Megève (; frp, Megéva) is a commune 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 with a population of more than 3,000 residents. The town is well known as a

ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area – a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In N ...

near Mont Blanc in 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 ...

. Conceived in the 1920s as a French alternative to

St. Moritz St. Moritz (also german: Sankt Moritz, rm, , it, San Maurizio, french: Saint-Moritz) is a high Alpine resort town in the Engadine in Switzerland, at an elevation of about above sea level. It is Upper Engadine's major town and a municipality in ...

by the

Rothschilds The Rothschild family ( , ) is a wealthy Ashkenazi Jewish family originally from Frankfurt that rose to prominence with Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1744–1812), a court factor to the German Landgraves of Hesse-Kassel in the Free City of F ...

, it was the first purpose-built resort in the Alps. Originally it was a prime destination for the

French aristocracy The French nobility (french: la noblesse française) was a privileged social class in France from the Middle Ages until its abolition on June 23, 1790 during the French Revolution. From 1808 to 1815 during the First Empire the Emperor Napoléo ...

; it remains one of the most famous and affluent ski resorts in the world.

History

The town started its development as a ski resort in the 1910s, when the

Rothschild family The Rothschild family ( , ) is a wealthy Ashkenazi Jewish family originally from Frankfurt that rose to prominence with Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1744–1812), a court factor to the German Landgraves of Hesse-Kassel in the Free City of F ...

began spending their winter vacations there after becoming disenchanted with the Swiss resort

. In 1921, Baroness Noémie de Rothschild (1888–1968) opened the Domaine du Mont d'Arbois, a luxury hotel which boosted the resort's development. By the 1950s Megève was one of the most popular ski resorts in Europe and attracted many wealthy individuals and celebrities. Nowadays it is still visited largely by affluent people as is evidenced by the real estate prices.

Development

For the 2015–2016 winter season a six-seater chair opened replacing the two old Mont Joux chairs. Further additions include the latest branch of Folie Douce at the top of Mont Joux, introducing the chain's trademark Austrian-style afternoon party scene, which opened in the 2014–2015 season. This will be the fifth in the Folie Douce chain, which started in Val d'Isère and then spread to Val Thorens, Méribel and Alpe d'Huez.

Sports

Winter sports

Megève's

Alpine skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether ...

area, known as the "Domaine Évasion Mont Blanc", comprises Megève itself (Mont d'Arbois, L'Alpette, Rochebrune and Côte 2000); Saint-Gervais-les-Bains; Combloux; La Giettaz; Les Contamines-Montjoie and

Saint-Nicolas-de-Véroce Saint-Gervais-les-Bains () is a Communes of France, commune in the Haute-Savoie Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region, southeastern France. The village is best known for tourism and has been a po ...

. The "Evasion Mont-Blanc" range covers approximately 445 km of the ski slopes. On an area of there are 116 lifts providing access to 219 slopes totaling . * The 445 km of slopes are thus divided from hardest to easiest: blacks, reds, blues and greens. (See ski trail rating) * The lifts: 67

platter lift A surface lift is a type of cable transport for snow sports in which skiers and snowboarders remain on the ground as they are pulled uphill. While they were once prevalent, they have been overtaken in popularity by higher-capacity and higher ...

s, 35

chairlift An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel wire rope loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers, carrying a series of chairs. Th ...

s and 13

gondola lift A gondola lift is a means of cable transport and type of aerial lift which is supported and propelled by cables from above. It consists of a loop of steel wire rope that is strung between two stations, sometimes over intermediate s ...

s and one

cable car Cable car most commonly refers to the following cable transportation systems: * Aerial lift, such as aerial tramways and gondola lifts, in which the vehicle is suspended in the air from a cable ** Aerial tramway ** Chairlift ** Gondola lift ** ...

. In addition, the "Domaine Évasion Mont Blanc" includes 18

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreatio ...

trails totaling . The first three

World Junior Figure Skating Championships The World Junior Figure Skating Championships (''"World Juniors"'' or ''"Junior Worlds"'') is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which figure skaters within a designated age range compete for ...

were held in Megève in 1976, 1977 and 1978. The Megève Polo Masters is an international polo tournament played on snow. The Snow Golf Cup is a unique

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

tournament held on snow on Megève's Mont d'Arbois plateau. As well as these winter sports, Megève also hosts winter events including an international curling tournament, a ski cross World Cup and a mogul skiing cup. There is also night skiing in February, a ski cross slope, an open-air ice rink, snowshoeing and dog sledding plus of Nordic skiing in the region.

Summer sports

Megève is also a popular summer holiday destination and is especially renowned for its

ing opportunities. It was the finishing town for stage 18 and the start town for stage 20 of the

2016 Tour de France The 2016 Tour de France was the 103rd edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The -long race consisted of 21 stages, starting on 2 July in Mont Saint-Michel, Normandy, and concluding on 24 July with the Champs-Élysées ...

Twin towns

Oberstdorf Oberstdorf (Low Alemannic: ''Oberschdorf'') is a municipality and skiing and hiking town in Germany, located in the Allgäu region of the Bavarian Alps. It is the southernmost settlement in Germany and one of its highest towns. At the&nb ...

in Germany has, since 1970, been a

twin town A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inter ...

of Megève. It is also located in the mountains and famous for summer and winter holidays.

Honorary citizens

People awarded the honorary citizenship of Megève are:

Media

Megève is the ski resort featured in the beginning of the

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...

film '' Charade,'' where

Audrey Hepburn Audrey Hepburn (born Audrey Kathleen Ruston; 4 May 1929 – 20 January 1993) was a British actress and humanitarian. Recognised as both a film and fashion icon, she was ranked by the American Film Institute as the third-greatest female screen ...

's Regina Lampert meets

Cary Grant Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English-American actor. He was known for his Mid-Atlantic accent, debonair demeanor, light-hearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing. He was one o ...

's character. It is also the title of one of the tracks by composer

Henry Mancini Henry Mancini ( ; born Enrico Nicola Mancini, ; April 16, 1924 – June 14, 1994) was an American composer, conductor, arranger, pianist and flautist. Often cited as one of the greatest composers in the history of film, he won four Academy Award ...

on the film's soundtrack. Megève was one of four

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

venues in the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, ...

featured in the 1969 film '' Downhill Racer'', starring

Robert Redford Charles Robert Redford Jr. (born August 18, 1936) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award from four nominations, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, the Ceci ...

and Gene Hackman.

References

External links

Official tourism website of Megève.

Official website of the municipality of Megève.

Megève local people, tradition.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Megeve Communes of Haute-Savoie Ski areas and resorts in France