Properties for sale in the Aravis range from village-centre apartments to large Savoyard chalets, a mix that suits buyers across most budgets, whether the aim is a primary residence, a holiday home or a rental investment.
It is a working area as much as a resort one. The skiing grew up alongside farms that are still in use, and a Savoyard building and food culture that predates the lifts by several centuries. The result is a place with a year-round population rather than one that empties between seasons.
Where is the Aravis Massif?
The massif lies in Haute-Savoie, in the French Alps, part of the Aravis mountain range that borders the Bornes massif to the west. To the east, the Mont Blanc range stands across the intervening valleys; to the north-west, the land drops toward Lake Annecy. Four villages make up the massif: La Clusaz, Le Grand-Bornand, Manigod and Saint-Jean-de-Sixt.
The villages sit at differing altitudes along the Aravis valley, from Saint-Jean-de-Sixt at the valley entrance up to the higher slopes above La Clusaz and Le Grand-Bornand. The valley road connects all four to the Annecy basin below, which is the usual approach from the lake and the motorway network.
The Aravis Massif and Lake Annecy
Lake Annecy sits at the foot of the valley that climbs into the massif. The lakeside towns occupy low ground; the Aravis villages stand well above them, in the mountains proper.
That difference in altitude is part of what draws people up the valley. The air is cooler, and from several points across the massif there are panoramic views back down toward the lake and across to Mont Blanc. Buyers tend to weigh the two against each other: lake access on one side, mountain setting and snow on the other.
The four ski resorts of the Aravis
The four villages share a connected ski area of around 215 to 220km of slopes: La Clusaz, Le Grand-Bornand, Manigod and Saint-Jean-de-Sixt. Each has its own character, and the choice between them depends largely on what a buyer is after.
La Clusaz
La Clusaz has the largest ski area of the four, with 132km of slopes and a high point of around 2,600m.
The village itself is the busiest of the massif. Shops and restaurants stay open through the year, and the lifts are reachable on foot from the centre.
Le Grand-Bornand
Le Grand-Bornand is a farming village that has kept its working farms alongside the resort. It holds a year-round population, and the agriculture is still active rather than ornamental.
A farmers' market runs in the village every Wednesday morning, supplied by the farms around it. It draws working producers, not only stalls aimed at visitors.
Manigod and Saint-Jean-de-Sixt
Manigod is the quieter of the two, set on forested slopes with tree-lined runs and long views over the valley. The Col de la Croix Fry, the mountain pass above the village, links its slopes toward La Clusaz.
Saint-Jean-de-Sixt is the smallest resort, at the point where the Aravis valley meets the road up from Annecy. It has a traditional village centre and sits between Le Grand-Bornand and La Clusaz, a few minutes from either.
Skiing in the Aravis
The connected ski area is served by 73 lifts across the four resorts, which tie the villages into a single network. Pistes run across a range of grades, from beginner slopes near the villages to steeper terrain above the tree line. A single lift pass covers the linked area, so skiers are not tied to the resort they start from.
For freestyle skiers and snowboarders there are two snow-parks and a 130m half-pipe within the area.
Because the villages grew up around their lifts, many properties sit within easy reach of both the slopes and the village shops. Some have direct access to a lift or piste; others are a short walk from one.
Summer in the Aravis
The massif keeps a working summer season once the snow has gone. Paragliding is popular, with take-off points on the slopes above the villages and long descents over the valley.
The Beauregard Plateau, reached on foot or by lift from the La Clusaz and Le Grand-Bornand side, is open ground suited to family walks and picnics. Beyond it, a network of marked paths runs across all four resort areas and stays in use through the warmer months.
Cultural heritage and Savoyard architecture
The building style across the massif is Savoyard: timber chalets built as farmhouses, many still tied to working land. The look of the villages comes from these rather than from later resort architecture.
The region holds over 400 well-preserved chalets of around 200 years old, part of a settled history that runs back more than five centuries. Reblochon, the local cheese, is still made in the valley, and village markets remain part of ordinary life across the massif rather than a seasonal addition.
The Aravis property market
The Aravis property market is a mixed one. Across the four resorts there are traditional chalets and modern apartments, older farm conversions and recent builds, at a wide spread of prices.
Those prices run from around €400,000 to over €3 million. La Clusaz sits at the upper end: as the largest and most central village, it is the main market for higher-value chalets and apartments.
Price trends
La Clusaz: €5,200 – €9,000 /m²
Le Grand Bornand: €4,200 – €7,200 /m²
Thônes: €3,700 – €6,700 /m²
Price trends: Aravis +2% (1 year), +10% (5 years). Haute-Savoie average: 0% (1 year), +6% (5 years).
Property types: chalets, apartments and new developments
Two broad types of property come up most often. The first is the older Savoyard chalet, frequently converted from a farm building; the second is the apartment, either in a village-centre block or a purpose-built residence.
New developments are built to current energy-efficiency standards and tend to be designed with south-facing aspects and mountain views. Ski-in/ski-out properties exist within the massif too, with direct access to a piste from the building itself.
Why buy property in the Aravis Massif
The case for the Aravis rests on a combination rather than any single feature. There is a connected ski area across four resorts, a farming and cultural landscape that is still active, and a position between Lake Annecy and Mont Blanc.
The activity runs across both seasons: skiing in winter, walking and paragliding in summer. A property here tends to see use, or rental demand, through much of the year.
What that leaves is a market with real range. A buyer can look at a village-centre apartment in Saint-Jean-de-Sixt or a chalet with direct access to the slopes above La Clusaz, and most points in between.