Les Gets () is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the

Haute-Savoie Haute-Savoie (; Arpitan: ''Savouè d'Amont'' or ''Hiôta-Savouè''; en, Upper Savoy) or '; it, Alta Savoia. is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France, bordering both Switzerland and Italy. Its prefecture is ...

department in the

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (ARA; ; frp, Ôvèrgne-Rôno-Ârpes; oc, Auvèrnhe Ròse Aups; it, Alvernia-Rodano-Alpi) is a region in southeast-central France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions; it resulted from the merger of Au ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

in south-eastern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The village's first single-person

chair lift An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel wire rope loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers, carrying a series of chairs. They ...

was opened in 1938 with the first chair lift on Mont Chéry in 1954.

Geography

Les Gets is situated on the col between

Taninges Taninges () is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. Taninges is a pleasant town of over 3000 people in the French Alps, about 35 km directly east-southeast of Geneva and clos ...

and

Morzine Morzine (; frp, Morzena) is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of south-eastern France. A traditional market town in the heart of the Portes du Soleil, Morzine is dominated by chalets spread across a rive ...

, at the western edge of the

Portes du Soleil Les Portes du Soleil (literally "The Doors of the Sun") is a major skisports destination in the Alps, encompassing thirteen resorts between Mont Blanc in France and Lake Geneva in Switzerland. With more than 650 km of marked pistes (claimed ...

ski area.

Culture

Les Gets contains a museum of Mechanical Music and hosts a festival of Mechanical Music bi-annually. This has been running for 25 years. During this period the streets are closed off and

barrel organ A barrel organ (also called roller organ or crank organ) is a French mechanical musical instrument consisting of bellows and one or more ranks of pipes housed in a case, usually of wood, and often highly decorated. The basic principle is the sam ...

s or ''orgues'' fill the streets with mechanical music. Many of the organ grinders come from other European countries, such as Germany and Holland. Traditional Savoy dishes are central to Les Gets cuisine. These include ''

tartiflette Tartiflette () is a dish from Savoy in the French Alps and from Aosta Valley. It is made with potatoes, reblochon cheese, lardons and onions. A splash of white wine can be added too. The word ''tartiflette'' is probably derived from the Arpita ...

'', a dish of potatoes "au gratin" with reblochon cheese and lardons. A traditional liqueur, ''

génépi ''Génépi'' or génépy () or ''genepì'' (in Italian) is a traditional herbal liqueur or aperitif popularized in the Alpine regions of Europe. ''Genepi'' also refers to alpine plants of the genus '' Artemisia'' (commonly called ''wormwood' ...

'', is also often drunk as a digestif, although the exact constitution of this medicinal drink varies as many residents produce their own.

Nightlife

There are many restaurants ranging from the family-friendly and reasonably priced to fairly top-end. They mostly specialise in local savoyard cuisine. Les Gets has many pubs and bars. In the summer, there are all kinds of evening activities in the centre of town, ranging from discos to the "Pot de Bienvenue" (a welcome drink) on a Monday evening. A lot of emphasis is given to children's entertainment, such as wooden games set out in the street, street performers and a carousel. Live bands regularly perform on the semi-permanent stage in the centre of the village, attracting both locals and tourists.

Sports

Summer

In the summer, Les Gets hosts many downhill

mountain biking Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and pe ...

events. There are two distinct downhill mountain bike areas, one on each side of the village. The downhill mountain bike run on Mt Chéry has been used in the

Mountain Bike World Cup The UCI Mountain Bike World Cup is a multi-round mountain bike racing series that is sanctioned by the Union Cycliste Internationale. The first World Cup series – which was composed of cross-country events – was held in 1989. The Downhill Wo ...

s in 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, and in the Mountain Bike World Championships in 2004. Les Gets has an 18-hole par 70

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

course long, which overlooks

Mont Blanc Mont Blanc (french: Mont Blanc ; it, Monte Bianco , both meaning "white mountain") is the highest mountain in the Alps and Western Europe, rising above sea level. It is the second-most prominent mountain in Europe, after Mount Elbrus, and i ...

. In the winter it forms part of the pistes.

Winter

Les Gets is a linked

ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area – a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In North ...

within the

. Lift passes can be purchased for Les Gets and the neighbouring area of Morzine, or for the wider Portes du Soleil. Combined, Morzine and Les Gets have around 50 lifts across several distinct ski areas. Lift passes for Mont Chéry (at one side of Les Gets) can also be purchased for that area only. The ski area consists mainly of blue and red runs (beginner and intermediate). There is an area known as "The Bowl" into which numerous ski runs and chairlifts feed. Also in this area are the resort's most easily accessible black runs: 'Yeti', accessed via the resort's slowest chairlift, La Rosta, and Myrtilles accessed by the Grains d'Or Express. Mont Chéry hosts the majority of black runs, also having numerous red runs, with just one blue and no green pistes. It is the "locals'" mountain, Les Chavannes being the tourist side. There are several spots for off-piste skiing and snowboarding, including to the sides of 'Yeti', the long black run off Chamossiere and one a short hike from the top of the Ranfoilly lift. The latter has been rated as one of the best off-piste powder bowls in Europe (although there is very often a medium chance of avalanches). The snowpark is located on Mont Chéry, which is on the ski area on the other side of the village. A bus connects the two sides, however it takes just as long as it does to walk. The snowpark has kickers, a spine, rails, boxes, a boarder cross and new for 2007–08 was a large air bag. The park is fairly small and served by a two-man chairlift. Les Gets has an area of the mountain for children only, le Grande Cry. This has two button lifts and several runs, all themed around trappers and Native Americans. They hold weekly treasure hunts for children. Many companies offer ski lessons for adults and children, private and public. The main company operating in the area is ESF (L'Ecole du Ski Francais), which has a building situated at the foot of the slopes, adjacent to Les Gets Village itself. There is an open-air

ice skating Ice skating is the self-propulsion and gliding of a person across an ice surface, using metal-bladed ice skates. People skate for various reasons, including recreation (fun), exercise, competitive sports, and commuting. Ice skating may be per ...