold Saturday to Saturday with some Sunday to Sunday, particularly in peak season. Similarly, ski schools run group lessons from Sunday or Monday. This might explain why you have found cheap flights.

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There's probably no such thing as good cheap accommodation available in Megeve in the French school holidays from Weds - Weds.

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

I have chosen Wednesday to Wednesday to try and avoid the uk crowd and get cheap flights happy to take my son out of school for a couple of days. The Airbnb is 5 minutes from the lifts and the centre and gets 5 star ratings. We will not be doing ski school.
Are there any reasonably priced restaurants on the slopes? We only need a plate of chips or some soup.
Is the skiing wide blues and good for new intermediates?
Can anyone recommend a ski instructor for private lessons for my son?
Is there a bakery on town we can get reasonably priced bread and pastries from?
Thanks all for your help and advice

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@Lbyrne, I am truly astonished you can find any accommodation Weds-Weds in vacances scolaires. We ran, and many friends still do run self catering apartments, latterly on AirBnB, and everyone I know has (or had) a strict Sat-Sat policy for high weeks (cos, like, you totally can).

Sat-Sat is anyway increasingly the norm.

Do you want to post the property and we might be able to establish if they are perhaps being a little "economical on the truth" with location?

Anyway back to main question, Megeve doesn't really at all suit the profile you describe. Not at all.

"want wide easy blues and greens" you won't find those in Megeve - I mean, no, it's not Chamonix, but around the St Gervais/Cote 2000 sectors it's not mostly that - I will confess we've never skied across the other side

"based on what I have read on snowheads Megeve would suit me" where'd you read that?

Anyway, I'm more concerned about an airbnb 5 mins from a lift on a wed-wed booking mid-Feb. I smell a scam.

Thanks so it isn’t good for new intermediates? I thought I read that it was recommended for nervous intermediaries?

You know it makes sense.

There are far better places for "easy, wide, greens and blues". Les Saisies, up the road from Megeve, being one of them. I know that resort very well and like @under a new name am very doubtful you'll get cheap mid-week accommodation in the French holidays in either. And was that 5 minutes a walk in ski boots for an athlete, or a drive?

One question we can be positive about - bread prices in France are controlled. You will get good bread at reasonable prices. Good pastries will cost you but not break the bank. There is nowhere on the slopes to get a cheap plate of chips. Many of the shops in Megeve are the kind with no prices in the window and if you have to ask you definitely can't afford it (as my daughter in law, who finds it difficult to resist a lovely pair of boots, discovered Laughing

)

Where have you skied before?

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Megeve is fine for intermediates, but not sure about the "nervous" part. The slopes are not particularly wide, so maybe that could be an issue. If you go at half term it will get crowded for sure, but that's true of most French stations.

I think that a solid week of skiing starting with greens and working your way up to harder blues will do wonders for your confidence, no matter where you go. One thing about alpine skiing is that at some point you have to work through the "nervous" part, or it's just not fun (and not worth the money IMO).

The biggest drawback re Megeve for me is the price of on-slope food, but if you pack a lunch and eat outside or at a salle hors sac you're fine. There are definitely a bunch of bakeries...hey, it's France! If you are committed to Megeve, make sure you spend an evening at the municipal spa. The outside warm pools are wonderful.

There are some nice intermediate runs across the valley in St. Gervais, too. (Same lift ticket)

A snowHead

@Lbyrne, I would point you at the lift map https://forfait.megeve.com/hiver/plan-des-pistes-temps-reel/

Vastly mostly reds and the greens, as usual, are links, not really runs at all.

A snowHead

Can't see any "reasonable" Airbnbs either Shocked

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

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@Lbyrne,

Megeve is expensive for everything. My guess is that if you shifted your dates to Sat to Sat and went to somewhere cheaper you would save money even after paying more for flights. Or may be consider driving out.

The cheapest way of eating on the mountain in Megeve is to go over the hill to St Gervais - restaurant prices tend to be about 30% cheaper in my experience (although others will have a more uptodate view).

As far as the skiing is concerned, I woudn't worry too much about Megeve - I think there is enough pleasant, moderate skiing for you.

But I would consider somewhere else nearby Les Saises has been metioned and would be a good option. I think St Gervais would be better than Megeve. I also think Les Contamines would be a decent option and somewhat quieter in that week - pistes tend to be broad and open and not very challenging.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/41703093?adults=2&children=1&search_mode=regular_search&check_in=2025-02-12&check_out=2025-02-19&source_impression_id=p3_1723544111_P3cVbfxl5JOLXxlw&previous_page_section_name=1000&federated_search_id=1a338cc9-19e5-43e2-ba8a-44d139d124a3

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Really appreciate all your advice. This is the Airbnb. Seems genuine. We are in Passo Tonale last year and that is where my son learnt to ski a couple of years ago. We want a shorter transfer and a more interesting town. We also want private lessons for my son as he has picked up some bad habits from his cousins! I want lovely wide intermediates slopes and affordable beer and food. I just get overwhelmed by all the choices

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If I go to Megeve. It sounds like it will be bread and water only Very Happy

After all it is free

Can't comment on the AirBnB except to say it claims 10 minutes walk to the lifts and, glancing at the location, that's not going to be a level walk. I've been looking at AirBnB quite a bit recently and almost everywhere seems to say it's "one of the most loved homes". And the price, for mid week in Megeve, is honestly too good to be true.

Megeve is absolutely not an "affordable" resort if by "affordable" you mean "cheap". Whereas Passo Tonale IS cheap. There will be BIG lift queues. Private lessons will be available but go with one of the recognised ski schools there, not somebody found on the internet, as described above, who just didn't materialise. The ski schools will be flat out and you might find that private lessons are only available at certain times (often mid-day) with instructors fitting them in between morning and afternoon group lessons.

Les Contamines is an interesting suggestion - makes good sense from the skiing point of view (above the top of the gondola at any rate) but it's a strung out and not particularly interesting village. Les Saisies is really your optimum destination from Geneva BUT, much as I love it (we had an apartment there for 15 years) that too will be very busy in French school hols, with big lift queues. At half term I would go to Italy. There are lots of places more interesting than Passo Tonale (most places meet that low bar....). One possibility is La Thuile. It's not a short transfer (especially from Gva as it's through the Mont Blanc Tunnel) but you can't have everything. Eating and drinking on the slopes will certainly be cheaper than Megeve (and cheaper than Les Saisies too, come to that). Though beer is never cheap in Italy, in my admittedly limited experience. The thing to drink is wine!

If you are "nervous", your choices are always going to be difficult. The obvious answer is for everybody to have group lessons. That way you get lift priority and instructors will know what's right for you.

If you want a short transfer then you could look at Praz sur Arly, just a few miles up the road from Megeve. Nice village but much lower key, access to the whole Espace Diamant (including Les Saisies) and lots of not-too-expensive accommodation.

If you're taking your lad out of school "for a few days" why not make that 5 days and go in January?

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I'd be tempted to rent a car and drive, if the accommodation has parking, but finding parking in Megeve in peak season can be a nightmare. The big supermarkets have their own car parks.

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@Origen, yes we have noticed that one of the supermarkets in St Gervais caters for the big spenders on wine as well as more ordinary stuff. Though if I had any thought of spending that much I would go to a good delicatessen or similar (there is a restaurant which also advertises itself as a "caveiste").

My usual policy is to spend the sort of sum I would for a bottle in the UK so €9-15 (£8-12) which does us very well.

I am sure Megeve has some excellent bakeries, but when we have visited we have been distracted by the improbably expensive clothes shops and not really noticed the more ordinary shops.

You know it makes sense.

Talking about over priced Megeve things & bread, it seems 3 of the bakery's in StG have been bought over by a rather trendy baker from Megeve https://lachoco.fr/

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

They have a shop in Les Saisies, which is my granddaughters' favourite place in the whole world. Wonderful cakes and very expensive chocolate. They sell it off half price the last week of the season, when it's merely expensive. But the bread is normal price, as is usual in France.

A snowHead

@Lbyrne, theoretically, that AirBnB apartment shows availability Weds to Weds (12-19 Feb ‘25).
However, tucked away in the Ts & Cs is this:
‘Your reservation won’t be confirmed until the Host accepts your request (within 24 hours). You won’t be charged until then.’

I’d be extremely pleasantly surprised if the host accepted a Feb booking on anything but a weekend start/end day. Simply because it could mess up their most lucrative bookings of the year either side of those dates.

If you’re desperately keen to try Megeve then, you could chance your arm with a request for 12-19 Feb and see what happens.

Personally, though a fan of the area, I’d give up on that notion and take the sound advice from snowHead

s given already on your thread. Plenty of Italian / Austrian options tick most of your boxes.

Megeve, or surrounding towns, would be a good place to visit if you could manage to go just before, or just after, the French school holidays, ie late Jab or early March…if it’s a decent snow season.

A snowHead

"10 minute walk from ski lifts"???????

We live a "10 minute" walk from our town and in winter that's sufficient encouragement not to go into town.

That's not an enjoyable walkable ski distance for me. And I'm quite fit.

Also, ski schools will have restricted hours on private lessons and strict Sunday-Friday group lessons.

Look. You came on here asking advice. Most (all?) replies are from experienced skiers, some of whom live in or near your topic. And you're kind of arguing?

What's the point? rolling eyes

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

@PeakyB is right. Just try reserving that AirBnB. In the very unlikely event you get an offer at that price, reserve it and come back and tell us we were wrong. We'll acknowledge it! Or if you don't, have a look at some of the other resorts people have suggested, especially those which won't be swamped with people.

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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Best things about the bakery in St Gervais was that it had a rather nifty machine for automatically taking your money so you didn't feel guilty about counting out small bits of shrapnel. (the produce was decent as well)

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@T Bar, who uses coins these days?

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

After all it is free

The bread in their place in Les Saisies is terrific. My French neighbour thought the other one made the best baguettes but she's a connoisseur. I couldn't really tell the difference, being a British peasant.

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Megeve

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