Morillon

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Morillon is a small mountain commune in the Haute Savoie department of the French Alps. The town consists of about 500 year round residents engaged primarily in agriculture and tourist service business. It has recently gained fame as the home town of skier Antoine Deneriaz the 2006 Olympic Downhill Gold Medalist. The town has a 15th century Church that has recently been remodeled, it is also home to a number of small restaurants and a gondola that links it to the Grand Massif ski areas.

Get in

By Road - Driving distance from Calais to Morillon 537 miles (approx 7hrs30)

From Calais, take A26 Motorway towards Reims and Troyes, then Dijon, Mâcon then ‘Autoroute Blanche’ Motorway (A40 Mâcon – Cluses) Exit Cluses Scionzier. Follow signs to Samoens. After the Chatillon pass, follow signs to Morillon. It takes approximately 15 minutes from the motorway exit to Morillon.

By Rail - Cluses 20km - Shuttle bus to Morillon +33 450 98 07 81 or Taxi +33 450 34 90 90 www.giffre-transports.com - Cost is 27 € daytime/midweek and 35 € nights and w/e (for 1 to 4 people).
Airports - Geneva 55km - Shuttle bus (about 62€ per pers return children 4-12 half-price)For further information on car parking, transfers, etc : www.gva.ch/en (then select Transportation in menu).
TaxiWww.giffre-transports.com, - Cost is c € 71 daytime/midweek and c €100 nights and w/e (for 1 to 2 people) Lyon Saint-Exupery 190 km.

Get around

Morillon is quite small and once you have arrived you can easily get around on foot, however and especially if you are here in the winter and there is not enough snow to ski you will want a rental car to be able to fully enjoy the surrounding area and keep from going mad having to watch French television.

See

Le Bourg: Around the St Christopher church (16th century) the school and Town Hall, the solid bourgeoise houses have now become commercial premises.

Do

Winter

Skiing, both cross country and downhill are the primary winter sports in Morillon, the resort website provided in both French and English is located here: and covers the ski area in depth as well as the possibilities of linking up on skis with the surrounding areas that comprise "Le Grand Massif."

Summer

In the summer they are replaced by hiking, Mountain bicycling, golf and other adventure activities like rock climbing and white water rafting.

The Golf Highlights are

Golf de Flaine – Les Carroz - Tel : +33 4 50 90 80 74 18 holes, length 4063m, par 63 Open 1/7-31/8, weekends only 15/6-30/6 & 1/9-30/9 Green fees (daily) 18 holes 30€, 9 holes 19€ A spectacular mountain course at an altitude of 1900m, fantastic views over the Alps.
Practice de Golf du Lac aux Dames, Samoëns - Tel : +33 4 50 34 40 28 -- Length 150m. Open 1/7-31/8 Driving range over water + 9 hole putting green.
Golf des Gets Tel: +33 4 50 75 87 63 18 holes, length 5264m, par 70. Open : 15/6-20/10 Green fees (daily) from 29€ to 38€, weekend passes available, Mountain golf course with a superb panoramic view.
Golf d’Avoriaz, Morzine - Tel: +33 4 50 74 17 08 -- 9 holes, length 2923m, par 36. Open: 29/6-15/9 Green fees (daily) 21€ Mountain golf links at the entrance to the resort of Avoriaz. Superb panoramic view.

Adventure Activities

Bureau des Guides

phone: +33 450 34 43 12
White water, canyoning, rafting, walking, climbing, mountaineering, pot holing, via ferrata.
Adventures Payraud

phone: +33 450 93 63 63
White water, cano-rafting, rafting.
Ecolorado Rafting

phone: +33 450 34 45 26
All water activities
Espace Montagne

phone: +33 5 45 21 84 57
All water activities, climbing, mountaineering, potholing, via ferrata.
Sixt aventure passion

phone: +33 450 34 16 85
Canoeing, kayak, airboat, rafting, canyoning, walking, climbing, mountaineering, via ferrata.
Air Samoens

phone: +33 450 34 95 80
Paragliding
Indiana Parc

phone: +33 450 74 01 88

Buy

Being a typical small mountain village there are the rather typical shops:

Tabac The local newspaper and tobacco shop, also sells items like post cards, maps and souvenirs.
Bakery Tiffany A typical French bakery this small chain is specific to the Vallee du Giffre and has its main production just down the road in Samoëns
R.Roux Located in "le Messidor" at the edge of town he is the village butcher, he sells excellent local meat, prepared foods, pizzas, and pastries in the mornings.
Kevin's Sports Also located in "le Messidor" this sports shop operates primarily in the winter months as a ski shop.
Twinner Sports operated year round by the second local ski hero Phillipe Vernert this is the closest shop to the ski lift and one of the best in town.

There is a lively farmers market on Friday mornings in Morillon with local produce, pastries, cheeses, and meats.

Eat

With in Morillon and its environs lay a number of very good a well priced restaurants, almost all of them specializing in local dishes or Pizza. Among the best are:

Le Potet across the river in Verchaix, 10-15€ for entrées
Le Tourne Piere locate a few meters from the center of town, 12-20€ for entrées

A wide variety of prepared take away food is also available from R.Roux at the far edge of town and the local Hyper-Markets.

Drink

Bar Le Parisian - this bar is centrally located across from the church, it is a full service bar run by the Wife of the Current Mayor (2006)
Le Puzze - Located just across from the telecabin this bar is popular with English tourists and serves a limited lunch and dinner menu.
Le Tomawack - The only club in the village. This was a Discotech located next to the river and was frequented by locals and tourists alike in the area. With prime operating hours between 12-5am on Friday and Saturday nights it was not to be missed. Unfortunately this has recently burnt down.

Sleep

The primary source of accommodation in Morillon is rental chalets and apartments many of which can be booked on the internet and a particularly simple option as many of the owners are British. There is one hotel centrally located in town the Hotel Le Morillon.

Splurge

Located Down the Valley in Samoëns:

Hotel Neige et RocA three star rated hotel located on the north end of Samoëns, open year round and providing both hotel and apartment style accommodation. Rooms start at 120€ in the low season for a half board room and rising to 160€ in the high season for that same room

Mid Price

Hotel le Morillon

phone: +33 4 50 90 10 32
Hotel le Morillon - Mr et Mme JOURDAN 74 440 MORILLON - They have recently completed a renovation including expansion of the pool area and the inclusion of a heated spa for those cold winter days after skiing. Rooms can be reserved online, in typical French fashion food will be included as part of the price unless other wise specified by you. Prices here range from a very reasonable 55€ a night in the low season up to approximately 90€ in high season.
Chalet RentalsThere are a number of very reasonable Chalets and apartments that can be booked by the week or month.

Budget

There are no traditional budget accommodations in Morillon such as hostels or motels due to the size of the town, however if one contacts the local tourist office rooms can be rented from some of the local farmers.

Go next

There are many easy local day trips from Morillon: by car Chamonix, Les Gets, and Sixt with its pristine Cirque Du Fer-a-Cheval national park and Cascade Du Roget are all easily reachable. Bicycling distance from Morillon is the larger village of Samoëns.