Châtel (; frp, Châtél) is a commune on the Swiss border in the

Haute-Savoie Haute-Savoie (; Arpitan: ''Savouè d'Amont'' or ''Hiôta-Savouè''; en, Upper Savoy) or '; it, Alta Savoia. is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France, bordering both Switzerland and Italy. Its prefecture is ...

department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

in Southeastern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

. In 2019, it had a population of 1,246. Situated in the northern part of the

French Alps The French Alps are the portions of the Alps mountain range that stand within France, located in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regions. While some of the ranges of the French Alps are entirely in France, others, such a ...

, Châtel is part of the French-Swiss ski domain known as

Portes du Soleil Les Portes du Soleil (literally "The Doors of the Sun") is a major skisports destination in the Alps, encompassing thirteen resorts between Mont Blanc in France and Lake Geneva in Switzerland. With more than 650 km of marked pistes (claimed ...

. Despite its development into a major ski resort, the village still retains many of its traditional alpine characteristics.

Geography

Nearby French towns include La Chapelle-d'Abondance, Abondance, Morzine and Avoriaz. The Swiss town of Morgins in the

canton of Valais Valais ( , , ; frp, Valês; german: Wallis ), more formally the Canton of Valais,; german: Kanton Wallis; in other official Swiss languages outside Valais: it, (Canton) Vallese ; rm, (Chantun) Vallais. is one of the 26 cantons forming the S ...

is just across the border.

Ski

Châtel has an extensive ski area with runs to suit skiers and boarders of all abilities. The whole village is served by a free ski-bus which gives easy access to

ski lift A ski lift is a mechanism for transporting skiers up a hill. Ski lifts are typically a paid service at ski resorts. The first ski lift was built in 1908 by German Robert Winterhalder in Schollach/ Eisenbach, Hochschwarzwald. Types * Aeria ...

s. The resort is part of the vast

domain, the largest international linked ski area in the world with over 650 km (403 mi) of varied terrain spread across eight French and four Swiss resorts. This gives skiers and boarders a vast choice of easy-access runs.

Summer activities

Although known as a winter destination, Châtel is also a mountain bike resort with the ski lifts opening between June and September for cyclists. Other attractions over the summer months include

windsurfing Windsurfing is a wind propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the aerospace and surf culture of California. Windsurfing g ...

and

sail A sail is a tensile structure—which is made from fabric or other membrane materials—that uses wind power to propel sailing craft, including sailing ships, sailboats, windsurfers, ice boats, and even sail-powered land vehicles. Sails ma ...

ing (on nearby

Lake Geneva , image = Lake Geneva by Sentinel-2.jpg , caption = Satellite image , image_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location = Switzerland, France , coords = , lake_type = Glacial la ...

), white-water rafting, kayaking, paragliding, or walking. More activities also include a

zip-line A zip-line, zip line, zip-wire, flying fox, or death slide is a pulley suspended on a cable, usually made of stainless steel, mounted on a slope. It is designed to enable cargo or a person propelled by gravity to travel from the top to the b ...

which extends between two mountain peaks, spanning the valley of Pre-la-Joux, over the ski lifts and the restaurants at Plaine Dranse. It is active during the summer season and at specific times during the winter season. In August Chatel celebrates both the Fête de la St Laurent and the Fête de la Belle Dimanche. St Laurent is the patron saint of Châtel and the village assumes a carnival atmosphere with floats and live entertainment. La Belle Dimanche is the farmers tribute to the "beautiful sunday" and is held up in the Plaine Dranse up from the ski lift Pierre Longue.

Entertainment

Every Monday evening the village host welcome drinks. This is a key moment in the week when you can get together with the villages ski instructors and event team and meet the local community. Welcome drinks also includes a rundown on the key events of the week. Such as the traditional market on Wednesdays, the street shows, the torchlight descents, trips with commentary on the sightseeing train, the evening skating sessions at the outdoor rink, skiing by night at the Linga floodlit stadium, and loads more.

References

External links

Chatel Tourism Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chatel Communes of Haute-Savoie Ski resorts in France