LES GETS
Stage town for the first time
Mountain resort of Haute-Savoie (74)
Population: 1,230 (Gêtois.es)
Specialities: fondue, raclette, polenta, croziflette, farcement, Abondance (cheese). Tomme des Gets.
Personalities: Danielle Debernard (two-times Olympic medallist in alpine skiing), Nicolas Anthonioz (alpine skiing), Deborah Anthonioz (snowboard)
Sports: skiing, paragliding, Wibit water park. Pass'Portes du Soleil VTT (largest mountain bike gathering).
Events: 2022 World Mountain Bike Championships. Crankworx (slopestyle), La Grande Odyssée (sled dogs).
Economy: tourism, skiing, agriculture.
Festivals: International Mechanical Music Festival. Lounge Music Festival. Rock the Pistes. Montreux Comedy goes skiing.
Labels: tourist commune. Famille Plus Montagne. Charming village resort. Large domain resort. Gentle mountain. Cycling city of the Tour de France (3 bikes)
Websites / FB / Twitter / Insta: www.lesgets-mairie.fr / www.lesgets.com / www.portesdusoleil.com / www.hautesavoie.fr
LES GETS AND CYCLING
The Tour de France has often ridden through Les Gets, notably during the stages finishing in the neighbouring resort of Morzine but the race had never set up its village and its barriers for a proper stage in the village. It is now the case and it was about time since the Critérium du Dauphiné already stopped there three times in the past. In 2016, Alberto Contador won the prologue of the race for his last time trial victory at this level. And in 2021, it was Ukrainian Mark Padun who won one of his two stages in this edition in Les Gets. But Les Gets is also, and almost above all, known to cycling enthusiasts as a stronghold for mountain biking. In 2019, Mathieu van der Poel won a world cup event there and last year, the resort organised the world championships in the discipline, which enabled Frenchwoman Pauline Ferrand-Prévot to win two gold medals while Switzerland's Nino Schurter won his tenth cross-country world championship title. The legend of the speciality only made one attempt on the road, during the 2014 season with Orica-Greenedge, but did not insist despite promising results.
SIGHTS
Aeolian organ of the Church of the Nativity of Mary
Built: 1910
Manufacturer: Aeolian, an American company founded in 1887, specialising in organs and mechanical pianos, went bankrupt in 1980.
History: it is a large salon organ acquired by George Davison, a wealthy English photographer and music lover, who installed it in 1914 in his private hotel in London. Davison then left to live on the French Riviera, in Cap d'Antibes, where he ended his life. He died in 1930 and his house was sold with the organ in 1955. Recovered by Marc Fournier, a specialist, it was noticed in 1988 by the Museum of Mechanical Music in Les Gets, which acquired it, restored it and placed it in the church.
Characteristics: The organ is 6-metres wide, 5.5-metres high and 5-metres deep. The front of the case is made of Ancona walnut. It has 13 stops for a total of 1,000 pipes and two large 49-note metallophones and a 20-note carillon. The transmission is electropneumatic. In addition, the instrument is equipped with a mechanical device that automatically plays music recorded on rolls of perforated paper (there are a thousand of these, with classical or light music).
Listed as: Historical Monument since 1989.
Museum of Mechanical Music
For nearly 40 years, the Association de la Musique Mécanique of Les Gets has assembled a unique collection of chimes, clocks and music boxes; street, dance and merry-go-round organs; mechanical and pneumatic pianos; animated boards and automatons; accordions and automatic violins; harmoniums, orchestrions, phonographs, gramophones and jukeboxes Nearly 900 pieces are presented in the context of their time in different rooms. Among the most beautiful objects on display are a hundred or so automatons that are exhibited each year in the window of perfumer Roger & Gallet in Paris. The Mechanical Music Association also has an impact outdoors: its wooden horse carousel brings the town hall square to life and the automatic philharmonic organ isn used for concerts in the church in Les Gets. Finally, events such as the International Festival of Mechanical Music, which brings together more than 450 organ players and street singers from all over the world every two years, reinforce the reputation of this action.
Bike Park
The Bikepark in Les Gets is an internationally renowned mountain biking venue. Accessible to experts and beginners alike, it is constantly being developed and offers a magnificent playground for the various disciplines of downhill (DHI), cross-country (XCO), freestyle, freeride and e-bike. The 128 km of marked trails at the Les Gets Bikepark are classified according to a colour chart: green, blue, red, black and white and black checkerboard for the most difficult trails.
Alta Lumina
In the heart of the forest, at nightfall, the Alta Lumina trail plunges its visitors into an imaginary world, a real interactive adventure arousing unique emotions in everyone. All year round, with family or friends, you can take part in the incredible adventure of a music peddler who takes off in his hot air balloon and travels over the mountains.
4-season rail sled
A brand-new toboggan run offers the opportunity to ride down the slope in complete safety. Solo or in pairs, you can take to the skis for a succession of bumps and sharp turns through the forest. Over a distance of 715 m and a difference in altitude of 105 m, this new lighted and soundproofed facility provides thrills all year round.
TO EAT
Tomme et Saveur des Gets
The Fruitière des Perrières was created in Les Gets in the early 20th century. Farmers gathered there to bring their milk, which was then transformed into cheese and redistributed to the farmers. In the 1950s, Raymond Monnet became the cheese maker at the Fruitière. Production and sales were then carried out in the same place, in the current shop. In 1992, with the introduction of European standards, a new cheese factory was built. The old maturing cellars were transformed into a restaurant. Today, Raymond Monnet's daughter and granddaughter welcome visitors to the Fruitière des Perrières. La Fruitière offers two typical Les Gets specialities, Tomme des Gets and Saveur des Gets, which is similar to Gruyère. These cheeses are made from the milk of cows of the Abondance, Tarine and Montbéliarde breeds.
