Arâches-la-Frasse is commune

Communes of France

The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...

 in the Haute-Savoie

Haute-Savoie

Haute-Savoie is a French department in the Rhône-Alpes region of eastern France. It borders both Switzerland and Italy. The capital is Annecy. To the north is Lake Geneva and Switzerland; to the south and southeast are the Mont Blanc and Aravis mountain ranges and the French entrance to the Mont...

 department in the Rhône-Alpes

Rhône-Alpes

Rhône-Alpes is one of the 27 regions of France, located on the eastern border of the country, towards the south. The region was named after the Rhône River and the Alps mountain range. Its capital, Lyon, is the second-largest metropolitan area in France after Paris...

 region

Régions of France

France is divided into 27 administrative regions , 22 of which are in Metropolitan France, and five of which are overseas. Corsica is a territorial collectivity , but is considered a region in mainstream usage, and is even shown as such on the INSEE website...

 in south-eastern France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

.

Situated in the northern French Alps

French Alps

The French Alps are those portions of the Alps mountain range which stand within France, located in the Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regions....

, the commune sits on a large sunny plateau overlooking the Arve Valley southeast of the town of Cluses

Cluses

Cluses is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.Citizens are known as Clusiens. The commune is situated in the Arve Valley, on the river which bears the same name...

.

It is part of Cluses canton

Cantons of France

The cantons of France are territorial subdivisions of the French Republic's 342 arrondissements and 101 departments.Apart from their role as organizational units in certain aspects of the administration of public services and justice, the chief purpose of the cantons today is to serve as...

. The main villages in the commune are Arâches, Les Carroz, and La Frasse.

Les Carroz

Until the 1930s the village of Les Carroz was a simple farming hamlet with only a few houses. It is now developing into the nearest large ski resort

Ski resort

A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing and other winter sports. In Europe a ski resort is a town or village in a ski area - a mountainous area, where there are ski trails and supporting services such as hotels and other accommodation, restaurants, equipment rental and a ski lift system...

 to Geneva

Geneva

Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...

. By 1981 Les Carroz had been linked to the nearby ski villages of Samoëns

Samoëns

Samoëns is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.The village of Samoëns is located in the Vallée du Giffre in the French Alps and carries the designation of a "ville fleurie" distinguishing it as one of the most beautiful towns in France...

, Morillon

Morillon

Morillon is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.It is a popular summer and winter vacation destination.-Ski:...

 and Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval

Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval

Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval is a municipality in the Haute-Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern France.- Geography :The town ranges in altitude from , and three-quarters of its area are part of a Natural Reserve and thus completely uninhabited...

, and the resort of Flaine

Flaine

Flaine is the name of a ski area in the Haute Savoie region of the French Alps, and is a part of the linked Grand Massif domain. It is in the territory of the communes of Magland and Arâches. Flaine is linked to Samoëns, Morillon, Les Carroz and Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval, with 267 km of pistes in total...

, developed in the 1960s. The Grand-Massif

Grand-Massif

The Grand Massif is a ski resort located in Haute-Savoie department, France.- History :The Grand Massif area was born in 1980 by the combination of the Massif and the Flaine bowl resort; the first combined ski passes were sold for the 1981 season...

ski area had been born.

External links

• Ski area website: http://www.grand-massif.co.uk/
• Les Carroz webcam: http://www.grandmassif.co.uk