La Clusaz

La Clusaz is situated at the foot of the chaine des Aravis. It is an old-established village, dominated by a beautiful old church, with a resident population of about 2,000 independently-minded but friendly montagnards. It has been described as being "one of the few genuine Alpine villages in France, and is comparatively unexplored by the international markets".

It is a lively town with a life of its own beyond the tourist industry. A market is held in the village square on a Monday every week of the year and there is a good choice of shops and bars and a range of reasonably priced restaurants with a choice of different types of cuisine.

The village is famous for reblochon cheese, which forms the basis for a number of local dishes. The most famous of these is tartiflette a local "delicacy" that is not for the faint hearted. It is best enjoyed when followed by an after dinner liquer, preferably one from the village distillery, which makes good use of one of the streams that flow through the village.

The village is especially proud of its world champion skiers, most recently Regine Cavagnoud and Edgar Grospiron. What better advert could there be for a skiing resort?

The beautiful and interesting town - and lake - of Annecy are 30 kilometres away, while Geneva, Chamonix, Megeve and Evian can all be reached by car in an hour.

To find out more about La Clusaz, visit the village web site at www.laclusaz.com.

La Clusaz in summer.

Although best known for its skiing, La Clusaz also offers a delightful summer break. There are many walks, of varying distances and levels of difficulty, to take from the apartment through outstandingly picturesque countryside. The pine forests, intermingled with deciduous trees, are especially attractive at this time of the year. Others prefer to focus on the wild mountain flowers, including orchids, gentians wild azaleas and rhododendrons.

Less sedentary past times are also available. These include mountain biking, parascending, horse riding, tennis and wild water rafting. Golf is not something easily undertaken on a mountain-side. But courses can be found at Evian and Annecy, while the village itself has a driving range not to mention the crazy-golf course.

The "luge de ete" is an exhilarating ride, particularly popular with young visitors to the village, who always seem to be accompanied by a parent. Other attractions include archery, fencing and "beach volleyball"!

La Clusaz in winter.

The commune boasts over 130 km. of piste spread over five mountains. The ski facilities are continually being upgraded, and include artificial snow cannon on the lower runs. The skiing is suitable for all levels of ability and is easily accessible from the apartment. There are an unusually large number of easy green and enjoyable blue runs as well as more challenging red and black pistes. La Clusaz is therefore ideal for skiing holidays for "mixed ability" groups.

Snow boarders are also welcomed, and a special snowpark has been created on the massif d’Aiguille to cater for their needs.

Les Confins and the plateau of Beauregard are the main areas for ski de fond. A feature of the village is the large number of mountain restaurants, which serve good quality, reasonably-priced meals. But beware – people who are less than fully committed to skiing can spend more time wining and dining than they should. Ski passes can be bought which take in the neighbouring resort of le Grand Bornand. Linked by a free bus service which takes just ten minutes from village to village, the toal ski area of the Espace Aravis rises to some 225 kms. There is an open air, heated swimming pool and a skating rink that is also used for curling and ice hockey. A free bus shuttle to all parts of the village provides a convenient alternative to the car, and has a drop-off and pick-up point at the end of the Chemin du Batieu. The relaxed atmosphere and beautiful surroundings mean that there is plenty to occupy non-skiers, and La Clusaz is emphatically not a mass of concrete towers!