Megève
Megève - glamorous, chic, charming and so very French.
This pretty medieval town was developed as a ski resort in the 1920’s as a response to Switzerland’s St Moritz and it has continued to be the resort of choice for the well-heeled French.
Built by the rich, for the rich
The resort owes much of its early development to Baroness Noemie de Rothschild who felt that with its rolling pastures and pretty medieval centre it was ideal to compete with the Swiss ski resorts. In 1925 architect Henry Jacques Le Meme moved to Mégève and one of his first commissions in early 1926 was to build Chalet Noemie for Baroness de Rothschild, which is now part of the Domaine Du Mont D’Arbois and is still owned by the Rothschild family.
He took the design of a typical Savoyard farmhouse and transformed it into a more contemporary building and he was instrumental in setting the Megèvan style. Examples of his work can be seen all over the resort and his design has influenced many of the buildings in the area, resulting in a beautiful town.
The prettiest ski resort in Europe? - we think so
Although the recent development has been linear along the valley road, the town centre built around the 14th century church is very compact and is very pretty. The town has an incredible number of smart shops, fine dining restaurants and chic hotels and chalets, making it an increasingly popular choice for a more international clientele.
The ski area is divided into three main sections – Mont d’Arbois, Le Jaillet and Rochebrune. The town is most directly linked to the Rochebrune sector and the other areas plus the villages of Combloux, St Nicolas de Veroce and La Giettaz are all linked by lifts or pistes.
Megève’s charming old centre is car-free and comes complete with open-air ice rink, horse-drawn sleighs, cobbled streets and a fine church. Lots of smart clothing, jewellery, antique, gift and food shops add to the chic atmosphere.
