Châtel

Cattle may still be grazing on the higher pastures while the farming year begins its gradual transition towards autumn.

For those that have time and just 15 minutes from abundance, why not head to the stunning and authentic dual season resort of Châtel.

Here savoyard architecture blends seamlessly with a dramatic mountain setting and a spectacular lake.

Nestled right on the Swiss border at an altitude of 1,200 metres, it's no surprise the village enjoys its own Swiss feel with its chalets and small buildings dotting the mountainside.

Providing simple and direct access into both the French and Swiss sides of the Porte du Soleil, this is a very popular resort for those second homeowners from France, Switzerland, Holland and the UK in particular.

Enjoying lower costs per meter squared than its counterparts, those of Morzine and Leger, where the trip heads next, Châtel provides a year-round appeal and is just 80 minutes from Geneva Airport.

Wherever you decide to stay, be it Abondance or Châtel, from here the Porte du Soleil resorts of Morzine and Leger await.

With both villages again highly popular as second home bases thanks to their established summer activities that include mountain biking, walking and family activities as well as providing ski access to the huge winter playground, here why not have lunch, walk through one of the village centres before continuing toward Clues and the Aravae.

Yeah, true.

Why don't we go to Châtel or Verbier or Champery again, you know, but it's a different department, different government money, so.

We're really racing twice? Yeah.

Is that like the first time that's ever happened? Yeah, and I disagree with that.

Yeah.

So I rode in a rain shower recently on the way over to Chatel to watch Tour Downers, and it was like riding, I don't know, soapy water on top of glass, um, basically.

So I actually turned around and went back to Morzine.

I thought, "You know what? No." And that's what happened in the World Cup, but some sections will be like that, and some sections will just go super deep.

Uh, you know, sixty-eight brands exhibiting means extra security, putting pressure on the hotels so that during that period, they give very good rates to the participants of the event, uh, wherever they come from, whether they are, uh, media, whether they are collectors, whether they are people from your brands, because not everyone is living in Geneva.

Myself, I'm living in the Chatel, so I have to sleep somewhere.

So we have a very strong support, and we are, uh, today the only officially endorsed watch event from the Geneva state and, and city, which says long about the vision, I mean, of those authorities and their understanding that the future is not only made of established big brands which you can meet at Watch and Wonders, but is also, uh, very much related to the emergence of additional players with different ideas, uh, different philosophies, and attracting to watchmaking perhaps people who are not so much interested by the existing anchor brands, but more about, uh, more exclusive, uh, more original, more creative, more daring niche brands, uh, which eventually create more jobs, eventually equip more wristers, and eventually, uh, add a layer which is very interesting to the traditional group of brands, uh, which usually come to your mind when you think about, uh, Swiss watches or, or, or luxury watches.

And, uh, it's not just a statement, it's, it's a fact.