Apartment in Haute-Savoie, France

Apartment details

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View from the appartment balcony

The apartments

Local views in summer

Home description

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION La Grande Terche is a traditional Savoyard village perched above the valley of the Dranse in the north-eastern corner of the French Alps. Lake Geneva is only 40 minutes by car, and you can ski into Switzerland from nearby Ardent. Within easy reach of the famous Portes du Soleil ski network - which includes such big names as Morzine, Les Gets, Avoriaz and Chatel - the village also has an extensive ski area of its own with lifts only 200m from the apartment.

Neither La Grande Terche, nor the village of St Jean d'Aulps in the valley below, has any British packaged accommodation, a significant attraction for some. Instead, its surprisingly international clientele is dotted around in private chalets and apartments, and the resort is run by locals who are genuinely welcoming and friendly. Most of the units are modern, but low-rise, and of traditional style. A number of genuine old Savoyard barns survive to add to the charm.

If you are tired of feeling like another statistic in a multi-million pound industry, and and would prefer to holiday in more traditional surroundings, this could be the resort for you. La Grande Terche offers as much in the summer sun as it does in the winter snow, and your duplex apartment provides some of the best accommodation from which to enjoy it.

Accommodation detail

Main bedroom

View from the apartment

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Key features

• Spacious (50 sq m) apartment, 2 bedrooms, 3 balconies, magnificent views
• Makeover 2010 - oak flooring, travertine tiles, new kitchenette, upgraded bathroom
• Quiet Savoyard hamlet - no crowds
• As charming in summer as in winter
• Ski-lifts only 200m, various summer activities
• All services (in season) within 400m
• Kindergaten and ski-school
• Major Portes du Soleil resorts within easy access

The Apartment is situated on the 4th floor of an up-market chalet-style block, overlooking the ski runs in winter and alpine meadows in summer. The picture windows of the living room open onto a private loggia which commands arguably the finest views in the resort. Whether summer or winter, the morning sun streams in against a backdrop of stunning mountain scenery. Over an evening aperitif in summer, you can trace the last tinges of pink as they leave the ridges of the mountains opposite.

The accommodation is roomy, comprising living room, kitchenette, bathroom, separate toilet and double bedroom with sofa-bed on the ground floor, and mezzanine plus large double bedroom with its own wash-hand basin and balcony on the upper floor. There are also two sets of double bunks, one downstairs and one on the mezzanine. The stairs are steep, and would not be suitable for toddlers or for the infirm. There is a secure ski-locker at ground level and, at the right time of year, you can ski directly to the ski lifts just 200m away. There is no lift in the building, but we have had no complaints.

Accommodation Facilities:

About the location

The Resort

(960 - 1800m)

La Grande Terche is a traditional Savoyard village situated in the French Alps some 40 km to the south of Lake Geneva. Within easy reach of the famous Portes du Soleil ski network - which includes such big names as Morzine, Les Gets, Avoriaz and Chatel - the village also has an extensive ski area of its own with lifts only 200m from the apartment. It is ideal for families and, above all, a friendly place to which visitors return year after year.

Sometimes known to the locals as La Moussiere d'en Haut, La Grande Terche has a seasonal community of its own, and is equipped with all the necessary amenities you would expect: bars, restaurants, tabac, ski-shops, launderomat and delicatessen. L'Auberge de la Terche (tel 0450 796209) is a particularly good night out. St Jean is five minutes down the valley, and offers further shops and restaurants (try L'Amandier - tel 0450 795073), pharmacy, doctor's surgery, bank, mini-market and tourist office. A Carrefour supermarket is just 10 minutes down the road to Morzine. Like Megeve further up the Chamonix valley, Morzine is well-heeled and chic, with some attractive shops, ice-skating, cinemas and excellent restaurants.

There is a ski-school (ESF) in La GrandeTerche, and nursery slopes for beginners at the top of the lifts. There are some 40km of pistes entering three different valleys, and 14 lifts directly accessible from the village. Whether you are expert skier or intermediate, the 7km long circuit from La Grande Terche through Bellevaux takes you from forest to hamlet, and is both exhilarating and extremely beautiful. For lunch, there are two mountain restaurants with sun terraces at the top of the lifts above La Grande Terche, serving a plat du jour for under 10 euros, and other buvettes on the Bellevaux circuit

La Grande Terche is about as distant from industrialised skiing as you can get. If you have not made some friends after a few pressions with Yvon (L'Enfenle) or a meal at L'Auberge de la Terche (Le Pere Bill), something's seriously wrong with your holiday. Families and groups of young people return year after year, often joining up to do so. Celebrations at Christmas and New Year can be riotous.

Les Portes du Soleil   

(1800 - 2600m)

La Grande Terche, however, is only half the story. Adventurous skiers will want to explore the Portes du Soleil, arguably the largest inter-linked ski area in the world. The network incorporates 13 resorts and 650 km of piste. From Les Gets (25minutes by car), you have direct access to the magnificent bowl of Ranfouilly at Les Chavannes with long red runs, forest trails for those who prefer, and stunning views of Mont Blanc, the Dents Blanches and the Dents du Midi. Move over to Mont Cherie on the other side of the valley for more long reds and blues, and a breathtaking 180º panorama of the Massif of Mont Blanc.

Les Gets connects with Nyon, for some challenging black runs, and with Pleney for a further variety of wooded greens, blues and reds. A telecabin ferries you across the town of Morzine to Super-Morzine and Avoriaz, the world-famous championship resort.

Alternatively, the north rim of Avoriaz can be reached by telecabine from Ardent, which again is only 25 minutes drive from La Grande Terche through Montriond. This approach gives access to one of the most exhilarating circuits in the area: Ardent - Chatel - Morgins (Switzerland) - Ardent. On the way, some may wish to challenge the moguls of the infamous Swiss wall (dark black).

For the less energetic, or non-skier, there are guided walks on snow raquettes from the Office de tourisme at St Jean d'Aulps (tel 04 50 796509), which will take you into a silent wilderness of lake and forest. If you prefer ski de fond (cross-country skiing) to hurtling down mountains, a leisurely circuit of the Lac de Montriond 15 minutes by car) will take a couple of hours with a salade savoyarde (smoked bacon) or pela (reblochon mountain cheese melted over smoked bacon, onion and potato) to follow at the Auberge des Sapins. You will also find ski de fond at Morzine, Avoriaz and on the plateau of Praz-de-Lys (45 mins by car towards Taninges) which provides the most extensive pistes.

If the above offers a taste of the Portes du Soleil, there is much, much more.

Summer Season

For many, summer in the French Alps is even more enticing than winter, and quite different in its appeal. The alpine summer is warm, the pistes have become meadow grass and wild flowers and wild life are everywhere. The three balconies of the apartment provide peace and privacy (none of them is overlooked), and the village is soundless. There is a wide choice of day excursions by car - to Lake Geneva, to Abondance and Chatel, into Switzerland, to the museums in Cluses or onto the Autoroute Blanche for Megeve, Chamonix and Argentiere. Some may brave the Aiguille du Midi with its notorious cable car and stunning views.

For the physically more active, there is tennis, white-water rafting, mountain-biking (VTT), fishing, horse-riding and swimming (Olympic pool in Morzine). For the children, there are also organised activities in Les Gets - including grass tobogganing! The golf courses in the region (Les Gets, Chamonix, Annecy) are quite exceptional, and a weekly forfait gives access to all of them.

The real treats in summer, however, are the alpine walks. They can be as gentle or as strenuous as you please, but they will always be rewarding. Try, for example, a morning's walk from La Grande Terche to Graydon, a hamlet of a dozen ancient chalets and a chapel nestling below the Roc d'Enfer. Madame at Graydon's mountain restaurant will serve you lunch of local tartiflette or wild mushroom pie faite maison. The region is networked with myriads of mountain paths, all of them clearly marked and easily accessible.

See Local guide and map for information on nearby towns and facilities.

Activities near by

Ballooning, Bird Watching, Canoeing, Cycling, Drawing and painting, Fishing, Golf, Gourmet dining, Hiking, Horse riding, Ice skating, Kayaking, Mountain biking, Paragliding, Photography, Photography, Rambling, Shopping, Sightseeing, Skiing, Snowboarding, Swimming, Tennis, Walking, Water sports, White water rafting

See Activities and attractions for more information on nearby activities and places of interest.

How to get here

The Chamonix valley is one of the most accessible parts of the Alps by car, comfortably driveable in a day from the French Channel ports. 

Follow the A6 Paris-Lyon motorway as far as Macon, where you take the A46 east towards Geneva. By-pass Geneva, making for Chamonix-Mont Blanc and the Autoroute Blanche, turning turn off towards Cluses/Taninges/Les Gets/Morzine. Stay on the D902, rather than enter Morzine, and continue for a few kilometers towards Thonon-les-Bains. As you exit the village of St Jean d'Aulps, take the first left and follow the signs to La Grande Terche, forking right at the church of La Moussiere (d'en Bas). Once in the village of La Grande Terche, bear right at the T-juction by the ski-lift, and you will find Le Domaine des Cimes on your left after a group of old Savoyard chalets. You can drive up to the door to unload, before returning to the car park at the foot of the drive.

An alternative is to fly-drive from Exeter, Southampton, Midlands, Manchester, Glasgow, Edingurgh, Stansted, Heathrow or Gatwick to Geneva airport, which is just over an hour from the village. LGT takes around one hour from Geneva airport . You can either follow the Autotoute Blanche around Genva (as above), or make for Thonon through the centre of the city and along the lakeside (not advised at peak times). The new by-pass at Thonon allows easy access to the valley of the Dranse, in the direction of Morzine. La grande Terche (La Moussiere) is signposted on the right just before you enter the village of St Jean d'Aulps.

See Local guide and map for information on nearby towns and airports.