Méribel

Méribel is the Three Valleys' geographic and emotional middle. Built in the 1930s by an Edinburgh colonel who refused to let it become concrete, every building is wood, every roof line is the same, and the village reads like one continuous chalet. The lifts go three ways — Courchevel one valley over, Val Thorens at the top — which means a long Méribel day is a long every-resort day, and you can be back for a fire by four.

We fly here because the British have been quietly choosing Méribel for three generations and have been quietly correct. Because a chalet week should feel like a chalet week, not a hotel week with skis. Because the centre of the largest ski area on earth is the right place to start a winter.