MORZINE
Stage town for the 22nd time Mountain resort of Haute-Savoie (74)
Population : 2,870 (Morzinois, Morzinoises)
Specialities: fondue, raclette, polenta, croziflette, stuffing, Abondance (cheese). Personalities: Laurent Baud (painter and mayor), Jean Vuarnet (alpine skiing, Olympic champion at the 1960 Olympics and creator of the neighbouring resort of Avoriaz, who died in 2017), Yves Tavernier, Cyprien Richard (skiers).
Sports: skiing, paragliding, ice rink, Olympic swimming pool. Hockey Club Morzine-Avoriaz. Pass'Portes du Soleil VTT (largest mountain bike gathering).
Economy: tourism, skiing, agriculture.
Festivals: Rock the Pistes, Harley Days (Motorcycle).
Labels: Famille Plus, Qualité Tourisme, Terre de Jeux 2024, UNESCO Geopark of the Chablais, Tour de France cycling city (3 bikes)
Websites / FB / Twitter / Insta : www.morzine-avoriaz.com / www.mairie-morzine-avoriaz.com / www.savoie-mont-blanc.com / https://cycling.morzine-avoriaz.com/ / www.portesdusoleil.com / https://www.facebook.com/MorzineAvoriaz / www.facebook.com/MairieMorzine / https://twitter.com/Morzine / https://twitter.com/MairieMorzine / www.youtube.com/user/MorzineTV/ / https://www.instagram.com/morzineofficiel/ / https://fr-fr.facebook.com/Departement.de.la.Haute.Savoie/ / https://twitter.com/dep_74?lang=fr / Instagram.com/hautesavoie-dep74 / https://fr-fr.facebook.com/savoiemontblancFR/ / https://www.instagram.com/savoiemontblanc/channel/?hl=fr / https://www.youtube.com/user/SavoieMontBlanc / https://m.facebook.com/lesportesdusoleil/?locale2=fr_FR / https://twitter.com/pds_officiel?lang=fr / https://www.instagram.com/portesdusoleil/?hl=fr / https://www.youtube.com/c/portesdusoleil
MORZINE AND CYCLING
The Colombian resort?
The Tour discovered Morzine in 1975, with stage winners including Marco Pantani and Richard Virenque. But the place also brings back excellent memories for Colombians. In 1982, Luis Herrera had shown the way by winning a stage of the Tour de l'Avenir. Three years later, it was in Avoriaz that Lucho won the Tour de France, and the following day, his compatriot Fabio Parra offered his country a unique double victory by winning in Lans-en-Vercors at the end of a stage that started in Morzine. Inspired by the location, Parra triumphed there three years later in a solo race to become the first Colombian to finish on the Tour podium. In 2012, Nairo Quintana also won one of his first prestigious victories in the Critérium du Dauphiné in Morzine. For the sake of completeness, Santiago Botero's stage win in the 2005 Dauphiné should be added to this list. In 2016, it was the Spaniard Ion Izagirre who won a stage starting from Megève on the eve of Chris Froome's victory in Paris. Last year, it was in the opposite direction, from Morzine to Megève, that Danish rider Magnus Cort completed a great start to the Tour by winning in an eventful finale.
SIGHTS
Portes du Soleil
12 resorts between France and Switzerland linked by their ski lifts make up the largest cross-border ski estate in the world. With 600 km of skiing in winter and 1,000 km of marked trails in summer, it is an exceptional playground for skiing, mountain biking or hiking in the breathtaking panoramas between Lake Geneva and the Mont Blanc massif.
Geopark of Haut Chablais
From the shores of Lake Geneva to the summit of the Hauts-Forts in Morzine-Avoriaz, the Chablais Geopark, which was awarded the UNESCO label in 2012, tells the story of the formation of the Alps, a story that is 250 million years old. Among the geological sites presented, three can be seen in Morzine: Ardoisières, Rouleau de Bostan from Lake Mines d'Or and the Belvedere in Avoriaz.
Morzine village
The historic centre is home to the baroque church (1803), the first building in Morzine to be covered with local slate in 1750 and remarkable for its undulating facades and its organ, which is a listed building. The presbytery next to the church is housed in a town house, while the Vieux Pont (Old Bridge), which spans the Dranse, joins Rue Bidon and its traditional houses.
Les Dérèches Park It is a huge green haven in the heart of Morzine, with a 4.5-km looped route along the Dranse River that can be walked in its entirety or in part. The park offers more than 10 sports and leisure activities, both in summer and winter: swimming pools, tennis courts, skating rinks, horse riding centre, fitness trail, skate park, conference centre, adventure trail, etc.
Bike Park
Morzine’s Bike Park is a unique mountain bike area, respectful of nature and its riders. The trails are hand-crafted by the area's bike patrols. In the summer of 2020, a beginners' area has been designed with different modules to train and improve your technique while enjoying the surrounding nature. Nearby are two blue runs, the red run, reworked by former French downhill champion Romain Paulhan, and the legendary black run of Morzine.
Avoriaz, a fantastic area
In the 1960s, Jean Vuarnet, an Olympic downhill champion from Morzine, took on the crazy challenge of creating a ski resort from scratch on the heights of Morzine. Opened in 1966 with the contribution of developer Gérard Brémond, Avoriaz stands out for its mimetic architecture designed by Jacques Labro and its entirely pedestrian concept. It enjoyed great success with the Fantastic Film Festival from 1973 to 1993.
TO EAT
Tomme de Serrausaix
Tomme is a cheese made from whole cow's milk. Several names exist such as "Tomme des Bauges" and "Tomme de Savoie". It belongs to the family of uncooked pressed cheeses. It can be enjoyed after a minimum of five weeks maturing. In Morzine, it is produced by the Serrausaix farm on the road to Avoriaz and served in the town's best restaurants, such as La Chamade.
