Villages and resorts

of Haute Maurienne Vanoise

Located in Savoie in the Northern Alps, the Haute Maurienne valley is inhabited all year round.
8 666 permanent inhabitants, 10 villages and 6 resorts. From Saint-André to Bonneval sur Arc, each village with its own character and specificities will charm you and leave you with unforgettable memories!

You’ve never heard of Haute Maurienne, that little corner of Savoy paradise in the Northern Alps?

This time it’s decided, we’re telling you everything! This area at the end of the valley has great assets and those who know it keep coming back and talking about it!

In Haute Maurienne Vanoise, there are no big resorts, no overcrowding, but authentic villages. Mountain villages with agriculture that is still very much alive and which turned to tourism as early as the middle of the 20th century.

French and foreign mountaineers were already climbing our highest peaks : L’Albaron, Le Charbonnel, La Ciamarella, La Grande Casse, La Dent Parrachée, the Vanoise glaciers.

The creation of the Vanoise National Park in 1963 brought a certain notoriety to the valley and made it possible to discover a wild and protected nature.

There are two road “exits” to the valley: the Mont-Cenis pass which gives you access to Italy and the Iseran pass, the highest road pass in Europe, which links us to Val d’Isère and the Tarentaise valley.

Please note that these passes are not accessible in winter! In general, the Mont-Cenis pass is open from May to October and the Iseran pass from June to September. To avoid unpleasant surprises, check the openings on Savoie-route.fr

Our

6 resorts

of Haute Maurienne Vanoise

Not to be missed!

Haute Maurienne Vanoise is a concentrate of the Alps. Between nature, heritage, exceptional sites or a gastronomy your stay among us will be filled with unforgettable moments!

Discover HMV highlights

The

gates of the valley

of Haute Maurienne

Freney and Saint-André

Le Freney, the first village at the exit of the A43 motorway, is the gateway to Haute Maurienne Vanoise.

Saint-André has a rich architectural and natural heritage with hamlets, churches, a Chappe telegraph, restored water mills and a strong network of hiking trails.

Discover the valleys of Polset and l’Orgère at the gates of the Vanoise National Park.

Saint-André heritage

The

border cities

of Haute Maurienne Vanoise

Fourneaux and Modane

These 2 villages form a very dynamic commercial village. The SNCF station, the motorway and the Frejus tunnel overlooking Italy make it an essential transit point.

The rich history of Modane, a city that developed all at once at the end of the 19th century with the construction and opening of the Fréjus railway tunnel.

The atmosphere worthy of the far-west is revealed through the military forts (Lavoir, Replaton, Sapey, Saint-Gobain), the Leaning House, the Museobar, which presents the history of the city, the Modane underground laboratory, which provides more information on the research carried out in the heart of the Fréjus tunnel on neutrino and dark matter, and the monumental entrance to the tunnel with its former locomotive and wagons transformed into exhibition space.

Modane, the "town"

Vibrant

villages

of Haute Maurienne Vanoise

Avrieux and Villarodin-Bourget

Avrieux boasts a wealth of religious heritage, including the noteworthy St Thomas Becket church, one of the most splendid Baroque churches in the valley.

The Marie-Thérèse Redoubt also stands here, along with other forts making up the impressive Esseillon Barrier. Together with its neighbouring village, Villarodin-Bourget, Avrieux was also behind the development of La Norma ski resort at the beginning of the 1970s.

It is also in Avrieux that you’ll find the Office National d’Etudes et de Recherches Aérospatiales (ONERA) and the hydroelectric power stations whose turbines run on water from the Aussois and Mont Cenis dams. Just like Saint-André and Val-Cenis Sardières, Avrieux has a Chappe telegraph that has been entirely restored (2018).

Discover Avrieux and its surroundings

In one clic