Reasons to visit

At an altitude of 1200m and located near the head of the Dranse valley, at the north-eastern limit of the Portes du Soleil, this peaceful, friendly and distinctly authentic village has a lively centre and perfectly preserved architecture. Very popular with the French, the resort now also attracts the attention of  the second home market in the rest of Europe and beyond, due to a number of new build and resale chalets or apartments that are available, to suit all budgets. It is an attractive scenic resort that blends perfectly modern chalet style hotels and apartments, with old farms thanks to strict building controls. An ideal base for exploring the huge Portes du Soleil's 650km domain (12 resorts, 2 countries and 194 lifts) the slopes range from 950 – 2300m.

Chatel is a gateway to a marvellous winter playground, offering some of the best local slopes that are queue free. With two terrain parks, skiing goes in two directions towards Avoriaz on the French side and Morgins on the Swiss side, providing a mix of open and wooded slopes to suit all levels of experience. La Chapelle d'Abondance, a few kilometres further down the valley provides access to the slopes of Torgon, which are pleasantly uncrowded on the weekend.

A wide host of winter leisure activities are available in addition to skiing that include, cross country, snowshoe and walking trails, under the ice diving and fishing, 2 cinemas, bowling alley, ice skating, leisure centre, sledging and a great selection of bars and restaurants that are welcoming and friendly place to go, serving up local produce turned into tempting dishes.

In summer, the extensive network of slopes become hundreds of miles of sign-posted footpaths for hiking and mountain biking for all ages and fitness levels. Over the years the Portes du Soleil has become renowned as the prime place for mountain bikers from the whole world over (650km of sign posted tracks, 10 downhill runs 24 ski lifts equipped for Mountain bikes) while the world famous road race the Tour de France, has a major stage through this part of the Alps as well.

Other summer activities in the area include a swimming pool, bobsleigh, mountaineering, rock climbing, paragliding, fishing in the local rivers and lakes, canyoning, pedalo’s, canoeing, rafting, football, golf (Les Gets), miniature golf, French bowls, tennis, horse riding and Lake Geneva just 40 minutes away, for other water activities such as sailing. With a day nursery and a leisure centre, high teas on the farm, a roller-skating platform, street shows, sack races, village feast and fair days, there is plenty to do for anyone owning a second home here.

Being a dual season resort, if you are looking to rent your chalet or apartment to cover some of the costs, the resort offers great potential throughout the winter and summer periods thanks to its access to the Portes du Soleil, particularly the Christmas/ New Year week , the 4 weeks of February and July/August, when rental returns are at a premium.

Getting to Chatel is easy. Only 80km to Geneva airport (1 hour 40 minutes), the short transfer times from the airport make owning a property here an ideal location. For those not wanting to drive or fly, a train station at Thonon-les-Bains (40 km) has Saturday and Sunday TGV links. For more information please visit www.voyages-sncf.com. Frequent bus transfers to Chatel are also possible and for schedules/pricing please visit www.altibus.com. Should you wish to visit any of the Chatel properties being marketed, we would be happy to assist you with arrangements including hotel recommendations in the resort. Please contact us for more information.