Town and winter sports resort in Savoie (73)
Population: 490
Specialities: Savoie specialities. Crozets. Beaufort cheese. Gâteau de Savoie, Savoie wines (AOC), vermouth.
Personalities: Jean-Claude Killy (lived here). Fanny Cottençon (actress, resident and patron of the cinema), Raymond Rancurel (16th-century painter and sculptor).
Sport: sports club, sports centre. Downhill skiing, cross-country skiing, Grand-Domaine resort.
Economy: winter and summer tourism (11,500 beds) In 2015, the resort was awarded the fourth prize for "Europe's Best Ski Destination". Agriculture.
Festivals: Festival de la Lune Bleue (August, music), Festival des P'tites canailles en moufles (children's festival).
Signature: a mountain of well-being.
Labels: Famille Plus, Qualité Tourisme and Flocon Vert.
Websites: www.saintfrancoislongchamp.com
Col de la Madeleine and cycling
At an altitude of 2,000 metres, Col de la Madeleine links the Tarentaise valley to the Maurienne. Rated as a non-category climb, it is a classic in the men's Tour de France, with 27 ascents since 1969. It is also one of the three most frequently climbed out-of-category passes in the Tour, after the Galibier and the Tourmalet. Lucien Van Impe and Richard Virenque both led at the summit on three occasions, which sums up the difficulty of the climb. The last time the men’s Tour climbed it, in 2020, it was Richard Carapaz who was leading the way at the top.
The first rider to come first at the top in the snow, in the Tour in 1969, is a forgotten representative of the breed of Spanish climbers. Basque Andres Gandarias finished 5th in the Tour de France that year and 2nd in the climbers' classification the following year. He died in 2018 and also has a stage win in the Giro to his name.
Sights
Col de la Madeleine
Altitude: 1,993 metres
Characteristics: geological contact between the inner Vanoise massif and the Lauzière massif. Links the Maurienne valley (Montgellafrey) and the Tarentaise valley (La Lèchère). Alpine meadows maintained since the Middle Ages by pastoral activity. Modern road since 1968. Ski lift link between Valmorel and Saint-François-Longchamp. Unified ski area Grand Domaine since 1990.
Saint-François Longchamp ski resort
Characteristics: 165 km of pistes. Grand Domaine. Espace Nordique du Grand Coin for cross-country skiing. Balneotherapy centre. Tobogganing on rails (Comète). Highest point: Chaval Noir at 2,832 m.
Sainte-Théodule church in Montgellafrey
Construction: 17th century
History: rebuilt in 1698 to change the entrance orientation due to runoff water. Medieval bell tower with blind arches retained and restored in 1835.
Characteristics: interior decoration from 1860, possibly covering older paintings. Part of the Baroque churches of Savoie. Plaster high altar altarpiece from 1698.
Trivia: statue of Saint Theodule holds a real glass, filled annually with wine by the oldest parishioner named Theodule.
Listed as: Historic Monument in 1994.
Collegiate church of Saint-Marcel (12 km from La Chambre)
Construction: 12th century
History: given to Saint-Michel-de-la-Cluse abbey in the 11th century. Became a collegiate church in 1514 by Pope Leo X.
Characteristics: sculpted alabaster portal from the late Romanesque period. Archivolt with three arches on four series of double columns. Capitals with vegetal and anthropomorphic motifs.
Scenes: Cain and Abel, Zacchaeus, Christ’s Entry into Jerusalem, Annunciation.
Listed as: Historic Monument in 1939.
To eat
Beaufort cheese
Origin: produced in the mountain pastures around Col de la Madeleine. PDO since 1968.
Area: high mountains of Savoie: Beaufortain, Val d'Arly, Tarentaise, Maurienne.
Cow breeds: Tarine and Abondance
Feed: mainly grazed grass and hay from the region
Production: max. 5,000 kg of milk per cow per year
Manufacture: sourdoughs, linen cloth, wooden circles, casein plate for traceability
Maturing: minimum 5 months
Website: www.coopdelachambre.fr