The changing face of Morzine

When we moved to Morzine 7 years ago, it had a lot going for it. We were attracted to it by a number of things: it was an charmingly attractive mountain hub with not a high rise in site, it was only 1hr 15mins from Geneva airport, it was a year-round working mountain town & most importantly, it was at the heart of the Portes du Soleil, one of the best ski areas in the Alps if not the world.

But then a load of stuff changed and now it is THE place to be in the Alps. Here’s an overview of what we have seen change in the 7 years we have been living here

New things to do

In the last few years, the following new things have been built

• New Indoor Swimming pool in Morzine
• New skate park in Morzine
• New Aqua park in Avoriaz, called Aquariaz (see what they did?)
• New gym in Morzine

Events & Festivals

The number of festivals across both summer & winter that have come to Morzine in recent years is astonishing. Here are just a few:

• Rock the Pistes – a spring festival of music on the pistes
• Transition – a pre-xmas annual festival of music in Avoriaz which featured Dizzee Rascal in 2015
• Crankworx – the legendary mountain biking festival was in Les Gets in June 2016
• Tour de France – crucial tour defining stages finishing in Morzine in 2010 & again in 2016
• L’etape – Thousands of keen amateurs race a stage of the Tour finishing in Morzine in July 2016
• The Spartan Race – The famously challenging obstacle course comes to Morzine in July 2016
• Harley Davidson Festival – a bi-annual favourite where the town hosts thousands of bikers and their Harley bikes.
• Morzine Downhill MTB cup
• Mont-Blanc rally – rally driving round the roads and tracks of Morzine / Avoriaz

New types of places to eat and drink

Morzine & the surrounding area specialize in traditional Haute-Savoie cuisine, i.e. Fondu, tartiflette, raclette etc… However, sometimes melted cheese can get a bit repetetive and previously there wasn’t a huge amount to choose from if you wanted something different. Fast forward 7 years and we now have:

• The Bec Jaune offering a range of tasty delights taking influences from Asia, South America & the UK. On top of this, it is a micro-brewery and offers a great range of real beer which are delicious and a refreshing change
• Mamas offers various great alternatives: Wraps, Pitas, Noodles, and Fish & Chips
• Exclusif 1490 – unbelievable panoramic views in an incredible location
• Bouche a Oreille in St Jean. Great service offering a variety of treats including falafels, tapas & fantastic pizzas.

Improved access to the mountain

• New Pleney Gondola (going from Central Morzine to the top of the Morzine ski area)
• New Prodains gondola (going from the Morzine valley straight into Avoriaz)
• Increased speed on the Ardent gondola (going from the Montriond valley into the Lindaret bowl)
• Lots and lots of new chairlifts that are too many to mention!