Megève, the fair aristocrat

Megève, the fair aristocrat

To its narrow-street-ed mountain village charm, Megève adds those of an interesting architecture, a testimony of its rich past and intense present tourist activity. A combination that has set prices ablaze.

The name Megève – Mag-eva – is of Celtic origin: “mag” means habitation while “eva” is the word for water, concisely describing the village’s location between two brooks that join their flows downstream to form the Arly river. The station launched its development in the early 20th century. In 1913, it already had three hotels to accommodate the first sprouts of an essentially climate-oriented summer tourism. Following the advice of Mathilde Maige-Lefournier, journalist for the Club Alpin Français and ski aficionado, the Hôtel Mont-Blanc decided to acquire central heating so as to extend its activities to snow vacations. This was the first winter season for Megève (Haute-Savoie). The success of the endeavour caused euphoria among hoteliers and shopkeepers alike. Inns and boutiques started multiplying, sporting contests, foreshadowing our giant slaloms, were organised, … World War I was unfortunately to make all this activity come to a halt, but the idea was in the air! And things picked up from there in 1916, when baroness Noémie de Rothschild decided to launch her project of a ski station where all the world’s greatest would flock, thus imitating the star-destination of the time: Saint-Moritz.

Snowy star
Having set her heart on Megève, the baroness launched an efficient construction policy, and as early as 1921, the first palace-hotel of the station, l’Hôtel du Mont-d’Arbois, opened with all the expected pomp. This event was to be followed by a chain of constructions, first an ice-skating range, then a ski-school, a bobsleigh track, new ski lifts… The winter of 1924 was to put the ultimate seal on Megève’s destiny. Indeed, that was the year when the Mont-d’Arbois received the visit of king Albert I of Belgium and of queen Elizabeth of England. That was the signal for all the other royal families of the world to join the fun. The tourist cachet of the small Haute-Savoy village was secured and its renown became international. It was a time when private chalets were multiplying. The station’s architect, Henry-Jacques Le Même, is the inventor of the Mégevan chalet, which offers a subtle balance between a refined city lifestyle and typical mountain rusticity. His constructions are compact, roomy and comfortable. His body of work is gigantic; there are some one hundred Le Même chalets in Megève only. His consciousness of architectural coherence pushes him to become involved even in the interior design. Today, these chalets evolve on a micro-market, the turn-over is almost nil and the prices know no limit (some have mentioned up to 2 millions euros!).

Line, Roger, Rita etc
The baroness Rothschild was not the only major figure to contribute to Megève’s good fortune. One other such personage is Marc Maisony, who founded in 1951 the Megève’s Sporting Club in Rochebrune. With its swimming pool, tennis court and ice-skating range, this avant-garde complex was to host curling championships, ice-skating exhibitions and elegance galas for over thirty years. The arrival of Georges Boisson was another turning point in the life of the village. With him, socialite bars like the Cintra and four-star hotels were to rise. It was not rare then to celebrity-spot such people as Fernandel, Line Renaud, Roger Vadim, Rita Hayworth or François Mitterrand. It was the golden age of Megève. At the end of the 1970’s, after a number of sporting accommodations were created (18-hole golf, altiport, sports palace…), it was the tourism infrastructure’s turn to shed their old skin, thanks mainly to the Sibuet family, who was to take the modern Mégevan hotel industry to a truly new level. Their trademark was: magnificent hotels inspired by the traditional habitat of the Savoy farms, with an authentic and warm atmosphere, but providing top-notch luxury services. These idyllic conditions strongly attracted potential purchasers. Megève’s other strong point is that its real-estate market remains active all-year-round. The high-standard new products that were under intense construction for the past three years have been quickly sold. It is not rare to see clients buying a chalet as a second residence later to make it their primary home. In four year’s time the price of these chalets has increased by 40 %. The main focus is architecture and outfitting: ancient woods, finely-wrought terraces and interiors, oak floors, swimming pools… A 3- or 4-room high-standing apartment will cost 7,000 to 10,000 e per square metre, while for a new chalet of similar proportions it will most likely sell at around 11,000 e. Megève has also preserved its vast patrimony of agricultural farms. They provide a homogenous traditional architecture, much appreciated by the foreign clientele (British, Swiss, Belgians…), which represents more than 70% of the stations occupancy. The best areas have remained the same since the fifties: the Mont-d’Arbois, the Demi-Quartier commune, Rochebrune, le Jaillet and la Princesse. A 150 m2 chalet in Rochebrune sells at about 1,6 million euros and an 80 m2 apartment in le Jaillet costs about 800 000 e. Living in a preserved environment has its price!

Dossier réalisé par Céline Varnier