Megève: the back story

About Megève: the back story

By the ULTIMATE Ski Resorts Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

For centuries Megève lived from its farms and its herds. In the early 20th century Baroness Noémie de Rothschild chose it as a French alternative to St. Moritz, and the village has balanced Parisian elegance with Savoyard roots ever since.

A village of farms

Megève grew up in the Middle Ages around farming and livestock, a small Alpine community of farmhouses, oral traditions and the rhythm of the seasons. Those rural roots, the tourist office says, gave the village its soul, its hospitality and its elegant simplicity, and they are still visible in the old farms and hamlets around the centre.

Faith in stone

Between 1840 and 1878 the people of Megève built the Calvary, a monumental Way of the Cross climbing to a plateau above the village, with 15 listed chapels and a wide view. The Church of Saint John the Baptist and its bell tower still anchor the cobbled centre.

A French alternative to St. Moritz, built on a farming village.

The Baroness’s idea

At the beginning of the 20th century Baroness Noémie de Rothschild fell for the village and set out to create a chic French winter resort, an alternative to St. Moritz. She began the Hôtel du Mont d’Arbois, opened in 1921, and with the golf course and the Palais des Sports, Megève drew the Parisian elite. The tourist office tells of the first visitors arriving by sleigh, and of families who have been coming back for four generations.

Skiing arrives

Skiing took hold in the 1920s, and the Rochebrune cable car of 1933 changed access to the slopes for good. After the war the resort grew internationally, and today Megève is part of Évasion Mont-Blanc, more than 400 km of linked pistes across Megève, Saint-Gervais, Saint-Nicolas-de-Véroce, Combloux, La Giettaz and Les Contamines.

The village today

Unlike resorts built from scratch, Megève is a village that is lived in all year. Its centre is largely pedestrian, with boutiques, galleries and terraces around the church square, while Mont d’Arbois keeps the discreet chalets and the Rothschild heritage, Rochebrune the forests and long cruising runs, and Cote 2000 its racing pedigree.

Our advice: come for the general opening in mid-December or the last fortnight of the season, when Évasion passes are 20% cheaper. Walk the Calvary on a clear afternoon, and book Flocons de Sel well ahead.

Megève through the years

Dates from Megève Tourisme’s history and heritage page, read October 2026.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Megève: the back story before you go.