With its charming chalets and its beautiful residences with wooden facades, Méribel is a resort perfectly integrated into its wonderful mountain setting. Situated right in the heart of the 3 Valleys, one of the most famous ski areas in the world, the winter sports resort has everything to satisfy skiing fans.

In summer, Méribel is a special destination for hikers, with its numerous footpaths in the Vanoise national park.

This famous smart winter sports resort is renowned for the quality of its ski area, but also for all the leisure activities and the facilities that are offered after a day's skiing, such as exhibitions, concerts, cafés, discotheques, fitness centres, gourmet restaurants, shops and luxury hotels.

As a part of the 3 Valleys, a vast ski area with 600 kilometres of pistes and 200 ski lifts, Courchevel is linked to the other renowned resorts of the 3 Valleys that are Méribel, Val-Thorens, les Menuires, la Tania, and Brides-les-Bains.

On the hills of Albertville, Conflans is a pleasant stopping point, with its flower-bedecked main square featuring a fountain and the Maison Rouge (Red House), a beautiful 14th-century brick-built building home to the Ethnography and History museum; its high street with forged iron shop signs on facades, its Baroque church, and its charming garden protected by the Sarrazine tower.

Albertville is world-famous for having hosted the opening and closing ceremonies of the 16th Winter Olympic Games in February 1992. Recounting the sports events that took place during this prestigious period, Tremplin 92 is an essential stop for anyone staying in Albertville. Place de l'Europe square, the location of a very modern cultural centre, offers a beautiful view of the hilltop village of Conflans.

Nestled at an altitude of around 1,110 metres in the upper Arly Valley, Megève combines a historic Savoie village with a prestigious winter sports resort. Mentioned as Megeva in 1202, then granted a charter of privileges and the right to hold a fair in 1282, this farming and pastoral community became a pioneering winter destination in the early 20th century. From 1916 onwards, Noémie de Rothschild developed a resort there intended to rival Saint Moritz.

The largely pedestrianised centre reveals cobbled lanes, fountains, bridges over the Glapet and old houses clustered around Church Square. Listed as a Historic Monument in 1988, Saint John the Baptist Church retains a late Gothic choir, a nave rebuilt in the 17th century, an 1842 Callinet organ and a remarkable onion-domed bell tower. Designer boutiques, hotels, wellness centres, outdoor terraces and gourmet restaurants enhance the village's elegant atmosphere.

Also worth discovering is the Calvary Trail, laid out between 1840 and 1878 by parish priest Ambroise Martin. Its 15 chapels and wayside shrines, adorned with painted wooden statues, form a route listed as a Historic Monument overlooking the village and the upper Arly Valley. The Upper Arly Valley Museum, housed in a 19th-century farmhouse, presents the valley's homes, trades and rural traditions.

Resort architecture is another distinctive feature of Megève. Having settled in the municipality in 1925, Henry-Jacques Le Même completed the prototype of the “skier's chalet” in 1927, inspired by Megève's farmhouses and adapted to modern comforts. His house and architectural office, built in 1928–1929 on Calvary Hill, is listed as a Historic Monument but remains privately owned.

In winter, Rochebrune and Mount Arbois provide access to the Mont Blanc Escape ski area, advertised as offering more than 400 kilometres of slopes, while Jaillet leads towards the Mont Blanc Gateways ski area. Snowshoeing, sledging, ice skating and cross-country skiing round out the available activities. In summer, hiking, mountain biking, golf and walks to Lake Javen reveal the Aravis Mountains and Mount Joly, while several slopes offer views of the Mont Blanc massif. The Palace brings together swimming pools, an ice rink, a climbing area and family facilities, which are particularly welcome when the weather limits mountain outings.

Nearby, Combloux and Saint-Gervais-les-Bains offer further opportunities to explore the landscapes of the Mont Blanc region. Located around 12 kilometres away, Sallanches-Combloux-Megève railway station provides access to the resort by coach or shuttle bus.

Invented in 1890 by Joseph Opinel in the family workshop in Gévoudaz, the famous Savoyard knife has its own museum in Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne. Its history dates back to 1800, when Victor-Amédée Opinel, Joseph's grandfather, established his first forge and edge-tool workshop. A range of twelve sizes appeared in 1897, while the "Crowned Hand" emblem, registered in 1909, combines the hand of Saint John the Baptist, featured on the coat of arms of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, with the crown of the former Duchy of Savoy.

The museum occupies a former cutlery workshop built in 1932 by Jean Opinel, Joseph's brother. Jean, followed by his son Daniel and grandson Jacques, manufactured tools and knives there under the "Cross of Savoy" brand until 1973. Converted into a museum in 1989, then renovated and extended in 2013 and again in 2018, the family building now devotes nearly 700 m² to this remarkable artisanal and industrial adventure.

The old forge, with its hammers, power hammers, machinery and edge-tool-making equipment, provides insight into the earliest manufacturing processes. Photographs, archival documents and educational materials then trace the transfer of production to Cognin, near Chambéry, as well as the evolution of the models. In particular, you will discover the Virobloc, a blade-locking system invented in 1955, and the twelve historic sizes, with blades ranging from 3.5 to 22 centimetres. A film shot in the Chambéry workshops presents the main stages of production. Added to the Larousse dictionary in 1989, the name Opinel has become a common noun associated with Savoyard and French heritage. The step-free visitor route is accessible to people with reduced mobility and offers materials designed for families. A shop with an engraving service and a relaxation area with a terrace round off the visit.

Also worth exploring, the Opinel Route runs for approximately 16 kilometres from Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne to Albiez-Montrond. It takes in Gévoudaz, Joseph's house, the former Pont factory and a 1.5-kilometre walking trail in the heart of the family's birthplace.

Initially created to protect ibexes, the Vanoise national park is today an important site for the protection of flora and fauna. Stretching over 53,000 hectares, this park is divided into two parts: a central area in the heart of the massif for ramblers and skiers only, and an outlying area grouping together the prestigious ski resorts of the Tarentaise area, as well as typical villages. The Vanoise massif comprises around 100 peaks over 3,000 metres in altitude. The striking and unspoiled landscapes of the Vanoise massif are magical and awe-inspiring. Mountain walking fans will be in heaven.