Description

A village with a history dating back to long before Morzine was first named in documents in 1180 AD, today Morzine is a large and pleasant resort in the midst of one of the world's largest ski areas, the Portes du Soleil, and with excellent off-slope facilities. Although the village may have existed for at least a thousand years, tourism only arrived rather more recently when the first hotel, the Grand, opened in 1925. The first brochure stated that Morzine was located "...high above the damp mists, where the purifying breeze blows through the firs." Early visitors included many families of diplomats living in the French colonies. Winter tourism was not long behind initial summer business and in 1934 the opening of the Pleney cable-car made getting up the mountain to go downhill easy. François Baud, the pioneer behind the Grand, went so far as to build a ski jump behind his hotel, to employ Austrian ski instructors and to bring in the earliest tracked Renault vehicles to entice winter visitors. He also introduced the sport of Ski Jöring - being towed on skis behind a horse - to the village. After Pleney, the Pointe de Nyon was introduced as a second ski area and Jean Vuarnet won Olympic Gold at Squaw Valley, helping to underline further Morzine's growing pre-eminence on the winter-sports world map. The still futuristic resort of Avoriaz opened high above the village in 1966 and when Super Morzine opened in the 1980s a lift link between Avoriaz and Morzine was created.

Travelling to Morzine

Morzine is very easy to reach, and is only 65 km (40 miles) from Geneva International Airport. There are five bus links per day from the airport or the option of a helicopter link for a rather higher cost than the bus fare! The nearest rail stations are at Cluses and Thonon les Bains, both 30 km (19 miles) away, both linked to Morzine with a regular shuttle bus. The high speed TGV train goes to both stations in 4 hours from Paris. There are over a dozen taxi companies in the village and a Europcar car rental outlet. Drivers should take the toll Motorway Blanche to Bonneville or Cluses then take the main road to the resort; alternatively the Motorway Suisse, exiting at Villeneuve towards Evian. There are free car parking spaces around the village and the pay-parking in the village centre, with waiting times are limited. Undercover public parking is also available at a fee. A free shuttle ski bus circulates around the village.

Weather

Conditions for Morzine, FR at 6:00 am CEST

Current Conditions:
Unknown, 9 C

Forecast:
Sat - Sunny. High: 24 Low: 11
Sun - Sunny. High: 26 Low: 13

Full Forecast at Yahoo! Weather

(provided by The Weather Channel)

Snow Report

Latest snow report from onthesnow.com

Base depth

180cm

Snowfall last 48 hours

0cm

Surface conditions

N/A

Updated, about 21 hours ago

Historical snow reports...

Map

Display large map...

Key Facts

Photographs

Closest Resorts
(distance in miles)

Advertisers

Database and compilation (c) Snow24 plc 2009-11, Database Right: Snow24 plc 2009-11.