Travel
Where to today? La Clusaz
Some of you may be going each year to the same resort for vacation while others prefer changing. You don’t know yet where to go, so why not try La Clusaz?
Located in the Aravis mountain range, only 31 miles away from Geneva and 19 miles from the beautiful city of Annecy, the village is easily reachable.
At an elevation of 3,600 feet, you can quickly reach 8,530 feet with cable cars and lifts. There are 5 massifs in the area.
The tourist office organizes many guided tours: visits of a farm about cheese making, an alpine village or the village’s chapels.
La Clusaz is a beautiful village of 2,000 inhabitants, but can accommodate up to 20,000 people! It is quite busy during July, August and again from the end of December till end of April.
The first summer tourists arrived to the resort in 1902. Even if it is mainly visited by French, many British, Belgian and Dutch love to come to La Clusaz.
This year the village celebrates its 40th anniversary as an official winter sport resort. Since the first Olympic Champion, Guy Perillat in 1960, La Clusaz counts now 8 ski champions such as Candide Thovex and Sébastien Michaud (freestyle), Vincent Vittoz (crosscountry) and Régine Cavagnoud (Super G).
Now is that better to come in the summer or the winter?
If you come during the busy months, you will find things to do in either season and will enjoy your stay.
Here are some winter activities:
- Alpine, freestyle and crosscountry skiing over an area of 80 miles
- Ice skating
- Snowshoeing
- Full-Moon skiing, three times yearly and night skiing, once a week
- A festival for Carnival and a Santa Claus show
Here are some summer activities:
- Trekking
- Downhill bicycling
- Para gliding
- Swimming
- Summer toboggan
- Horseback ridding
If you come in the summer you will find flowers everywhere in the village.
Stroll to the church to see its steeple, famous for its onion-bulb shape. It looks similar to the Bavarian and Austrian church steeples. Apparently, in the 19th century, people from the region, who emigrated to Southern Germany , sent money to La Clusaz to help pay for the steeple, which they modeled after the Bavarian style.
Take some time to go visit the ski museum where you will be able to see interesting things such as the ancestor of the ski- the telemark- and some old sledges.
Also check this site to know more about telemarks and other Savoy products: Made in Savoie
La Clusaz is a child-friendly resort. The day care, Club des Moufflets should be reserved early for a half or full day. There are other options at Club des Champions or Piou Piou Club if you want your child to ski.
While in the resort and looking for a place to eat or drink, why not stopping at:
- Restaurant L’ Ourson for a nice dinner; praised by the Gaultmillau in 2007, offering regional and various French specialties.
Adresse : 27 passage du mont-blanc and Tel.: +33-04.50.32.76.99
- Restaurant La Scierie, formally an old sawmill, is a cozy place to eat good meat or a fondue. Most people go there for the enjoyable ambiance.
Adresse : 321-331, route du col des Aravis and Tel. : +33-04 50 63 34 68
- Les caves du Paccaly for Après ski and nightlife. Very classy place.
Adresse : La croix-central roundabout Tel.: +33-04 50 63 37 39
