Mountain resort in Haute-Savoie (74)
Population: 1,250 (Châtellans and Châtellanes), 850,000 in Haute-Savoie
Specialities: Potato fritters, polenta, cabbage sausage, diots in white wine, fondue, raclette, rissoles, Matafan aux pommes (pan-fried apple turnover), fish from Lake Geneva (féra, perch, arctic char, trout), cheeses (AOC Abondance, vacherin, tomme and raclette), Berthoud (a dish made with Abondance cheese and white wine).
Personalities: Françoise Macchi (alpine skiing, bronze medallist at the world giant slalom championships in 1970), Benjamin Cavet (freestyle skiing, silver medallist at the world championships in 2017 and 2021), Virginie Faivre (half pipe, triple world champion, then president of the organising committee for the 2020 Youth Olympic Games in Lausanne).
Sport: summer and winter tourism. Events: Châtel Chablais Léman Race (cyclosportive), Châtel Mountain Styles (mountain biking), Rando e-bike.
Economy: tourism, agriculture.
Festivals: Rock the pistes (pop rock), Neiges Étoilées (international gastronomy festival), Belle Dimanche (mountain pasture festival), Châtel Classic (music).
Signature: Châtel, natural intensity
Labels: Tour de France 3-bike town / Accueil Vélo / Ville sonnante (53 bells in 5 buildings) / Qualité Tourisme / UNESCO Chablais World Geopark site
Websites: www.chatel.com / www.mairie-chatel.com / www.hautesavoie.fr / www.savoie-mont-blanc.com / www.portesdusoleil.com / @ChatelOfficiel / @chatel_officiel/twitter / Instagram / Facebook Haute-Savoie / Twitter Haute-Savoie / Instagram Haute-Savoie / Facebook Savoie Mont Blanc / @SavoieMontBlanc / Instagram Savoie Mont Blanc / Facebook Portes du Soleil / Twitter Portes du Soleil / Instagram Portes du Soleil
CHÂTEL AND CYCLING
Châtel already has a great history with the women's Tour de France, as the Swiss border resort has hosted two stage starts en route to Morzine, in 1985 and 1988, where duettists Maria Canins and Jeannie Longo battled it out fiercely. In 1985, the Italian set the Frenchwoman back by almost three minutes, and the Frenchwoman made it a point of honour to take her revenge three years later by dominating her great rival in the sprint to the finish.
In the men's 2022 Tour, Bob Jungels put an end to three difficult seasons by winning solo in Châtel after more than 60 km of solo breakaway. The Luxembourger, winner of Liège-Bastogne-Liège in 2018, had been struggling with health problems ever since.
The men's Tour also stopped in Châtel in 1975 for a mountain stage won by Lucien Van Impe, without threatening Bernard Thévenet's Yellow Jersey. Much later, on the Criterium du Dauphiné, the final stage in 2012 was won in Châtel by Dani Moreno, while Bradley Wiggins successfully defended his title. The following year, the Tour de l'Avenir brought together young riders for two stage starts, won respectively by the promising Simon Yates in Morzine and Julian Alaphilippe on the Plateau des Glières.
In the 2010 Tour de Romandie, it was Slovenia's Simon Spilak who won the event.
SIGHTS
Châtel ski area: The Châtel ski area covers two massifs: Super-Châtel / Barbossine and Linga/ Pré la Joux / Plaine Dranse. These two areas are linked by the Portes du Soleil and Gabelou chairlifts. There are 45 pistes and 41 lifts. In the Super-Châtel sector, ideal for beginners with its many green and blue runs, there is also a snowpark, a DVA park and a speed run. This sector is directly linked to the Swiss resorts of Morgins and Torgon. The La Chapelle d'Abondance ski area can be reached from Torgon.
The Linga / Pré la Joux / Plaine Dranse sector will delight intermediate and advanced skiers with its many long red and black runs. This sector is directly linked to the Avoriaz ski area.
Old Châtel customs: The old customs house at Châtel is now a museum offering a new perspective on the border area between France and Switzerland. Here you can discover the game played by smugglers and in the Portes du Soleil mountains before the advent of winter sports. Thanks to numerous eyewitness accounts and a richly documented and illustrated exhibition, the Vieille Douane recreates a picturesque world full of surprises.
Châtel little train: The little train offers a complete tour of the village of Châtel, its streets, its majestic chalets with preserved mountain architecture... The tour takes in the village hamlets and the preserved architectural ensemble listed by the Pays d'Art et d'Histoire de la Vallée d'Abondance.
Montriond dam and lake: Dam lake on the Dranse de Montriond river
Surface area: 0.32 km²
History: The third largest lake in Haute-Savoie is also a geosite in the Chablais Geopark.
Lake Vonnes: Created in 1974 on a natural wetland, it is fed by the Vonnes stream from the Pas de Morgins (Switzerland). A water jet was put into service in July 2000, rising to a height of 40 metres. At an altitude of 1,300 metres, it is the highest water jet in France.
“Border” Ars Sonora, a musical sculpture: The commune of Châtel has acquired an ars sonora, a musical sculpture made from bells, from the Haute-Savoie company Paccard in Annecy. The sculpture is made up of 26 bells divided into 2 sets, echoing the history of the village, which is marked by its proximity to Switzerland. The separation between the two symbolises the border between the two countries, making it an exclusive concept of musical sculpture.
TO EAT
Abondance cheese: Abondance is a French raw-milk cheese made in Haute-Savoie, which benefits from a protected designation of origin. This pressed cooked cheese is made exclusively from raw cow's milk produced in the department. It shares its name with the valley in which it was born, the Val d'Abondance, where Châtel is located, and the breed of cattle that gives it its milk, the abondance. Its nutty flavour makes it a favourite on its own or in many cooked dishes. It is best eaten between June and December.
Oral tradition in Haute-Savoie has it that in 1381, the monks of Abondance Abbey sent fifteen quintals of the cheese of the same name to the Avignon conclave, which was responsible for electing a pope. In fact, in 1378, the year of the Great Western Schism, two conclaves were held: one in Rome, which elected Urban VI, and the other in Avignon, which consecrated Clement VII. It was certainly this first antipope who tasted Abondance and gave it its letters of nobility.
