The Town

Saint Martin de Belleville feels more like a village than a town. Located in the third valley of the famous Les 3 Vallées - the World’s largest ski area - it is still amazingly unspoilt and has kept its Savoyard charm. It's centre is a stone water fountain that sits between the copper steepled church and town hall.

Whether you come in the winter or summer the village is either decorated in fairy lights and Christmas trees or wooden troughs and window boxes overflowing with flowers. There are 11 restaurants open in the winter and 5 in the summer as well as a very short drive or walk to a 3* Michelin restaurant. There are also 3 bars, a chemist, butcher, bakery, a cheese and local produce shop, a shop specialising in gourmet take-away meals, a snack bar, newsagent, laundrette, small supermarket, a bank, a gift shop as well as 4 ski hire shops, a couple of which hire mountain bikes in the summer. There is also a tennis court, small Go Ape, pitch n’ put and a very interesting museum and friendly tourist office.

The village has a very informative website st-martin-belleville.com that produces a weekly schedule of events from firework displays, beer festivals, summer markets and concerts to name just a few. They will also help you organise snow shoe walks, Via Ferrata, dog sleighing, guided hikes and provide you with summer and winter piste maps.

Summer and out of season

Everyone knows Les 3 Vallées as a premier ski destination but every year more and more people are discovering how amazing it is in the summer. The official summer season runs from the second week in July to the end of August and all the shops, restaurants and ski lifts are open. In the summer the lifts are open 3 days a week for hiking or transporting mountain bikes throughout Les 3 Vallées and on the other days the lift openings are staggered up the valley. The beauty of a summer holiday in the Alps is that you have beautiful warm, sunny, blue sky days but as soon as the sun sets the air is cool and fresh which makes for the perfect night’s sleep.

If you visit out of season you don’t need the lifts to bike or hike as there are many well signposted trails around the village and from the neighbouring hamlets or into the 4th unspoilt Vallée des Encombres. The chemist, butcher, supermarket, local bar and at least one restaurant are also open as Saint Martin de Belleville is a “real” place to live and supports it's 20 neighbouring hamlets.