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La Grande Terche is a traditional Savoyard village
perched above the valley of the river Dranse and St Jean D'Aulps.
Geneva airport is approx 75 minutes drive and Lake Geneva is only
40 minutes drive.
Part of the vast Portes du Soleil ski network - which includes
the excellent ski resorts of Morzine, Les Gets, Avoriaz and Chatel
- the village also has an extensive ski area of its own with lifts
only 100m 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 apartment buildings are modern, but low-rise, and of traditional
style. A number of genuine old Savoyard barns survive to add to
the charm.
La Grande Terche has a seasonal community of its own, and is equipped
with all the necessary amenities you would expect: bars, restaurants,
mini market, tobacconist, ski-shops and launderette.
St Jean is five minutes down the valley, and offers further shops
and restaurants, pharmacy, doctor's surgery, banks, mini-market
and tourist office. An excellent 'Champion' supermarket is also
only 5 minutes away.
Morzine only 10 minutes away, is well-heeled and chic, with some
expensive shops, ice-skating, cinemas and excellent restaurants.
There is a ski-school office in La Grande Terche, 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.
La Grande Terche is about as distant from industrialized skiing
as you can get. Whether you are expert skier or intermediate,
the 10km long circuit, the longest red run in the Portes due Soleil,
from La Grande Terche through Bellevaux takes you from forest
to hamlet, and is both exhilarating and extremely beautiful.
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