5 Days in Megève

Megève grew round this square long before the Rothschilds. The church of Saint-Jean-Baptiste has parts from the 13th century and a carved wooden door of 1692, and it stands beside a Benedictine priory. On the square is also the Tour Magdelain, a keep that belonged to the Capré family, lords of Megève, and housed the town hall until 2021. In winter a big Christmas tree stands in front of the church.

The pedestrian streets around the square are lined with boutiques and galleries, and window-shopping is the free half of the village's reputation. The other half is the horse-drawn carriages waiting at the edge of the square.

This is a calèche (carriage) ride, priced per carriage whatever the number of passengers, up to 12 people. You book by phone with the coachmen of the Cheval de Feug equestrian center in Demi-Quartier, just north of the village. The standard ride lasts an hour through the village and its hamlets. The longer version adds a visit to the stables and a Savoyard fondue aboard an electric-assisted carriage: 90 minutes, 48 EUR an adult in 2026, 35 EUR for children 6 to 10, free under 6, wine extra. It must be booked at least 48 hours ahead. It's a cliché, and you'll be one of many doing it, but it is the most Megève thing to do.

The building next to the church was a priory, hence the name, and in the 1930s the architect Henry-Jacques Le Même, who designed the baroness's chalet, turned it into a restaurant. Today it is the bistro of Emmanuel Renaut, the chef with three stars at Flocons de Sel, and the cheapest way to taste his cooking: a three-course Menu du Prieuré was 45 EUR on the summer 2026 card, and mains ran 35 to 45 EUR.

Order the region: reblochon, mountain mushrooms, fillets or quenelles of alpine lake fish, and a Savoie wine. The restaurant opens Wednesday to Sunday for lunch and dinner and closes Monday and Tuesday, so a Thursday works and a Monday would not.

One priest, Father Ambroise Martin (1791-1863), parish priest of Megève from 1820 until he died, built 15 chapels and oratories retracing the Passion between 1840 and 1878. The site is listed as a historic monument, and a long restoration finished in 2011 returned it to its original look.

A small museum at the Hermitage, free and opened in 2013, explains the restoration and offers a virtual tour of the chapels. Then walk the path itself: the 1.8 km nature trail takes about an hour with 80 m of climb. The Refuge du Calvaire restaurant on the site has a terrace and does fondues and raclettes.

Saint-Gervais is 11 km from Megève, about 15 minutes by road. The Thermes de Saint-Gervais use water that comes out of the ground at 39 °C, rich in sulfur and other minerals, and the spa sits at the foot of the Bonnant gorge. The Bains du Mont-Blanc give you three hours in indoor and outdoor pools (four outdoors), saunas, steam baths and relaxation areas. Entry from age 13 starts at 49 EUR, a cheaper happy-hour slot at 35 EUR, and the price varies by date.

The site has a dark history. On 12 July 1892 water trapped under the Tête Rousse glacier broke loose, destroyed the thermal buildings at Le Fayet and killed more than 200 people. The baths were rebuilt and are open Thursday from 9:00 to 20:00, Friday until 21:00 and Saturday from 10:00 to 21:00. They close on Tuesday, which is why the rest day never falls there.

Vous is a house at 36 rue Saint-François with a single counter of 14 seats facing the open kitchen, run under chef Julien Gatillon with Jean Pastre cooking in front of you. The Michelin Guide gives it one star for modern dishes such as confit lake char, langoustine cooked over a flame and roast duck from the Dombes.

It's the affordable star of the village. The autumn 2026 card had a Discovery menu at 140 EUR and a Signature menu at 190 EUR, plus a lunch-only option of two courses for 70 EUR or three for 90 EUR. There is one service per meal, children must be 15 or older, and reservations open three months ahead, so book now if your date is fixed. In season it's open from Wednesday evening to Sunday.

The Chamois gondola leaves from the village center, a few steps from the church square, and carries you up to the Rochebrune side. Rochebrune is where skiing began here: its cable car opened in 1933, and the operator marked its 90th anniversary as the first cable car for skiers, calling the sector the cradle of winter sports. Émile Allais, the champion credited with the parallel turn and with founding Megève's ski school, was one of the people who made it a skiing place.

Beginners can start on the 29 EUR day pass, which covers the beginner lifts of Rochebrune and Mont d'Arbois. Works to rebuild the Rochebrune lifts were suspended by a Conseil d'État ruling in 2024, so check which lifts are running before you plan a route.

Spend the morning around the Alpette chair, which serves the L'Alpette chalet at 1,895 m, with the Caboche gondola and the Rochebrune cable car feeding the sector. This is the oldest part of the area, and its lifts are the ones awaiting renewal, so ask which are open. Petit Rochebrune has a 15 EUR beginner day pass covering a chair and a conveyor.

Ski a few circuits here, then keep Côte 2000 for the afternoon.

L'Alpette is a mountain chalet at 1,895 m with a 360-degree view of Mont Blanc and a panoramic terrace. You reach it on skis via the Alpette chairlift or on foot from the top of the Caboche gondola. The kitchen calls its cooking bistronomic, Savoyard dishes reworked with some care. The tourist office lists à la carte dishes from 16 to 74 EUR for 2026/27.

Lunch is the reason to be on this side of the mountain by noon.

Côte 2000 was developed after World War II for the snow its exposure holds, powder from November to May by the Évasion history, and it is the early-season sector: the operator sold a single-price day on the Radaz and Côte 2000 chairs at the end of November 2025. Meg-Bus line 2 reaches it from the village.

The Chalet du Radaz sits in the middle of the slopes, facing the Aiguilles Croches, and is reachable on skis from Rochebrune or on foot from the car park in about 30 minutes. It serves traditional family cooking, and its listing mentions a Savoyard fondue on Sundays. It's listed as open daily from 19 December 2026 to 4 April 2027, depending on the lifts.

Walk back into the pedestrian streets after the lifts close and stop at La Petite Crêperie on rue Charles Feige. It has been in the heart of the village since 1988 and serves sweet crêpes and buckwheat galettes all day, with items from 4.50 EUR. It's listed as open from 16 October 2026 to 11 April 2027.

Think of it as the counterweight to tonight's fondue.

Le Vieux Megève is an old wooden farmhouse at 58 place de la Résistance, with a big fireplace, the sound of an accordion in the evening and a menu of Savoyard fondues: classic, with porcini or bourguignonne (meat cooked in oil). It belongs to the Sibuet family's houses, and the tourist office calls it a Megève institution. The list also has pela des Aravis, berthoud, raclette and a crème brûlée flavored with génépi.

This is the honest tourist dinner, folkloric on purpose. It's listed as open every day for lunch and dinner from 19 December 2026 to 4 April 2027.

A bakery and tea room at 290 route du Palais des Sports, about 300 m from the slopes and close to the Jaillet gondola. It's listed as open every day of 2026 from 6:00 to 19:30, which in a ski village is its real selling point: a warm croissant for breakfast and a baguette to take up the mountain, long before the lifts open.

The French breakfast is exactly this, a buttery croissant and a coffee. The shop also makes homemade bread and pastries, and the tea room has seats for a slower start.

The Jaillet gondola opened in 1952 and it's the lift of the family sector. The Portes du Mont-Blanc has 66 runs by the tourist office's count (11 green, 29 blue, 16 red, 10 black) on 10 lifts, a snow park and a children's ski zone called L'Ours des Prés. The operator describes forest runs and open views facing Mont Blanc.

The free Meg-Bus lines 1 and 2 both stop at the Jaillet gondola, so you don't need a car. With 29 blues out of 66 runs, this is the least demanding of the four ski days, which is why families and beginners start here.

Combloux is the neighboring village, 5 km from Megève by road, and the operator sells it as the family station with an incredible view of Mont Blanc. On skis you reach it from the Jaillet: a T-bar built in 1960, Crève Cœur, was the first lift to link the two. The Beauregard gondola carries you back up from the village.

Don't plan a whole day here: ski down for the view and a coffee, then take the gondola back.

An alpine chalet at the center of the Megève-La Giettaz link, reached in winter on skis or snowshoes via the Christomet, or from the top of the Torraz chair. It serves Savoyard family cooking, and the 2026/27 listing gives à la carte prices from 15 to 32 EUR, cheap for a village where lunch can cost ten times more. It's listed open daily from 19 December 2026 to 21 March 2027.

Stop for lunch and carry on to La Giettaz.

La Giettaz is the village at the foot of the Col des Aravis, and for years it was a one-way trip: the Christomet chair, built in 1979, took you over and you couldn't ski back. Since the Charmots T-bar went in, in 2004, you can go from the Jaillet to La Giettaz and return the same day. The operator calls La Giettaz an authentic, nature-first village.

Ski the Torraz and Grande Rare side, then plan your return early: look up the closing time of the Charmots T-bar in the morning and leave a margin of an hour.

Le 45° is the restaurant at the foot of the Jaillet gondola, at 813 route du Jaillet, so it is the first and last table of the day. The kitchen works from the farm to the plate: seasonal, local and 100 percent homemade, with very local producers. It's listed open Thursday to Monday for lunch and dinner, closed Tuesday, and open Wednesday for lunch only.

It's the easy dinner after a big day on the gondola's own doorstep. The prices aren't published, so phone when you book.

Ride the Mont d'Arbois gondola from Megève to the summit, then ski down the other side to Le Bettex, the plateau at 1,400 m where Saint-Gervais chose to build its first runs in 1936. The link between the two resorts goes back to the cable car from the Bettex to the Mont d'Arbois of 1937, and the gondola that replaced it dates from 1989. The Bettex-Arbois gondola takes you back up.

Near the top of Mont d'Arbois, at 1,840 m, is a beginners' area called Les Marmottons, with a covered conveyor, gentle slopes and a view of Mont Blanc, created in 2020.

Saint-Nicolas-de-Véroce lies at the foot of Mont Joly and became part of Saint-Gervais in 1973. Its church, finished in 1729 with the help of emigrants who had made fortunes abroad, is described as a small museum of popular Baroque, fitted out through the 18th century. The steep slopes between Mont Joly and Saint-Nicolas are the off-piste of this side, with a descent to the Plateau de la Croix that the tourist office describes as thrilling. Off-piste means a guide and avalanche gear, and isn't the point of a day like this.

The gastronomic restaurant of the Armancette hotel in Saint-Nicolas holds one Michelin star. Chef Thomas Vonderscher cooks a single menu around alpine produce: on the autumn 2026 card, smoked whitefish from Lake Geneva, wild zander from the Rhône and duck from Bresse, for 95 EUR, served to the whole table.

The hotel lists Sunday lunch, Monday and Tuesday lunch and dinner, and Friday and Saturday dinner, and the dining room has only about 40 seats, so book early.

After lunch, take the Bettex-Arbois gondola back up and spend the last hours on the Megève side of Mont d'Arbois. The Rocharbois cable car joins Rochebrune to Mont d'Arbois, and it made the two sectors one area. Mont d'Arbois is where the Rothschild story starts: Noémie de Rothschild built the Palace des Neiges here in 1921, and her chalet of 1926 by Le Même looked like a farm outside, with big windows, a real fireplace and a ski room inside. The summit is on the territory of Saint-Gervais, and the towns have argued over who runs the lifts.

The pine-lined runs include the Mandarine green and, for experts, the Princesse Noire and Rosay blacks. Finish at the Mont d'Arbois base, a bit over a kilometer east of the church square, and take Meg-Bus line 2 home.

Le Carnotzet is the folklore restaurant of the five-star Fermes de Marie hotel, about 600 m west of the church square. A limonaire (barrel organ) plays old tunes while you eat Alpine specialties: Savoyard fondue, raclette, pela or fondue bourguignonne. It's listed as open every evening from 11 December 2026 to 31 March 2027.

The tourist office publishes no menu, and the hotel is five-star, so ask the price when you book. There is no wheelchair access.

Reach the Saint-Gervais side the way you did yesterday: the Mont d'Arbois gondola, then down to Le Bettex. The Mont Joux chairlifts give access to the Saint-Gervais snowpark, with a boardercross and fun jumps for families and a more technical jib area for experienced riders. The Saint-Gervais tourist office says the Evasion area enjoys superb sunshine and that you can ski most of it. The Monts Rosset chair runs along the ridge toward Combloux.

The red run called Saint-Gervais drops from Le Bettex (1,400 m) to Le Châtelet (850 m), where the Alpin gondola starts. The tourist office says the slope takes you back to Saint-Gervais on skis, and the town put snow cannons on it in 2015. It's more than 500 m of vertical and the lowest ground in the area, so it's the run that suffers first in a thin winter: Saint-Gervais closed two weeks early in 2024. Ski it before lunch, while the snow is firm.

At the bottom, the Alpin gondola goes back up to the Bettex, and the Valléen gondola, which opened in 2024, links the Alpin base with the Le Fayet railway station. Ski back to Megève by the Bettex-Arbois gondola and Mont d'Arbois.

Rond de Carotte is a restaurant, wine cellar and coffee shop at 50 rue de la Vignette. The Michelin Guide, which lists it at two euro signs, mentions a seasonal menu that sometimes features local products such as snails from Magland, and the cellar holds more than 500 wines.

On Monday it is open from 9:00 to 18:00, with brunch until 14:00 and a seasonal lunch. It's closed Tuesday and Wednesday and opens for dinner only on Friday and Saturday.

The village church, built in 1698 as a hall church without a transept, is a Baroque showpiece made with the help of emigrants who had made fortunes. Its bell tower was destroyed by lightning in 1792 and rebuilt in 1819. The village hero is Marie Paradis, a local woman who in 1808 became the first woman to climb Mont Blanc, from the Chamonix side, and a terrace in the village bears her name.

Saint-Gervais is a spa town as much as a ski resort, and the springs at Le Fayet were found in 1806. The tourist office is at 43 rue du Mont-Blanc, and a free shuttle runs seven days a week in winter.

Flocons de Sel is the three-star restaurant of Emmanuel Renaut, who fell for the Haute-Savoie as a child, on the Leutaz road 5 km from the village. The Michelin Guide singles out lake fish, wild mushrooms and mountain herbs, and the dining room is wood from floor to ceiling with windows on the gardens and summits. The cellar holds about 1,200 wines, many from Savoie.

The honest part is the price: the summer 2026 tasting menu was 350 EUR for the whole table, and single dishes ran 80 to 150 EUR. It's open for dinner on Monday and Thursday to Sunday, plus Sunday lunch, and closed Tuesday and Wednesday. The winter season opens on 4 December 2026. If 350 EUR is more than you want to spend, Le Prieuré is the same chef at a 45 EUR menu.