Les Menuires () is a

ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area – a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In North ...

in the Belleville valley of

Les Trois Vallées Les Trois Vallées (; ''The Three Valleys'') is a ski region in the Tarentaise Valley in the Savoie department of Southeastern France, to the south of the town of Moûtiers, partly in Vanoise National Park. Since 1971, it has been possible to ...

between

Saint-Martin-de-Belleville Saint-Martin-de-Belleville is a former commune in the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Les Belleville. Saint-Martin-de-Belleville is home t ...

and

Val Thorens Val Thorens (), is a ski town located in the Tarentaise Valley, Savoie, French Alps at an altitude of . It is located in the commune of Saint-Martin-de-Belleville in the Savoie department. The resort forms part of the Les Trois Vallées ski ar ...

. Owned and operated by

Compagnie des Alpes Compagnie des Alpes () is a French company created in 1989 to operate many ski resorts in Europe. Compagnie des Alpes is a part of Caisse des dépôts et consignations. History Compagnie des Alpes was first established in 1989 as a ski resort ...

, it is in the

Savoie Savoie (; Arpitan: ''Savouè'' or ''Savouè-d'Avâl''; English: ''Savoy'' ) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Southeastern France. Located in the French Alps, its prefecture is Chambéry. In 2019, Savoie had a population of ...

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivity, territorial collectivities"), between the regions of France, admin ...

'' of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The resort has 48 restaurants, 39

ski lift A ski lift is a mechanism for transporting skiers up a hill. Ski lifts are typically a paid service at ski resorts. The first ski lift was built in 1908 by German Robert Winterhalder in Schollach/Eisenbach, Hochschwarzwald. Types * Aerial l ...

s and 62 trails. The resort has advanced ski slopes and beginner slopes. The resort also hosted the men's slalom

alpine skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether for ...

event at the

1992 Winter Olympics ) , nations = 64 , athletes = 1,801 (1313 men, 488 women) , events = 57 in 6 sports (12 disciplines) , opening = 8 February 1992 , closing = 23 February 1992 , opened_by = President François Mitterrand , cauldron ...

. It's slopes are connected to more than 600 km of slopes in

, making it a part of the largest skiable area in the world. The resort has not only skiing facilities, but also offers a range of other activities. The resort was founded in 1964 and has an altitude range of .

History

During the 1950s, Service of the Study and Development of Mountain Tourism (SEATM) was created by the local authorities to create the ski resort of

Courchevel Courchevel () is a French Alps ski resort. It is a part of Les Trois Vallées, the largest linked ski areas in the world. Courchevel also refers to the towns of Courchevel 1300 (Le Praz), Courchevel 1550, Courchevel 1650 (Moriond), and Courc ...

. Due to its great success, in the 1960s the mayor of Saint-Martin-de-Belleville decided to follow suit and create a society with the plan to create 100 000 beds divided between the two main resorts of Les Menuires and Val Thorens, plus five satellite resorts. In 1964, the first three drag lifts were installed. In 1967, the first accommodation residences in the Croisette area were opened, as well as the second stage of the La Masse cable car. In 1969, the tourist office was created together with Les Menuires’ first hotel, and the west side of the mountain was equipped with ski lifts. 1973 saw the first stage of the impressive 3 Valleys ski area, with the Allamands drag lift linking Les Menuires to

Méribel Méribel () is a ski resort in the Tarentaise Valley in the French Alps. Méribel refers to three neighbouring villages in the Les Allues commune of the Savoie department of France, near the town of Moûtiers (), called Méribel Centre, Méribel ...

, at the same time that the nearby resort of Val Thorens was starting to be developed. Up to the early 1980s, there was an intense period of development in Les Menuires and Val Thorens. The initial plans were changed along the way with the main objectives being controlled development and preservation of the environment. The number of beds was scaled right down to 26 000 in Les Menuires and 20 000 for Val Thorens. The idea of satellite resorts was scrapped and instead the traditional village of Saint-Martin-de-Belleville was created with 1 200 beds. In the end 47 000 beds were created instead of the initially planned 100 000.History of Les Menuires - http://www.skicollection.co.uk/Ski/Les-Menuires.htm The main resort is centered on La Croisette. All of the restaurants, shops, bars, and the hotel Le Pelvoux are linked by an internal gallery. These front onto the piste, and the ski lifts that link the 3 Valleys network.

References

External links

Official Les Menuires Tourism Office website

Official site of Les 3 Vallees, lift & piste info, cams, weather, snow etc

Vanoise National Park
{{DEFAULTSORT:Menuires Venues of the 1992 Winter Olympics Olympic alpine skiing venues Ski areas and resorts in France Tourist attractions in Savoie Sports venues in Savoie