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Châtel is a truly charming village - the perfect spot for a family ski break.
The resort is also part of the vast Portes du Soleil domain - the largest international linked ski area in the world with over 650km of varied terrain spread across eight French and four Swiss resorts. This gives skiers and boarders an almost endless choice of runs on their doorstep.
Châtel is a very pretty village, the design of its chalets are still by and large traditional which has earned the Abondance Valley recognition as a "Pays d'Art et d'Histoire" destination. The resort is situated in the northern French Alps on the French/Swiss border and is now a popular ski resort although the village still retains many of its traditional alpine characteristics.
The resort is also part of the vast Portes du Soleil domain - the largest international linked ski area in the world with over 650 km of varied terrain spread across eight French and four Swiss resorts. This gives skiers and boarders an almost endless choice of runs on their doorstep. The first lift was the Vonnes drag lift, constructed in 1947 and that began the transformation of Châtel into a winter tourist resort.
Further development of winter sports facilities followed and in the 1950s the slopes of the Morclan were developed from the bottom of the village to the summit with the construction of a chair lift and drag lift, a hotel half way up the slope and another in the village – Super Châtel was born. At this time, the fact that people crossed the French/Swiss boarder on skis was a result of the close links that had always existed between the people of Châtel and Morgins and the concept of the Portes du Soleil was born in Super Châtel.
Although skiing and tourism is the major occupation here, agriculture is still important and the area retains its wonderful small village feel and everywhere in the architecture, the food and the festivals, local traditions thrive making this a really special holiday destination.