Abondance

A quaint french farming town and ski resort with 17kms of piste situated down the valley from Chatel. Although Abondance itself is not connected by chair lifts to the Portes du Soleil, you can use your Portes du Soleil pass to access the ski area. It has the largest market in the area on a Sunday morning. There are buses which provide shuttles up to La Chapelle d’Abondance and Chatel giving it access to the rest of the Portes du Soleil region.

This beautiful and peaceful village is steep in history and the church is well worth a visit. Especially on a Sunday when the vibrant market comes to town. This was the first of the villages in the valley, established back in the 5th century due to its more flat and arable farming land. With the expansion of the population the wealthier farmers stayed put, whilst other people settled further up the valley.  Stories have it that approximately 500 years ago the poorer people with their cattle were given the mountain land  where we know now as Chatel.