Samoens Village

Samoens Village and surrounding hamlets, suburbs and satellite resorts

There are really five distinct parts of Samoens where you can stay. 

Samoens 1600 Les Saix is a purpose-built, convenient (most of the accommodation is ski-in, ski-out) and snowsure satellite resort built up the mountain on the North facing slopes below the 2118m Tete des Saix from where you can ski over to Flaine and Les Carroz, or down to Morillon. It’s not ugly, especially when compared to its neighbour Flaine, but it is a bit bland and dominated by a large Club Med complex. It also feels more like a self contained mini-resort, rather than part of Samoens. Whilst the Massif Express lift is running, it’s not hard to get into the main village and back again, but once this closes Samoens 1600 is rather cut-off.

Vercland is also on the same North Facing mountainside as Samoens 1600, but about 500m below it. In theory Vercland also has ski-in, ski-out accommodation but in reality this depends on good snow conditions. The hamlet has some ancient roots – it was the historical home of the stonemasons – and it has some nice buildings, but it slightly resembles a random collection of chalets, rather than a proper village. It’s also not high enough to be snowsure. On the plus side it is on the main bus circuit so is much better connected to the centre of Samoens.

In the village itself, a new area is emerging close to the Grand Massif Express. The new developments being built here have sloping chalet-style roofs and wood in all the right places, and their apartments inside are well appointed with all mod cons, and they make a handy accommodation choice for skiers, being so close to a very efficient lift. But it’s a long walk (nearly a kilometre) from the Massif Express to the historic centre of the village which is what makes Samoens special. The bus service is reasonably frequent though.

The village centre of Samoens and the streets that surround it, are where you want to be to really appreciate Samoens’ ambience. But parking around here can be problematic, and it’s a long walk to the lift, so you will rely on buses, which are generally good.

The main thing to do in the centre of Samoens is just wander around. There are nice shops especially the food shops, selling local hams, cheeses, preserves and wines. There are also Salons-de-the and lots of bars and restaurants as well, but they don’t get very rowdy and they don’t stay open till the small hours. The centre also gets noticeably livelier when it’s market day (currently Wednesdays).

For the more cultured, there are organised tours of the village and the surrounding area. The Tourist Office will put you in touch with an English-speaking guide. The first stop after the church and the old fountain is usually the Jaysinia Botanical Garden, with an ever-changing display of mountain plants, carved out of the south-facing mountains overlooking the village, with waterfalls. Pause to take some great snaps of the town and surrounding mountains. For the kids, there is a fun train service, which leaves from the village square at regular times for a short tour of the village and surrounding area. There is also a good ice rink – which is a useful option when the weather is foul and skiing won’t be fun.

Lastly there are the northern suburbs, going up the south-facing mountain on the far side of the valley from the skiing. These are mostly composed of stylish chalets, but they go up the mountain a long way, and the highest ones are summer-only residences. Morzine’s slopes are just over the top of this ridge, but the D354 road going up and over the pass is blocked off by snow in winter, so they are inaccessible to all but the hardiest of ski-tourers and snowshoers. The bus service running from the Northern Suburbs and into the centre and onto the Massif Express is good, but it’s worth checking where the nearest bus stop is.

Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval and Morillon

Six kilometres to the east of Samoens, and literally at the end of the road, is the pretty, unspoilt and very quiet village of Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval. You can ski down to Sixt from Flaine on the long, scenic Cascades blue run, and it has a tiny ski area of its own. But Sixt has no lifts linking it to the rest of the Grand Massif, so each morning you have to take the bus journey from Sixt to the Grand Massif lift at Samoens (about a 10 to 15 minute bus journey). 

To the west of Samoens is Morillon. Like Samoens it has an old village with a lift but no piste back to it, and a modern purpose built ski station above it – Morillon 1100 – with ski in, ski out accommodation (provided the snow cover extends down to 1100m). Both the old village and the modern ski station are pleasant quiet places to stay in and to wander around, but both lack the ambience and beautiful buidings that Samoens has.