The Giffre Valley is still a real, agricultural working area, it’s not just a ski-town. The river Giffre runs along the valley floor, starting up at the mighty waterfalls in the Cirque du Fer à Cheval, passing through the various villages, before it heads off to join the river Arve.

 Samoëns

The largest of the villages in the Giffre Valley, and proud holder of the 'Coq D'Or', recognising its status as one of the prettiest in France. The old livestock-droving lanes make for peaceful pedestrian access into the town square, where many of the old buildings remain in use today.  

Farming is still very much part of economic life of the valley. Take a walk through some of the outlying hamlets of Samoëns, and you'll hear the bells ringing as the cows are moved between pastures.   

The Wednesday market is one of the biggest in Haute-Savoie, with a great selection of local produce (cheese, sausage, wine, fruit & veg, honey, jams, more cheese), alongside more purposeful things for mountain life, like chainsaws, pick axes and pen knives. 

The square in the heart of the village lives up to its name - La Place de Gros Tilleul - with an enormous ancient lime tree at its heart.  It’s home to various shops, bars and restaurants. During the ski season, there's a lovely buzz about the place in the late afternoon, as folks stop off in town for après ski. In summer, it's leisurely lunches that drift into balmy evenings.  Not so much a buzz, but a gentle hum.

Morillon 

We’re right on the border between the villages of Samoëns and Morillon. Technically, we’re in the commune of Samoëns, but it’s a closer ten minute walk down the country lanes to Morillon village centre (fifteen on the way back up). There's a few bars and restaurants, a chemist, a general grocery store, and of course the key feature of French village life, a bakery.  

The Morillon ski lift runs right from the heart of the village up to to Morillon 1100, where there's lovely tree-lined pistes, and chairlifts to the rest of the Grand Massif ski domain.

Walking from the village down towards the river, you'll find open-air swimming at Lac Bleu, and zip-wires through the trees at the adventure park.  

Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval

Tucked up near the end of the valley is the village of Sixt.  Pretty much unchanged in decades, it still has a bakery, a few restaurants and bars, and a grocery store with fantastic cheese and sausage.  It's still very much a farming community. There are beautiful walks around the village, spotting all the old agricultural buildings, or venture just outside the village to the Cascade de Rouget - stunning in summer and winter

Cirque du Fer-à-Cheval

Quite literally at the very end of the valley road, you’ll find the most stunning mountain-scape. The road stops at the foot of the giant horse-shoe shaped mountains ahead.  If you're up for a serious hike, Switzerland is just the other side of the mountain. Or you could just take a gentle wander in the meadows at the foot of the mountains. 

It’s a magical place - in summer the only thing you can hear are the waterfalls and the bird calls (we've seen buzzards, owls and eagles all circling on the thermals).  In winter the waterfalls freeze and the snow deadens all sound, leaving just the crunching underfoot.