The Pays de Gavot is an elevated plateau in the French Alps, in Haute-Savoie, the department that sits in the corner of France between Lake Geneva and the Italian and Swiss borders (and, historically, part of the old Rhône-Alpes region, now Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes). It rises from the lake shore towards the higher peaks of the Chablais, so a single drive can take you from the water's edge up onto open pasture in a matter of minutes.
It is farming country first. The plateau is a working agricultural area of fields and dairy herds rather than a purpose-built resort, and its alpine villages have kept that character even as newer houses have gone up among the old farms.
Where is the Pays de Gavot?
The Pays de Gavot sits in Haute-Savoie, in the French Alps, on the plateau directly above Évian-les-Bains and Lake Geneva. Geneva international airport is around 45km away, which puts the area within a comfortable drive of regular flights to the UK and beyond.
Mountain views are common right across Haute-Savoie. What the plateau adds is a second outlook. Because it stands above the lake, its northern villages, Saint-Paul-en-Chablais among them, look out over the water towards the Swiss Alps on the far shore, as well as back towards the French peaks behind. It is one of the few places in the area where you get both the lake and the mountains in the same view.
Villages of the Pays de Gavot
The plateau is not one town but a scatter of small communes, each with its own village centre, mairie (town hall) and surrounding farmland. They sit close enough together to share the same schools, markets and lanes, but each has its own feel.
Saint-Paul-en-Chablais
Saint-Paul-en-Chablais is one of the larger villages on the plateau, on its northern edge. Its position gives it the long views down over Lake Geneva that the southern, higher villages trade for closer mountains.
Féternes
Féternes carries a ZPPAUP, a protected architectural heritage designation that covers parts of the village. It reflects the older building stock of the plateau, the stone farms and barns that pre-date the more recent chalets.
Champanges
Champanges is one of the smaller, quieter communes, with farmland and pasture running right up to the houses at its centre. It is a working village rather than a tourist one.
What property is for sale in the Pays de Gavot?
Property for sale in the Pays de Gavot ranges from traditional apartments in the larger villages through stone-built Savoyard farmhouses to new chalets, some of them with pools. The spread is wider than you might expect for an area this rural, which is part of what brings buyers up from the lake.
The two main types tell the plateau's story. The old farmhouses are usually stone-built, with thick walls and steep roofs made for snow and for housing animals below and hay above. Many sit on a parcel of their old land. The newer chalets are built around the view rather than the farm, and a few combine original stone or beams from an older building with a fully modern interior behind them.
Life on the Gavot plateau
For day-to-day life, two towns sit within easy reach. Évian-les-Bains, down on the shore, has the lakeside, the shops and the train line that runs along the water towards Geneva. Thonon-les-Bains, a little further west, holds the larger weekly market.
Footpaths and mountain bike trails
The plateau is laced with footpaths and mountain bike trails, both across the open farmland and up into the surrounding Chablais hills. They link the villages to one another and to the higher ground, so a good deal of the area is walkable or rideable straight from the door.
Ski lifts at Bernex and Thollon-les-Mémises
The plateau has its own two ski areas, at Bernex and Thollon-les-Mémises. We would be straight with you here: these are modest, family-scale resorts rather than large linked ski areas, better suited to learning and to easy days than to serious mileage.
What they do give is convenience. Some properties in these two villages sit just a short walk from the ski lifts, and the same short drive that reaches the snow also reaches the lake. Few places let you keep both that close.
Primary homes, holiday homes and investment property
Purchase plans in the Pays de Gavot tend to fall into three groups. Some buyers want a primary residence within commuting distance of Geneva and its cross-border jobs. Others want a holiday home with both the lake and the skiing on hand. And some are after a rental investment that can let across the summer walking season and the winter one.
The case on value is a comparative one. For a given size and condition, prices on the plateau tend to sit below those on the lakefront at Évian-les-Bains, and below the larger Alpine resorts further from the water. That gap is part of why a village like Saint-Paul-en-Chablais, with its lake views and its position on the plateau's northern edge, is among the most sought-after areas up here. Demand tends to concentrate on the villages with the longest views and the easiest run down to Évian.
Across that price spread, the range of what comes up for sale is broad: a small apartment near a village centre and a stone farmhouse with land can both be on the market in the same month, a short walk apart.
