Méribel expands dining beyond the ski day
Méribel's new dining venues will open over the course of the season in Mottaret and around the La Chaudanne base station, according to Aviation.Direct. The mix includes traditional restaurants, street food and regional specialties, as well as all-day venues that will also host evening events.
The resort will also test an after-hours use for the Saulire Express cable car with temporary dinners in its rotating gondola cabins. Snowsports News reports that Dîner dans les Airs is scheduled for March 8 and 15, 2027. Guests will eat after dark, with Michelin-starred chef Laurent Azoulay of L'Ekrin preparing the courses in a temporary kitchen on the La Chaudanne snow front.
The dining plans reflect a broader commercial concern. Industry analysts cited by Aviation.Direct say operators such as Compagnie des Alpes increasingly need income beyond lift transport. They cite cable car systems' high operating and maintenance costs and variable early-winter snow conditions as reasons resorts are expanding restaurants and family packages to help make visitor stays economically viable.
Lift, trail and grooming work
Méribel's preparations also extend to its ski area. For winter 2026/27, the Châtelet high-speed chairlift returns after avalanche damage, and the phased renovation of the Rhodos gondola is complete. Work on the Niverolle trail changes its profile and adds snowmaking. More than €3 million has also gone into modernizing snowmaking on the Truite green run linking Méribel-Mottaret and Méribel.
At Val d'Isère, the grooming fleet in the Pisaillas sector now includes the resort's first Prinoth Leitwolf LTE-Motion electric snow groomer. The resort says the machine produces 93% lower CO₂ emissions than a groomer running on HVO 100, emits no fine particulates and operates almost silently.
Family access and beginner passes
Val d'Isère and neighboring Tignes offer free slope access to children under eight, alongside bundled multi-day passes. Val d'Isère has also established separate spaces for learning and play on Mont Solaise and in the Bellevarde area.
The resort's winter press kit details two further options. The Family Pass provides a €330 discount and swimming pool entry when four passes with a minimum duration of 6-7 days are purchased together. The Pim Pam Poum Beginners' Pass covers one ride on the Solaise ski lift, then unlimited use of the Pim-Pam and Poum magic carpets.
A safety program backed by more than 400 ambassadors
Local stakeholders and ski schools launched the Pompons Jaunes, or Yellow Pompons, association in July 2026. Working with ski patrol, it teaches minors how to behave safely on the slopes.
According to Wild Bay Co, more than 400 ambassadors support the association. They include ski instructors, ski patrol members, lift operators, local officials and municipal teams. Its roots lie in Pisteurs Juniors, a school program that has worked with local elementary-school children and Sports Club members for more than 15 years.
The initiative also builds on the Safety and Well-being Ambassadors Charter signed on January 28, 2026. Eight ski schools, including the Club des Sports, signed alongside tourism, lift and municipal organizations.
Season dates, rail service and Olympic plans
Val d'Isère's season opens on November 28, 2026, and its lifts are scheduled to run through May 2, 2027. For the same winter, Compagnie des Alpes subsidiary Travelski is launching an overnight train service connecting the Netherlands and Belgium with the French Alps. The route will serve Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Antwerp and Brussels before continuing to Moûtiers, Aime and Bourg-Saint-Maurice.
Val d'Isère placed second in Mountain Management's 2026 Best Ski Resort survey, which polled around 41,000 winter-sports visitors across Alpine resorts. It scored 8.40 out of 10, behind Zermatt's 8.46.
The resort also has a confirmed role in the 2030 Winter Olympics. Officially selected on June 29, 2026, to host the men's and women's technical alpine skiing events, Val d'Isère will have two competition runs descending toward the village, with a stated spectator capacity of 35,000.
