Val-d'Isère
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Val d'Isère |
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| Val d'Isère ski resort. View towards La Daille | |
 Val d'Isère
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| Administration | |
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| Country | France |
| Region | Rhône-Alpes |
| Department | Savoie |
| Arrondissement | Albertville |
| Canton | Bourg-Saint-Maurice |
| Mayor | Bernard Catelan (2001–2008) |
| Statistics | |
| Elevation | 1,785–3,599 m (5,856–11,808 ft) (avg. 1,849 m or 6,066 ft) |
| Land area1 | 94.39 km2 (36.44 sq mi) |
| Population2 | 1,753 (2006) |
| - Density | 19 /km2 (49 /sq mi) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 73304/ 73150 |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
| 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once. | |
Coordinates: 45°27′02″N 6°58′41″E / 45.4506°N 6.9781°E
Val d'Isère is a commune of the Tarentaise Valley, in the Savoie department (Rhône-Alpes region) in south-eastern France. It lies 5 km (3.1 mi) from the border with Italy. It is on the border of the Vanoise National Park created in 1963. The Face de Bellevarde was the scene of the men's downhill race as part of the 1992 Winter Olympics. Other alpine skiing events held during those games included men's giant slalom and alpine combined. Val d'Isère hosted the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2009.
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[edit] Skiing
The western and central areas of Val d'Isère are most recognizable by their "chalet" architecture, while in the eastern part of the town high-rise architecture dominates the landscape. Along with nearby Tignes the area forms part of the "l'Espace Killy", the self-titled "Most Beautiful Ski Area in the World".
The Pissaillas Glacier offers summer skiing, as well as the usual winter fare. Snow cannon are placed on certain slopes to accommodate heavy skiing. The ski slopes themselves are equipped with a high-volume gondola, able to transport standing skiers, the funicular Funival from La Daille via a tunnel to the top of Bellevarde, traditional chair lifts—some with windshields and many detachable, button/disc-pulls and tow-ropes. There are both groomed slopes and backcountry (off-piste) skiing. The slopes' difficulty level is particularly high. However, as in Tignes there are grand, easy motorway pistes as well to let rip on. It is first class off piste country for powder addicts and there are many good guides available.
Tignes possesses more of the same, with a funicular shuttling skiers up through one of the mountains to the Grande Motte glacier. A free shuttle bus runs between the villages in the valley, providing free transport throughout the towns of Val d'Isère and La Daille.
[edit] History
Human habitation of the valley dates back to before Roman times. The town received parish rights in 1637 and the parish church which still is a landmark in the town centre today was built in 1664.
Skiing in Val d'Isère has its roots in the 1930s when a drag lift was built on the slopes of the Solaise. This was followed by an aerial tramway (cable car).
[edit] Tarentaise Valley skiing
Within the Tarentaise Valley you find the biggest concentration of world-class ski resorts in the world. Most well known neighbour systems are Paradiski (Les Arcs, La Plagne) and Les Trois Vallées (Courchevel, Méribel, Val Thorens and more). A weekly lift ticket in Val d'Isère/Espace Killy gives you a choice to ski one day in each of the other two systems mentioned. There were once plans to interlink all systems and resorts to create what would have been by far the largest ski area in the world. However that vision was ended with the creation of the Vanoise National Park.
[edit] Tour de France
The resort was the start of Stage 9 to Briançon in the 2007 Tour de France.
[edit] Popular culture
Val d'Isère was made well-known as the vacation spot of characters Edina and Patsy in the British sitcom, Absolutely Fabulous. Although the movie Les Bronzés font du ski (French Fried Vacation 2) has been a great success in France, only a few people are aware that it was shot in Val d'Isère.
[edit] Notable people
- Jean-Claude Killy grew up in Val d'Isère.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- 1992 Winter Olympics official report. pp. 114–7. (English) & (French)
[edit] External links
- Val d'Isère Tourist Office
- Val d'Isère history
- 2009 World Ski Championships - organizing committee website
- - Impartial list of all ski schools
- - Panoramic virtual tour of slalom piste & snowpark
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