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Sights

Museum of Watchmaking and Bar Turning

Opened: 1993

History and features: unique in terms of both its history and its collections, the Museum of Watchmaking and Bar Turning is well worth a visit. Founded at the dawn of the 20th century by the Cluses National School of Watchmaking, the museum had a dual purpose: to collect antique timepieces (the oldest of which dates from the 16th century) and to preserve the memory of the local industry.

Now situated in the Espace Carpano & Pons, a former industrial site, the museum also traces the history of the Watchmaking School, notably by displaying a unique collection of escapement models manufactured in Cluses.

Certifications: Quality Tourism. Tourism and Disability.

Place des Allobroges

Formerly known as Pré de Foire because livestock fairs were held there, Place des Allobroges marks the entrance to the town centre. It was also the heart of the market town before the fire of 1844. The only remnant from that period is the fountain (1791), which is listed in the register of Historic Monuments.

Église des Cordeliers

Built in the 15th century.

History: a church is mentioned in Cluses as early as the 7th century, but this may have been the one in the Saint-Nicolas suburb (1733), which is now disused. The parish became home to a Cordeliers convent around 1471, following a papal bull. The convent church was consecrated in 1485. During the occupation of the Duchy of Savoy, at the time of the French Revolution, the bell tower was dismantled. In 1847, as the church in the Faubourg Saint-Nicolas was in a deplorable state, the Cordeliers Church became the parish church.

Notable feature: the church contains a superb 16th-century chiselled holy water font, listed as a Historic Monument in 1904.

Town Hall

Built: 1901

History and features: the Town Hall was built in 1901 on the site of a former convent. It is a typical example of the Neoclassical style.

The first floor is freely accessible and features a monumental painting by the Cluses-born artist Claude Hugard (1816–1885), depicting the Cluses fire of 1844. On the same floor, an electric clock made by pupils at the Cluses School of Clockmaking in 1911 is on display.

The Old Bridge

Built in the 17th century.

History: built in 1674, this attractive stone bridge was the only way to cross the River Arve between Bonneville and Sallanches until 1850, when the Pont Neuf was built.

An inscription carved into the stone mentions the architect’s name, the date the bridge was built and the date of its first restoration. The old access road to the village of Nancy-sur-Cluses starts from the bridge; it has been closed to traffic since the motorway was built.

Listing: listed as a Historic Monument in 1975.

Sights

Les Saisies winter sports resort

History: Les Saisies was originally an alpine pasture, first mentioned as far back as the 13th century. Three centuries later, it became a hub for trade and fairs. In 1935, Erwin Eckl, an Austrian ski instructor, arrived at the Col des Saisies to teach skiing. In 1936, he converted an alpine chalet into Les Saisies’ first chalet-hotel; then, in 1956, the first ski lift was installed under his initiative, and in the same year he founded the first ski school. Between 1937 and 1961, Erwin Eckl gradually developed his project. In 1961, the four local authorities that owned the plateau (Hauteluce and Villard-sur-Doron on the Beaufortain side, and Crest-Voland and Cohennoz on the Val d’Arly side) joined forces to create a winter sports resort, which opened between 1963 and 1964. The area gradually became urbanised from the 1970s onwards, with the construction of residential blocks and chalets. In 1984, the link between Les Saisies and Crest-Voland was provided by two ski lifts and a chairlift. At the same time, the resort modernised its ski area by adding new ski lifts. During the 1992 Winter Olympics, the resort was chosen to host the cross-country skiing and biathlon events. After a long period of planning, the ‘grand domaine’ finally came into being in 2003 with a link between Les Saisies and Notre-Dame-de-Bellecombe. In 2005, the plateau’s ski area expanded with the creation of the Espace Diamant, providing a link to the Val d’Arly resorts of Notre-Dame-de-Bellecombe and Praz-sur-Arly.

Features: the Les Saisies ski area comprises 77 km of slopes for all levels, from beginners to advanced skiers, served by around thirty ski lifts. It forms part of Espace Diamant, which boasts 192 km of slopes between Beaufortain and Val d’Arly. It provides direct ski-in/ski-out access to the village resorts of Praz-sur-Arly, Notre-Dame-de-Bellecombe, Flumet, Crest-Voland, Les Saisies and Hauteluce. The resort has facilities for cross-country skiing. The slopes, situated at an altitude of 1,650 metres, are among the highest in Europe: 17 runs (15 slopes and two loops on the Palette plateau), 120 kilometres of varied slopes, a biathlon stadium, a Nordic park (a free, fun beginners’ area) and a treasure hunt for children.

Notable feature: the resort was the launching pad for French skier Franck Piccard, a three-times Olympic medallist at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary and 1992 Games in Albertville. His sister Leïla won the bronze medal in the giant slalom at the 1997 Alpine World Ski Championships in Sestriere.

Franck Piccard

Franck Piccard, born on 17 September 1964 in Les Saisies (Savoie), is a French alpine skier and the first-ever Olympic super-G champion, having won the title in 1988 in Calgary. He is the only French Olympic champion in this discipline and also won the Olympic bronze medal in the downhill in 1988, followed by the silver in 1992 on the Face piste in Val d’Isère. He also won four World Cup races (one downhill, two super-G and one giant slalom). He was one of the four members of the ‘Top Guns’ team, formed and coached by Serge Guillaume outside the framework of the French Alpine Ski Federation from 1987 to 1991, alongside Luc Alphand, Jean-Luc Crétier and Denis Rey. After retiring from competitive skiing, he took up cross-country skiing as a hobby and runs a sports shop and a hotel, the Calgary, in the resort of Les Saisies.

His sister Leila, a giant slalom specialist, won the bronze medal in this discipline at the World Championships in Sestriere in 1997.

Their brothers Ian, John and Jeff were also members of the French alpine skiing team, whilst Ted Piccard competed in the ski cross event at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.

In Hauteluce:

Church of Saint John of Assyria

Built: 16th century, 19th and 20th centuries.

Style: Baroque.

History: The church in Hauteluce, dedicated to Saint James of Assyria (the first bishop of Tarentaise, who came to evangelise the valley in the mid-5th century alongside Saint Maximus of Riez), probably dates from the second half of the 16th century. The building underwent numerous interior and exterior alterations in the 18th and 19th centuries, making it one of the most distinctive monuments in Savoie.

Characteristics: the impressive onion-domed bell tower dominates a façade adorned with rich trompe-l’oeil decoration evoking the passage of time. At the centre of the high altar, surmounted by a canopied altarpiece (1749), stands a gilded wooden tabernacle. Comprising three levels, it is adorned with cherubs, two of whom support a crown. The blackened walnut pulpit, which has retained all its original features and was crafted by master sculptor Jacques Clérant, is the centrepiece of this building.

Listing: listed as a Historic Monument in 1943.

Belleville Chapel

Construction: 12th century.

Style: Romanesque.

History: Formerly known as the Chapel of the Twelve Apostles due to a remarkable 15th-century mural depicting Christ amongst them. It was renamed after the altarpiece, which consists of a painting depicting the martyrdom of Saint Agatha in 251 and Saint Clare in 1253.

Listing: Listed as a Historic Monument in 1938.

Girotte Dam

Construction: 1943

Commissioned: 1949.

History: Lake Girotte was originally a natural lake. The 30 million m³ of water were held back by a rocky barrier at the western end of the lake. The lake is 1,350 m long and 530 m wide; at a depth of 99.40 m, it is the deepest lake in France. The economic value of this lake became apparent at the start of the century, when it was exploited by the Ugine steelworks. All they had to do was breach the natural barrier, lay a pipeline and build a plant in Belleville on the same site as the one that stands there today. The multi-arch dam, comprising 24 piers (the tallest of which are 50 m high) and spanning 500 m, raises the rock barrier by 35 m in order to double the lake’s capacity. It is 8 m high and 6 m thick. The crest of the dam is situated at an altitude of 1,754 m.