Les Gets les portes du soleil > Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc

AUVERGNE-RHÔNE ALPES REGION

Departments: Ain, Allier, Ardèche, Cantal, Drôme, Isère, Loire, Haute-Loire, Puy-de-Dôme, Rhône, Métropole de Lyon, Savoie, Haute-Savoie.
Population: 8 million
Prefecture: Lyon
Area: 69,711 km2
Specialities: Beaujolais, Côtes du Rhône and Savoie wines, Lyon specialities (quenelles, cervelles de canut, saucisson.), potée auvergnate, Savoyard specialities (raclette, fondue, tartiflettes, diots, crozets), cheeses (beaufort, reblochon, cantal, bleu d'Auvergne, Salers, saint-Nectaire...), green lentil of Le Puy, waters (Evian, Thonon, Volvic) verbena, chartreuse.
Sports clubs: Olympique Lyonnais, AS Saint-Etienne, Clermont Foot 63, Grenoble Foot 38 (football). ASM Clermont, Lyon OU, FC Grenoble, Stade Aurillacois, US Oyonnax (rugby union), ASVEL Villeurbanne (basketball), Chambéry (handball), Brûleurs de loup Grenoble, Pionniers de Chamonix (ice hockey)
Competitions: women's football world cup, ski competitions (critérium de la Première neige in Val d'Isère), Tour de France passes, Critérium du Dauphiné.
Economy: (8e European region) high-tech industries, automotive (Berliet), metallurgy, rubber, plastics, chemicals, electronics, food processing, textiles, digital, banks, universities, administrations, viticulture. tyres (Michelin). Design. New technologies (Inovallée) Winter and summer tourism. 
Festivals: Fête des Lumières in Lyon, Nuits de Fourvière in Lyon, quais du polar in Lyon, biennale du design in Saint-Etienne, classical music festival in La Chaise-Dieu
Tourist sites: old Lyon and Croix-Rousse, Puy-en-Velay cathedral, Lake Annecy, Chambéry castle, winter sports in Isère, Savoie and Haute-Savoie, Cantal, thermal resorts, Auvergne volcanoes. Caverne du Pont d'Arc. Castle of Grignan. Bastille of Grenoble. Vulcania. Parc des Oiseaux.
Websites and social networks: www.auvergnerhonealpes.fr

HAUTE-SAVOIE (74)

Population: 862,000
Prefecture : Annecy
Sub-prefectures: Bonneville, Saint-Julien-en-Genevois, Thonon-les-Bains.
Number of municipalities: 279
Area: 4,388 km2
Specialities: AOC/AOP cheeses: Reblochon, Abondance, Tomme, Tome des Bauges, Beaufort, Chevrotin, Emmental of Savoy, Raclette. Savoie AOC wines, Ayze, Royal Seyssel, Roussette de Savoie. Other labels: Berthoud (STG), Savoy appels and pears (IGP). Specialities and traditional dishes: Génépi, Crozets, Tartiflette, perch fillets (lake fish), diots, blueberry pie, Savoyard fondue, potato fritters, honey, bidoyon (artisanal cider), gentian. 
Sports clubs: headquarters of the French ski federation. Football Club Annecy, GFA Rumilly Vallières (football). Thonon Evian Grand Genève Football Club. FCS Rumilly (rugby union). US Annecy Rugby. Black Panthers of Thonon-les-Bains (American football). Annecy CSAV Handball. Annemasse Basket Club. Chamonix Elite Hockey Club "Les Pionniers". Pays du Mont Blanc Hockey Club. Haute-Savoie Nordic Team
Competitions and major events: Kandahar-World Cup Alpine Skiing (Chamonix Mont Blanc Les Houches). Greenweez Maxi-Race (Annecy). Alps Bike Festival (La Clusaz). Mountain Bike World Cup (Les Gets). Climbing World Cup (Chamonix Mont Blanc). Megève international show-jumping. Evian Championship (golf). Ultra Trail du Mont-Blanc (Chamonix). Biathlon World Cup (Le Grand Bornand). Telemark World Cup (Samoëns and Saint-Gervais-les-Bains). High'Five Festival (Annecy). Rock the pistes (Portes du Soleil). Critérium du Dauphiné. Ski mountaineering World Cup (Flaine). Grande Odysée Savoie-Mont-Blanc. Tour de l'Avenir. Tour des Pays de Savoie
Heritage: Lake Geneva, Mont Blanc and Aiguille du Midi, Lake Annecy. Castle of the Sires of Bonneville. Castle of Clermont. Plateau des Glières (national necropolis). Montenvers train (Mer de Glace) and Mont Blanc tramway. Castle of Ripaille. Aravis pass. Village of Flottins. Pont des Amours (Annecy). Father Christmas' hamlet. Annecy Castle. Quail Bridge. Basilica of the Visitation. La Tournette. Col de la Forclaz. Abbey of Abondance. Cachat bar of Evian waters. Castles of Allinges. Baroque chapels of St-Gervais. Aulps Abbey. Thermal baths of St-Gervais Interpretation centre of the contraband in the mountains
Festivals: International Animation Film Festival (Annecy). Montjoux festival. Guitare en Scène (Annecy). Nomade Reggae Festival. Rock'n'Poche. Megève International Jazz Festival. Pleins Feux Festival. Village des Flottins. Morzine Harley Days. Musilac Mont-Blanc. Radio Meuh Circus Festival. Mont-Blanc Humour. Paradisio Annecy. Les Grandes Médiévales in Andilly
Main tourist sites: Lake Annecy, Annecy Castle, Mont Blanc and the Sea of Ice, Aravis, winter sports resorts of Chamonix, Saint-Gervais, Megève, Les Gets, Morzine and Avoriaz.
Economy: watchmaking (Cluses), screw-cutting, mechanics (Dassault, Alcatel), agriculture and agri-food (Reblochon milk production, tome, Evian water), mountain tourism, sports industry (Dynastar, Salomon, Mavic). Outdoor Sport Valley Cluster, for the economic development of the outdoor sector. Major facilities (Rochexpo, etc.)
Websites, etc. https://www.hautesavoie.fr/, www.haute-savoie-tourisme.org/  / https://fr-fr.facebook.com/hautesavoieledepartement / https://www.instagram.com/hautesavoieledepartement / https://twitter.com/dep_74 / tiktok.com/@hautesavoiedepartement    

Rich in heritage, extraordinary landscapes, quality agriculture and culinary specialities, Haute-Savoie is an attractive department with an established quality of life. It is thanks to the diversity of its territory that Haute-Savoie is able to make the most of it: mountain landscapes, exceptional lakes, dynamic valleys, etc. From the north to the south of the department, inhabitants and visitors alike benefit from and enjoy a remarkable living environment. 

Haute-Savoie is a true cycling region and since 1947 has provided 21 Tour de France stage towns and 30 of its mountain passes have been ridden by the Tour.

Since 2021, the Haute-Savoie Departmental Council has implemented a genuine policy in favour of cycling. Whether it is in supporting the projects of its 279 communes through the "Savoir rouler" operation set up for schoolchildren or thanks to the hosting of numerous cycling events, Haute-Savoie is fully committed to the practice of cycling.

CLUSES

Located in the Arve valley, in the largest cluse (valley formed by a river) in the Alps, Cluses is considered the capital of Faucigny. As early as the Middle Ages, there was talk of a bridge over the Arve. The first village was built near this bridge, at the entrance to the cluse, nestled between the mountains and the river. The Old Bridge, built in Roman times and rebuilt in the Middle Ages, is now a listed monument. This bridge was the only one to span the Arve for centuries. In 1720, Claude-Joseph Ballaloud introduced watchmaking to a valley that lived solely on agriculture. Very quickly, the family workshops multiplied and supplied the large firms in Geneva and Switzerland. The acquisition of know-how was accompanied by the creation of the Royal School of Watchmaking in 1848. To meet the needs of the major industrial sectors, watchmakers diversified into the manufacture of small micro-mechanical parts in series. The techniques of screw-cutting were born and have continued to evolve to be recognised worldwide today. Four years after Sallanches, in 1844, the village of Cluses, built of wooden chalets, was completely destroyed by fire. The town was rebuilt by architect François Justin in the Turin style of Piedmont. It was from Cluses that the 2021 Tour de France set off in the direction of Tignes, where Ben O'Connor won solo and Tadej Pogacar crushed the opposition to take the overall lead. Cluses has also twice hosted stage finishes of the Tour de France from the Tarentaise valley. This was the case in 1994, with a stage that started from Moûtiers and won by Piotr Ugrumov and in 2002 for a stage from Aime. Cluses has been more often on the route of the Critérium du Dauphiné, the last time in 2019 for the start of a stage won in Champéry by Dylan van Baarle, but also of the Tour des Pays de Savoie, with prestigious winners, Tao Geoghegan Hart in 2016 and Egan Bernal in 2017.  

Museum of Watchmaking and Screw-cutting
Foundation: early 20th century.
History: Initiated by the National School of Clockmaking in Cluses, the museum had a dual purpose: to collect old time measuring instruments (the oldest piece dates from the 16th century) and to preserve the memory of local industry.
Characteristics: located today in the Espace Carpano & Pons, a former industrial site, the museum presents a unique collection of models of exhausts manufactured in Cluses. Thematic guided tours, dramatised tours, educational workshops and temporary exhibitions are regularly offered and allow visitors to discover, learn and be amazed.
Special features: this museum also has the distinction of exhibiting the world's smallest bicycle according to the Guinness Book of Records. It is a 13-cm bicycle that works perfectly: the handlebars, the freewheel at the back, the brakes, and the spokes tightened and screwed on like on a real one. It took Paul Jacob, a former student of the Cluses watchmaking school, 36 years of work to achieve this feat, not in terms of sport but in terms of mechanics (from 1900 to 1936).

LA ROCHE-SUR-FORON

A medieval town, La Roche-sur-Foron is part of the network of the Most Beautiful Detours of France. Its medieval walls, the Plain-Château district, are worth a visit for their 16th and 17th century noble houses, but also for the 12th century Tower of the Counts of Geneva, the last vestige of the castle perched on the rock that gave its name to the town. Château de Saix (private property) and Château de l'Échelle, now a municipal cultural space, complete this walk through the past. The layout of the town centre has changed little over the last thousand years. The last important structural evolution dates from the 19th century, with neoclassical monuments such as the Town Hall, the Grenette and Place de la République, with characteristic arcades that can be found in Turin or in the department in Cluses and Sallanches. Finally, the famous water reservoir which, in 1885, enabled La Roche-sur-Foron to become one of the first towns in Europe to be equipped with public electric lighting is part of the industrial heritage. In 2020, La Roche-sur-Foron hosted a stage of the Tour de France, won by Poland's Michal Kwiatkowski after a breakaway with his team-mate Richard Carapaz.  

Tower of the Counts of Geneva
Construction: 13th century.
Style: medieval.
History: this circular keep is a vestige of the castle of the Counts of Geneva and showed their power. After the Middle Ages, its three floors were used as a prison and then as a quarry. It owes its salvation to an ancestral tradition, the Papegai shooting, as well as to the Capuchins who renovated it as best they could in the 19th century and set up a small summer chapel in the coolness of the rock.
Characteristics: the last vestige of the fortress of the Counts of Geneva, this tower is perched on a block of rock and dominates the banks of the river Foron. It is one of the first circular towers built in Savoy. This new architecture was an important step forward because it eliminated blind spots. Very fine examples of this type of military architecture exist in the area, notably at the castle of Thorens, a few kilometres from La Roche-sur-Foron.
Listed as: Historical Monument since 1944.

ANNECY

  Seventy years after the first Tour finish in Annecy, Alberto Contador won the last of his three stages in 2009 in a time trial around the lake. After visiting these harmonious shores, the course then turned in 2013 to the hills that give the lake its character. The finish in Semnoz brought the first Tour laurels for Nairo Quintana, who reached Paris with the polka dot jersey and in 2nd position overall. As for the first finish in Annecy in 1939, it was won by one of the most French of the Dutch riders, Antoon Van Schendel, whose brother Albert was also a Tour de France rider. Both men were based in Muret, a Tour stage town in 2015, where the family had a farm. In 2018, Annecy was the launchpad for a stage to Le Grand Bornand, which Julian Alaphilippe won. Although the Tour has long shunned the town – half a century between the victory of Rolf Graf in 1959 and that of Alberto Contador in 2009 – the Critérium du Dauphiné has made it one of its obligatory stops, with no less than 22 visits. Annecy is also the birthplace of Jeannie Longo.  

The lake
Lake Annecy is one of the cleanest lakes in the world. A major lake in Haute-Savoie, it is also the second largest lake in France after Lake Bourget in Savoie. A glacial lake dating back 18,000 years, it was formed when the Alpine glaciers melted. Several streams flowing down from the surrounding mountains feed it: the Laudon, the Bornette, the Ire, the Eau morte and the Biolon. The Boubioz, an important spring located under the lake, completes the picture. At the other end, the Thiou, which meanders through the old town of Annecy, serves as a spillway and flows into the Fier, which flows through the Gorges of the  Fier and finally into the Rhône. Every year, at the beginning of August, the Lake Annecy Festival is the scene of the biggest fireworks show in Europe.  

Annecy Castle
Overlooking the town, the castle is the former residence of the Counts of Geneva and the Dukes of Genevois-Nemours, the youngest branch of the House of Savoy, and was built from the 12th to the 16th centuries. The castle was burnt down several times and left abandoned in the 17th century. It was used as a barracks until 1947 before being acquired in 1953 by the city of Annecy, which restored it with the help of the Monuments Historiques. It now houses the Museum of Contemporary and Regional Art of Annecy and, since 1993, the Perrière Tower and Logis also house the Regional Office for Alpine Lakes.

FORCLAZ PASS

Col de la Forclaz has been ridden four times since 1959 by Tour de France riders. The last rider to lead over the pass was Thomas de Gendt in 2016.

LES CLEFS

The "Roman bridge", which crosses the Fier, is no more Roman than most bridges so named. It dates from the 15th century and has been a listed monument since 1947. The commune was famous for its châteaux, the châteaux des Clets, also known as Clées or Clefs, medieval fortifications that have disappeared and were located in the commune. Two of them were the centre of the Val des Clets seigneury.

CROIX-FRY PASS

Col de la Croix-Fry, named after a cross blessed by François de Sales, has featured five times in the Tour de France, most recently in 2018 when Rudy Molard led the way.

ARAVIS PASS

The pass has been climbed by Tour de France riders 41 times since 1911, the year in which the race tackled the very big passes of the Alps for the first time (the Bayard pass had been included since 1905). Emile Georget was the first rider to reach the top in front in 1911 and Richard Carapaz the last in 2020.

LA GIETTAZ

  In 1911, for its first foray into the Alps, the riders attacked their first alpine pass, the Aravis, via La Giettaz.

MEGEVE

In the canton of Sallanches, Megève is situated on a pass separating Val d'Arly from Val d'Arbon. Its important tourist development dates back to the 1910s when the Rothschild family decided to make it one of their holiday resorts. Their aim was to build a French competitor to the prestigious Swiss resort of Saint-Moritz and to create a resort becoming the symbol of the French art de vivre. Megève was highly coveted from the outset, with the greatest crowned heads having stayed there. Today, Megeve is internationally renowned as one of the most beautiful ski resorts in the world. Megève, Saint-Gervais-les-Bains, Combloux, La Giettaz, Cordon and Saint-Nicolas-de-Véroce form a domain of 162 slopes: the "Evasion Mont Blanc" domain. This area has more than 450 km of slopes with exceptional panoramas and a permanent view of Mont Blanc. Megève is the birthplace of some of the greatest names in French skiing, from Émile Allais, a true legend of the resort who died in 2012 at the age of 100, to the Duvillards (Adrien, Henri), who between them have countless titles and victories. In 2016, Megève hosted a Tour de France time trial won by Chris Froome. Last year, it was Dane Magnus Cort Nielsen who crowned a strong start to the Tour by winning in a suspenseful final. The resort organised two grand départs of the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré (1996 and 2004) and in 1998 Richard Virenque won a stage from Challes-les-Eaux.

COMBLOUX

Stage town for the first time
Municipality of Haute-Savoie (74)
Population: 2,100.
Specialities: fondue, raclette, polenta, croziflette, farcement, péla. Reblochon, tomme from Haute-Savoie. Personalities: Jean-Pierre Raffarin (former Prime Minister, has a residence there), Claude Masse (cartographer).
Sports: skiing, winter sports, canyoning, rafting, hiking.
Events: MB Race (mountain biking), L'Echappée Rando, La Crève-Cœur (cross-country skiing), La Comblorane (running). Loups du volant. Rando des Gourmets.
Economy: tourism. Winter sports (Combloux 360° mont-blanc France).
Festivals: Festival of the Fanfares (Brassbands) of Haute-Savoie. Festival of regional gastronomy and heritage.
Nickname: The Pearl of the Alps (Victor Hugo)
Labels: Ville fleurie (***). Listed tourist resort. Family Plus. Charming village resort. Grand domaine and Montagne douce resort.
Websites / FB / Twitter / Insta: www.mairie-combloux.fr / www.combloux.com

Die Alpen haben weit mehr zu bieten als nur Skigebiete. Mit malerischen Dörfern, Natur pur und hübschen Uferpromenaden ist diese französische Region ganzjährig eine Reise wert. An der Grenze zur Schweiz bieten Städte wie Annemasse außerdem das perfekte Basislager, um den Genfer See zu erkunden.  
Wer Schnee sucht, kommt hier natürlich auch nicht zu kurz. Schließlich ist hier die Heimat des berühmten Mont Blanc. Zu den beliebten Wintersportorten zählen Morzine und Courchevel, wo eine große Bandbreite unterschiedlicher Wintersportangebote sowie reizende Berghütten und jede Menge Après-Ski locken.  
Die farbenfrohen Orte zwischen den Gipfeln erwachen zum Leben, wenn die Frühlingsblumen in den Fensterkästen blühen und sich das Sonnenlicht auf dem Wasser von Seen und Kanälen spiegelt. Machen Sie eine Bootsfahrt, schwimmen Sie oder probieren Sie Stand-Up-Paddling aus. Sie finden sogar wunderschöne Strände entlang der Ufer.

TOP-Reiseziele in den französischen Alpen:

1. Annemasse
2. Morzine
3. Courchevel
4. Annecy
5. Bourg-en-Bresse

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