French Property for Sale in the South - East of France: Department Haute-Savoy (74) ; Region Rhones-Alpes

LA VALLEE VERTE

The Vallée Verte runs roughly parallel to the Southern shore of Lake Geneva, approximately 15Km to the South. It is reached by taking the A 40 autoroute towards Chamonix, leaving it at the first exit after Annemasse and taking the good, gently climbing, road up to the market town of Boëge, reached in about 20mins. Before arriving at Boëge you see before you the panorama of this wonderful valley, the floor of which rises from about 700 metres altitude at Saint-André-de-Boëge, to almost 1,000 metres at Habère-Poche, some 10Km further up, and then climbs up to around 1,200 metres at the Col du Cou, from which you can drop down to Thonon-les-Bains and Lake Geneva. Down the centre of the valley runs the small River Menoge, flowing into the Arve and thence into Lake Geneva.

This is an unspoilt and, as yet, underdeveloped, valley, green and gentle in the summer, which, in the winter, becomes a white wonderland with geared to winter sports. To the South, it is bounded by the Hirmentaz (pronounced ‘earmon’) and the Miribel mountains, rising to 1,600 metres, both of which are easily accessible to moderate walkers, offering stupendous views of the higher Alps, and Mont Blanc to the South and Lake Geneva and the Jura to the North. On the northern side of the valley the wooded slopes are slightly lower and lead on to the ‘Balcon du Léman’ from which there are vistas of the lake and of Geneva itself.

The main hub of the valley is Boëge, a lively town whose Tuesday market offers excellent local produce, including fish from Lake Geneva. Here are also a number of small shops and a filling station, as well as doctors, a dentist, banks and other essential services.

Further up are the villages of Villard and Burdgnin, both of which have preserved their essential characters and have pretty churches. Villard boasts the smallest cinema in France which is on the circuit for new releases. Further on still is the historic village of Habère-Lullin. Here are to be found the ruins of the 12th century château which was the scene of the massacre by German troops on Christmas Eve 1943 of over twenty young people. There is now an impressive memorial on the site of the old château, where, 60 years on, wreaths are still laid and memorial gatherings take place. Next to the memorial, the Mairie is an attractive building occupying part of the grounds of the old château. It is the scene of the village fête in July and various other events and receptions.

Two or three kilometres further up the valley is Habère-Poche, which has some holiday apartments and one or two restaurants and is a winter sports centre attracting skiers not only from the neighbouring parts of the Haute-Savoie and Switzerland, but also from further afield. Chair and drag lifts are to be found on the slopes of the Hirmentaz. From Habère-Poche, the road rises in two directions, left to the Col du Cou and Thonon and right to the Col de Terramont and the skiing areas and thence down to the village of Lullin, from which Thonon and Lake Geneva can also be reached. From Lullin there is also access to the Valley of Abondance and the ski stations of Morzine, Avoriaz and Les Gets, each of which gives access to the ski region of Les Portes du Soleil, one of the most extensive in Europe.

The valley has two ‘side-shoots’. One is the Valley of Saxel, leading from Boëge to the pretty village of Saxel, and on, over the Col de Saxel the lower area bordering the lake. The other is off to the South from Villard, to the village of Bogève and thence down to Viuz en Salluz, with its Monday market, and to the main road up towards Tanninges and Samöens.

The Vallée Verte is an agricultural community, based largely on dairy farming, apple orchards and forestry. Super-imposed on the local community is a growing number of commuters to Geneva and its surrounding area. There are a number of secondary residences, many of which belong to Swiss people or retirees. Good food and accommodation are available for visitors, but the bright lights and attractions of the major ski resorts are absent and seem likely to remain so. Much of the residential building consists of chalets and there are no large residential estates or apartment blocks. The area is reminiscent of neighbouring Switzerland and indeed, it seems to have as much in common with Switzerland as with the rest of France. This is hardly surprising if one looks at its history. The present departments of Savoie and Haute-Savoie were part of the Duchy of Savoie until being joined to France in 1869. The adjoining parts of Switzerland were also Savoyard for most of that time, not becoming part of the Swiss Confederation until after the French Revolution around the end of the 18th century.

The Vallée Verte is an easy 7h drive from the Channel ports, is well served via Geneva by rail from Paris and is about 40mins drive from Geneva airport, with its low cost flights to the UK and elsewhere. It is 1/2h drive from the centre of Geneva, and about 45mins from the major ski resorts of the Haute-Savoie.

In the summer there is superb walking up and along the sides of the valley through alpine meadows ablaze with wild flowers and leading up to the mountain viewpoints. The walk along the ridge of the Hirmentaz is particularly spectacular and the climb to the top of Miribel takes one past a ‘Calvaire’ of iron crosses placed there in the 19th century, leading to the scramble to the summit with its ‘Madonna’ statue. Above Bogève is Plaine Joux, an expanse of alpine meadow with lovely walks and views and a winter cross-country skiing paradise. In the valley of la Chèvrerie, a few minutes drive from the Vallée Verte, there is a lovely small lake with a picturesque chapel, all that remains of an old monastery. The lake was formed about 60 years ago by floods following a landslip, but it looks as though it has been there for ever and the chapel sits above it as if by design. From here mountain walkers can reach the summits of the Roc d’Enfer and the Point de Chalune. For the even more energetic there are in the valley mountain bike trails, including the exacting descent of the valley of the Menoge, from Habère-Poche to the bottom of the valley. There are summer festivals of various kinds, including the celebrated ‘Rock ‘n Poche’, a weekend rock festival held in Habère-Poche at the end of July, an Alpine music festival at Plaine Joux in August and fairs of old trades held at Habère-Poche in late July and, later in the summer, in Boëge. Habère-Poche has a gliding club, which allows its members to take advantage of the thermals generated above the valley and its mountains.

The snow usually arrives around Christmas and lasts until March or April. Despite the, sometimes heavy, snowfalls and low temperatures, it is rare for the valley not to be easily accessible by road and the village roads are kept clear. The whole area becomes a fairyland, especially when the villages and houses are showing off their Christmas illuminations. Then, skiing, tobogganing and snow-shoeing take over from the summer activities. There is good downhill skiing at Habère-Poche and on the slopes of the Hirmentaz. There are chair and drag lifts as well as snow cannon. There is also good downhill skiing at Les Brasses, above Bogève and at La Chèvrerie. These ski areas are little known internationally, but they have all that is required for the moderate skier and attract people from the surrounding area who wish to avoid the overcrowding of the major resorts. There is also excellent cross-country skiing at Plaine Joux and at Bellevaux.

The valley is well served with hotels and a range of restaurants, from the rustic to the sophisticated. Hirmentaz has several hotels which exist largely to serve skiers in the winter. Within easy driving distance there are also several excellent gourmet restaurants. A favourite stop, especially in the winter, is the Vieux Mazot, close to Les Brasses.