Heritage trail

Often considered a natural rampart, the Alps are however not impassable. Through the presence of the Petit-Saint-Bernard, Bonhomme and Iseran passes, the Haute-Tarentaise valley has brought together important places of passage since prehistory. Since Antiquity, the Petit-Saint-Bernard pass has been a link between local Alpine populations. During the Roman conquest, Emperor Augustus completed the construction of the Roman road. Troops, sovereigns, pilgrims, merchants, bankers and peddlers cross paths on the roads. At the end of the Middle Ages, the County of Savoie controlled five crucial passes, including the Petit and Grand Saint-Bernard.

Find out more

Les Arcs heritage trail

The Arc 1600 resort, which has held the Remarkable Contemporary Architecture label awarded by the Ministry of Culture since 2003, aims to showcase to residents and visitors the architectural and urban uniqueness of the resort, which opened at Christmas in 1968. Along a route following the pedestrian pathway, serving the buildings and shops of the resort, from the Mont Blanc chairlift to the Chalets Pointus, visitors will discover seven panels - in both French and English - illustrating in an educational manner the main characteristics of Arc 1600.

It can be found near the children’s play area at the top of the Coupole.

Each panel bears a sentence from the writings of Charlotte Perriand, enabling visitors to immerse themselves in the process which dominated the design of les Arcs.
 

     1 - Pastoral life and the beginnings of tourism

     2 - Christmas 1968, the opening of Arc1600

     3 - The Cascade apartment building, the principles of architecture

     4 - Arc 1600’s development structure plan

     5 - The creators of the resort of les Arcs

     6 - Versant Sud and Adret, apartment buildings in tiers against the slope

     7 - The Chalets Pointus

The themes have been selected to present the origins of the resort, les Arcs’ architecture and the team of designers:

- The history of the resort with the identification of the site in 1961, the design and surveys, the beginning of construction in 1967.

- The tiered architecture adopted to ensure the maximum sunshine in the buildings.

- The interior layout designed to favour relaxation and mountain living.

- The planning based on separating the movement of pedestrians, skiers and cars.

- The special relationship of each apartment with the mountains.

- The designers gathered around Roger Godino, Robert Blanc and Charlotte Perriand, each introduced by a portrait and a biographical note.

Learn more

50 Years of Les Arcs