Les Menuires: Return to the Roots
Every winter, we ski down the incredible slopes of Les Menuires, without always imagining that just a few decades ago, there was nothing here: no houses, no slopes, no ski lifts.
Every winter, we ski down the incredible slopes of Les Menuires, without always imagining that just a few decades ago, there was nothing here: no houses, no slopes, no ski lifts.
In Saint-Martin-de-Belleville, a small village hidden at the bottom of the valley, farming was the main source of income and shaped daily life. Conditions remained harsh, and young people, seeking a different future, gradually left the valley. The village was slowly dying out until one day its mayor, Nicolas Jay, had a crazy idea to revive it.
What if, higher up, at an altitude of 1,800 metres, where few people had yet ventured, a winter sports resort were to be created?
In the mid-1960s, France launched the Plan Neige (Snow Plan) to respond to the boom in skiing and attract holidaymakers to the mountains. In the Belleville Valley, an ambitious project was born: to create a modern, functional and forward-looking resort. Work began, roads were built, and Les Menuires resort was about to write the first pages of a history that would forever change the destiny of the Bellevillois.
The winter of 1964–1965 marked the official opening of the resort. The first visitors discovered a modest site with a few ski lifts and around 450 tourist beds. But already, the spirit of Les Menuires was taking shape: an accessible, friendly place focused on skiing for all.
In the early 1970s, the resort reached a milestone with the construction of the Brelin, a monumental building with 562 flats and numerous shops. With its bold, brutalist style, it became one of the resort's symbols. Although its aesthetics are sometimes divisive, with sceptics nicknaming it the ‘Snow Liner’, it nevertheless embodies the boldness of an era when anything seemed possible in terms of developing the appeal of mountain resorts.