Sightseeing in the Haute Tarentaise villages

10 points of interest

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  Water

  Bourg-Saint-Maurice Marshland

  This nature spot with a leisure centre deep in the Tarentaise region is home to many birds (including as a stopover habitat for migrating birds) and is the only known site for Natterjack Toads in this valley. Several streams and rivers, including the Isère, join here to form the lake. Known as an equalising reservoir, it contributes to the smooth running of the Malgovert hydroelectric power plant. Picnic tables and water supply points.

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  Water

  Malgovert power plant

  In the Haute Tarentaise area, EDF operates a vast hydroelectric power network comprising water abstraction points, dams and plants, including the one at Malgovert. Commissioned in 1953, it channels the water stored in Tignes dam, began in 1948, through turbines (up to 50 m3/s). Thanks to its 4 "double Pelton wheel" units, it can generate around 680 Gwh a year, the equivalent of 280,000 inhabitants' energy consumption (Savoie has a population of 400,000).

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  Flora

  Malgovert Forest

  Back in the Middle Ages, the lords of Val d’Isère (Séez) and Villaraymond De Rochefort (Bourg-Saint-Maurice) couldn't agree over who controlled part of the Haute-Tarentaise territory. One day, they eventually decided to settle the boundary of their two domains in a card game… and had boundary stones bearing their arms placed across the whole forest (you can still see these today).
  The name of Malgovert Forest comes from the fact that the place was "mal-governed".

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  History

  Notre Dame de l'Assomption Church

  Located in Villaroger Chef-Lieu, this church is very old and has been rebuilt and renovated many times over the years.

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  Architecture

  The post-and-beam houses in La Masure and Le Miroir

  These picturesque villages are home to distinctive post-and-beam houses, most of which date back many centuries. Records have been found as far back as 1633.
  Post-and-beam houses were often built by masons harking from Piedmont in Italy. Since timber was rare, they tended to build the walls out of stone and the low-sloping roofs out of lauze slate. Not only did these construction materials look nice, but they were also extremely practical. Built-up columns (as tall as 2 to 6 metres depending on the house) supported the heavy, overhanging roof, thus creating shelters and storage areas away from bad weather: hay or timber could be dried there for example… In steeply sloping areas, these columns could reach up to a dozen metres off the ground. In the village of Le Miroir, please remember to leave your bikes in the church car park so that you can visit it on foot.

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  Architecture

  The hamlets of Montvalezan

  These are typical grouped villages, huddled around their chapel, built up the slope and facing directly south. The materials that have endured through the ages in building these centuries-old houses are stone, wood and lauze slate, which are sourced locally and enhanced by the mountain dwellers' worksmanship. As you cycle through the hamlets of Le Mousselard, Les Moulins, Le Villaret and Le Solliet, you'll be able to admire them.
  Once designed to cater to rural activities, these houses have now been restored either as permanent homes or to provide additional tourism accommodation for the resort of La Rosière.

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  Small heritage

  St Michel's Chapel

  Not far from the route, this unusual little chapel, perched on the promontory of Le Châtelard at an altitude of 1,450m, enjoys an incredible view over the Haute-Tarentaise valley. A special viewing system using metal tubes means you can observe the summits and villages up the mountainside from the River Isère all the way to the Haute-Tarentaise ski resorts. This chapel is dedicated to the Archangel Michael, the patron saint of high places.

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  History

  St Jean Baptiste's Church

  From the 13th century, the parish was attended by the Canons Regular of the Hospice du Petit Saint-Bernard. After a fire ravaged the original church in 1636, the priest Jean Ducloz organised for a new church to be built, in Baroque style, which was consecrated in 1688. He paid for the redeveloped extension of the main municipality's seigniorial residence, which became known as the Vicar's Tower. It was intended to accommodate not only the vicar but also the canons from the Hospice who came there in winter until 1760 or thereabouts.

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  Flora

  Les Ecudets village

  Located in the municipality of Séez, at an altitude of 1,176 metres, this place is the lowest point at which you can join the international ski area of "La Rosière – Espace San Bernardo".
  Les Ecudets Forest not only harbours a wealth of varied wildlife, but is also a wonderful natural playground for ski tourers in winter and hikers and mountain bikers come summer, thanks to specific routes for each activity that can be enjoyed safely by all users.

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  History

  Le Villard-Dessus village

  You can spot where Le Villard-Dessus is from the valley bottom by the big building, "Le Val Joli", set in the mountainside, which has shaped this hamlet's history.
  "Le Val Joli" was built in the 1890s by a family from Séez who turned it into a hotel for travellers. In World War II, it became the headquarters for the Italian army who occupied Séez and the neighbouring municipalities of Montvalezan and Sainte-Foy. In the 1950s, French Customs moved into "Le Val Joli" and the building passed into the French State's hands. It became a widely acclaimed centre for cross-country skiing. Today, after years of restoration work, the new owners have converted it into a hotel that welcomes holiday makers and travellers in this history-steeped site.