Les Houches () is a
commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to:
Administrative-territorial entities
* Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township
** Communes of ...
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
Department may refer to:
* Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility
Government and military
*Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
in the
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (ARA; ; frp, Ôvèrgne-Rôno-Ârpes; oc, Auvèrnhe Ròse Aups; it, Alvernia-Rodano-Alpi) is a region in southeast-central France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions; it resulted from the merger of Au ...
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 ...
of Eastern
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. In 2017, it had a population of 2,943.
Overview
Les Houches, located 6 kilometres from
Chamonix
Chamonix-Mont-Blanc ( frp, Chamôni), more commonly known as Chamonix, is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. It was the site of the first Winter Olympics in 1924. In 2019, it had ...
, is a ski resort with a domain which extends from an altitude of 950 metres up to 1900 metres. Long descents through tree-lined slopes are combined with impressive views of the Mont Blanc massif and the Chamonix valley.
Les Houches is twinned with the Russian villages of Sochi and Krasnaya-Polyana and was chosen by the International Olympic Committee to assist in the organization of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.
Les Houches is the starting- and finishing-point of the popular
Tour du Mont Blanc
The Tour du Mont Blanc or TMB is one of the most popular long-distance walks in Europe. It circles the Mont Blanc massif, covering a distance of roughly with of ascent/descent and passing through parts of Switzerland, Italy and France.
...
, a 7- to 10-day walk around the base of the Mont-Blanc Massif which takes in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, and
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
.
Les Houches has four railway stations (, , , and ) on the
Saint-Gervais–Vallorcine railway
The Saint-Gervais–Vallorcine railway ( French: ''Ligne de Saint-Gervais-les-Bains-Le Fayet à Vallorcine''), also known as the Saint-Gervais–Vallorcine Line, is a single-track long metre gauge railway in France connecting the SNCF's Sain ...
and the section from Les Houches to Servos holds the world record gradient for an
adhesion railway
An adhesion railway relies on adhesion traction to move the train. Adhesion traction is the friction between the drive wheels and the steel rail. The term "adhesion railway" is used only when it is necessary to distinguish adhesion railways from ...
at a 9% gradient over a distance of .
Skiing
The Les Houches pistes are regularly used for international events, most notably the 'Kandahar' run, which is used annually for the Men's Downhill World Cup Ski Championships. Les Houches provides a training ground for the French National Ski Team and the Ski Club of Great Britain. The skiing area consists of one international black run, 12 red runs, five blue runs, and four green runs as well as cross-country trails and two snow parks. It is served by 1 cable car (Bellevue), 1 gondola lift (Prarion), 8 chair lifts (all four-person), 3 drag lifts, a rope pull and a moving carpet, as well as two further drag lifts in the "Le Tourchet" village-centre ski area.
Extensive artificial snow coverage is provided by a new network of 67 snow canons covering 19 hectares. There are nursery slopes at Le Tourchet in the centre of the village itself, a Jardin du Neige for very young children skiers next to Lac de Chavants, and a new nursery area at the top of the Prarion lift.
École de Physique des Houches
The village is home to a famous physics summer school (the
École de Physique des Houches
École may refer to:
* an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée)
* École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France
* École, Savoi ...
), founded by
Cécile DeWitt-Morette
Cécile Andrée Paule DeWitt-Morette (21 December 1922 – 8 May 2017) was a French mathematician and physicist. She founded a summer school at Les Houches in the French Alps. For this and her publications, she was awarded the American Socie ...
. It has been attended by two dozen Nobel prize laureates, either as teachers or as students before they received their prize.
[Cécile DeWitt-Morette](_blank)
Emil Mitchell, Senior Women, accessed March 2010 Additionally, the
Les Houches Accords The Les Houches Accords are agreements between particle physicists to standardize the interface between the matrix element programs and the event generators used to calculate different quantities. The original accord was initially formed in 2001, ...
, which are important in high energy physics, were written here.
Coupeau and La Flatière
Opposite Les Houches (across the River Arve, but forming part of the commune) is the small village of Coupeau. A circuitous road climbs high through the village and leads for some three miles all the way up to the foot of its own mountain, l'Aiguillette, at the foot of which lies another small village, La Flatière, well known across the valley for its panoramic views, and a little Christian hermitage. From here many paths wander through the mountains. One scenic path leads to an old sheepfold, called Chailloux.
Coupeau has sun all year round, whereas Les Houches for the most part, remains in the shade in the winter. At the heart of the village of Coupeau is the Merlet animal park, which draws many visitors each year. Here visitors can see
llama
The llama (; ) (''Lama glama'') is a domesticated South American camelid, widely used as a List of meat animals, meat and pack animal by Inca empire, Andean cultures since the Pre-Columbian era.
Llamas are social animals and live with othe ...
s as well as local types of
deer
Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...
,
ram
Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to:
Animals
* A male sheep
* Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish
People
* Ram (given name)
* Ram (surname)
* Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director
* RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch
* ...
s, and
marmot
Marmots are large ground squirrels in the genus ''Marmota'', with 15 species living in Asia, Europe, and North America. These herbivores are active during the summer, when they can often be found in groups, but are not seen during the winter, w ...
s. Below the animal park, a four-storey high statue of Jesus Christ overlooks the valley, its right arm outstretched as if greeting newcomers entering the valley below.
Sister cities
*
Krasnaya Polyana
Krasnaya Polyana (russian: Кра́сная Поля́на) meaning "Red Meadow" is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia:
Modern localities Amur Oblast
As of 2012, one rural locality in Amur Oblast bears this name:
* Krasnaya Polya ...
,
Sochi
Sochi ( rus, Со́чи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg) is the largest resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi River, along the Black Sea in Southern Russia, with a population of 466,078 residents, up to 600,000 residents in ...
,
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
Notable people
*
Itamar Biran
Itamar Biran ( he, איתמר בירן; born 3 March 1998) is an Israeli Olympic alpine ski racer who represents Israel in international competitions. He competes in giant slalom, Super-G, slalom and Combined.
Biography
Itamar Biran is a dual ...
(born 1998) - Israeli Olympic alpine ski racer, lives and trains in Les Houches.
* Professor
Jean Delumeau
Jean Léon Marie Delumeau (18 June 1923 – 13 January 2020) was a French historian specializing in the history of the Catholic Church, and author of several books regarding the subject. He held the Chair of the History of Religious Mentalities ( ...
, historian, stays frequently in Les Houches, where he practises mountaineering.
*
Catherine Destivelle
Catherine Destivelle (born 24 July 1960) is a French rock climber and mountaineer who is considered one of the greatest and most important female climbers in the history of the sport. She came to prominence in the mid-1980s for sport climbing ...
, mountaineer.
*
Pierre-Gilles de Gennes
Pierre-Gilles de Gennes (; 24 October 1932 – 18 May 2007) was a French physicist and the Nobel Prize laureate in physics in 1991.
Education and early life
He was born in Paris, France, and was home-schooled to the age of 12. By the age of ...
,
Nobel Prize for Physics
)
, image = Nobel Prize.png
, alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then " ...
, came to study and teach at the Physics School of Les Houches (l'
École de Physique des Houches
École may refer to:
* an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée)
* École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France
* École, Savoi ...
).
*
Marie Paradis
Marie Paradis (1778 – 1839) was the first woman to climb Mont Blanc.
Paradis was a poor maidservant who lived in Chamonix at that time part of the Kingdom of Sardinia. On 14 July 1808, in the company of renowned mountain guide Jacques Balmat, s ...
(1778-1839), the first woman to climb Mont Blanc (in July 1808).
Sights and attractions
* The Bellevue chair lift (entered service in 1936)
* The Statue of Jesus Christ (inaugurated 19 August 1934)
* The Musée Montagnard, housed in an 18th-century building, which has as its theme of the traditional mountain habitat
Gallery
File:Draglift at Les Houches.jpg, Old Poma drag lift at Les Houches (no longer in use)
File:Bellevue chairlift from Kandahar.jpg, Top of the Voza Prarion chair lift, from Prarion
See also
*
Communes of the Haute-Savoie department
The following is a list of the 279 communes of the French department of Haute-Savoie.
The communes cooperate in the following intercommunalities (as of 2020):[Les Houches Accords The Les Houches Accords are agreements between particle physicists to standardize the interface between the matrix element programs and the event generators used to calculate different quantities. The original accord was initially formed in 2001, ...]
References
External links
Les Houches Tourism Office
Official site of largest mountain infrastructure in the Chamonix valley - first hand lift & piste info, lift passes, avalanche risk, etc
l'École de Physique des Houches
{{DEFAULTSORT:Houches
Communes of Haute-Savoie
Ski resorts in France