Megève

Megève Megéva (Arpitan)
Commune
From top to bottom, left to right: view of Megève from Rochebrune, old town with the Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste, Domaine du Mont d'Arbois on the Mont d'Arbois and ski slopes.
Coat of arms
Location of Megève
Megève Show map of France Megève Show map of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Coordinates: 45°51′28″N 6°37′05″E
Country	France
Region	Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Department	Haute-Savoie
Arrondissement	Bonneville
Canton	Sallanches
Intercommunality	Pays du Mont-Blanc
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Catherine Jullien-Brèches[1]
Area ^1	44.11 km^2 (17.03 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[2]	2,961
• Density	67/km^2 (170/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	74173 /74120
Elevation	1,027–2,485 m (3,369–8,153 ft) (avg. 1,113 m or 3,652 ft)
^1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km^2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Megève (French pronunciation: [məʒɛv]; Arpitan: Megéva) is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southeastern France with a population of more than 3,000 residents. The town is well known as a ski resort near Mont Blanc in the French Alps. Conceived in the 1920s as a French alternative to St. Moritz by the Rothschilds, it was the first purpose-built resort in the Alps. Originally it was a prime destination for the French aristocracy; it remains one of the most famous and affluent ski resorts in the world.^[3]

History

The town started its development as a ski resort in the 1910s, when the Rothschild family began spending their winter vacations there after becoming disenchanted with the Swiss resort St. Moritz. In 1921, Baroness Noémie de Rothschild (1888–1968) opened the Domaine du Mont d'Arbois, a luxury hotel which boosted the resort's development.^[4] By the 1950s Megève was one of the most popular ski resorts in Europe and attracted many wealthy individuals and celebrities.^[4] Nowadays it is still visited largely by affluent people ^[who?] as is evidenced by the real estate prices.^[5]

Climate

Climate data for Megève, 1080m (1991−2020 normals, extremes 1951−present)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	15.0 (59.0)	18.4 (65.1)	21.7 (71.1)	26.4 (79.5)	29.9 (85.8)	34.0 (93.2)	34.0 (93.2)	34.5 (94.1)	29.0 (84.2)	25.3 (77.5)	21.8 (71.2)	16.0 (60.8)	34.5 (94.1)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	3.2 (37.8)	4.5 (40.1)	8.8 (47.8)	12.8 (55.0)	17.0 (62.6)	21.0 (69.8)	23.1 (73.6)	22.7 (72.9)	18.1 (64.6)	13.8 (56.8)	7.7 (45.9)	3.6 (38.5)	13.0 (55.4)
Daily mean °C (°F)	−1.1 (30.0)	−0.3 (31.5)	3.5 (38.3)	7.0 (44.6)	11.2 (52.2)	14.8 (58.6)	16.7 (62.1)	16.4 (61.5)	12.5 (54.5)	8.6 (47.5)	3.4 (38.1)	−0.3 (31.5)	7.7 (45.9)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	−5.4 (22.3)	−5.2 (22.6)	−1.9 (28.6)	1.2 (34.2)	5.3 (41.5)	8.6 (47.5)	10.3 (50.5)	10.1 (50.2)	6.9 (44.4)	3.4 (38.1)	−1.0 (30.2)	−4.3 (24.3)	2.3 (36.2)
Record low °C (°F)	−27.0 (−16.6)	−30.6 (−23.1)	−22.0 (−7.6)	−15.1 (4.8)	−9.8 (14.4)	−3.5 (25.7)	−0.8 (30.6)	−0.4 (31.3)	−3.0 (26.6)	−9.0 (15.8)	−18.0 (−0.4)	−24.1 (−11.4)	−30.6 (−23.1)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	144.4 (5.69)	110.8 (4.36)	112.9 (4.44)	102.8 (4.05)	126.8 (4.99)	133.4 (5.25)	131.4 (5.17)	125.3 (4.93)	111.9 (4.41)	120.6 (4.75)	124.9 (4.92)	167.9 (6.61)	1,513.1 (59.57)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm)	10.8	9.8	10.3	10.2	13.3	12.3	11.4	10.8	10.0	10.7	10.8	11.8	132.0
Source: Meteociel[6]

Population

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1968	4,929	—
1975	5,209	+0.79%
1982	5,255	+0.13%
1990	4,750	−1.26%
1999	4,509	−0.58%
2007	3,878	−1.87%
2012	3,326	−3.02%
2017	3,036	−1.81%
Source: INSEE[7]

Development

For the 2015–2016 winter season a six-seater chair opened replacing the two old Mont Joux chairs. Further additions include the latest branch of Folie Douce at the top of Mont Joux, introducing the chain's trademark Austrian-style afternoon party scene, which opened in the 2014–2015 season. This will be the fifth in the Folie Douce chain, which started in Val d'Isère and then spread to Val Thorens, Méribel and Alpe d'Huez.^[8]

Sports

Winter sports

Megève's Alpine skiing area, known as the "Domaine Évasion Mont Blanc", comprises Megève itself (Mont d'Arbois, L'Alpette, Rochebrune and Côte 2000); Saint-Gervais-les-Bains; Combloux; La Giettaz; Les Contamines-Montjoie and Saint-Nicolas-de-Véroce. The "Evasion Mont-Blanc" range covers approximately 445 km of the ski slopes.^[9]

On an area of 8 km² (3.1 sq mi) there are 116 lifts providing access to 219 slopes totaling 445 km (277 mi).^{[citation needed]}

• The 445 km of slopes are thus divided from hardest to easiest: 35 km (22 mi) blacks, 58 km (36 mi) reds, 110 km (68 mi) blues and 76 km (47 mi) greens.^[10] (See ski trail rating)
• The lifts: 67 platter lifts, 35 chairlifts and 13 gondola lifts and one cable car.^[9]

In addition, the "Domaine Évasion Mont Blanc" includes 18 cross-country skiing trails totaling 65 km (40 mi).^[11]

The first three World Junior Figure Skating Championships were held in Megève in 1976, 1977 and 1978.^[12]

The Megève Polo Masters is an international polo tournament played on snow.^{[citation needed]} The Snow Golf Cup is a unique golf tournament held on snow on Megève's Mont d'Arbois plateau.^{[citation needed]}

As well as these winter sports, Megève also hosts winter events including an international curling tournament, a ski cross World Cup and a mogul skiing cup. There is also night skiing in February, a ski cross slope, an open-air ice rink, snowshoeing and dog sledding plus 38 km (24 mi) of Nordic skiing in the region.^[13]

Summer sports

Megève is also a popular summer holiday destination and is especially renowned for its golfing opportunities.^{[citation needed]} It was the finishing town for stage 18 and the start town for stage 20 of the 2016 Tour de France.

Twin towns

Oberstdorf in Germany has, since 1970, been a twin town of Megève. It is also located in the mountains and famous for summer and winter holidays.

Honorary citizens

People awarded the honorary citizenship of Megève are:

Date	Name	Notes
3 April 2017	HSH Albert II, Prince of Monaco (1958–Present)	Prince of Monaco.[14][15]

Media

Megève is the ski resort featured in the beginning of the 1963 film Charade, where Audrey Hepburn's Regina Lampert meets Cary Grant's character.^[16] It is also the title of one of the tracks by composer Henry Mancini on the film's soundtrack.

Megève was one of four World Cup venues in the Alps featured in the 1969 film Downhill Racer, starring Robert Redford and Gene Hackman.^[17][18]

Panoramic view of Megève.

See also

• Communes of the Haute-Savoie department
• Megève Altiport

References

1. "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
2. "Populations légales 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
3. "Megeve Skiing Holidays - Ski Apartments - Peak Retreats". www.peakretreats.co.uk. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
4. Viguie-Desplaces, Philippe (December 22, 2015). "Chalet du Mont d'Arbois : et Rothschild créa Megève…". Le Figaro. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
5. Roughly €6900 /m² on average, according to www.cotation-immobiliere.fr (as of October 2008)
6. "Normales et records pour Megeve (74)". Meteociel. Retrieved September 24, 2024.
7. Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
8. Megève – http://www.skicollection.co.uk/Ski/Megeve.htm
9. "Evasion Mont-Blanc – Skiing vacations with a nostalgic flair". Ski France. Archived from the original on 25 August 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
10. "Ski resort Megeve". Bergfex. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
11. "Ski resort information Megeve". Freedom Snowsports. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
12. "Junior Figure Skating Championships". CBC Sports. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
13. Megève Winter Sports - http://www.skicollection.co.uk/Ski/Megeve.htm
14. "Top-6 Monaco Princely news: Prince Albert II become an honorary citizen of Megève". 3 April 2017.
15. "INSOLITE. Le prince Albert II de Monaco va devenir citoyen d'honneur de Megève".
16. Paris, Barry (2001). Audrey Hepburn. p. 184. ISBN 0-75281-540-7.
17. Lund, Morton (November 1969). "The Sundance Kid: the making of Downhill Racer". SKI. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
18. McCarthy, Todd (November 17, 2009). "Downhill Racer: Trailblazer". Criterion Collection. (Variety). Retrieved January 26, 2014.

External links

• Official tourism website of Megève. (in French and English)
• Official website of the municipality of Megève. (in French)
• Megève local people, tradition. (in French)