Villar-D'arêne: Holiday apartments and holiday homes
The Alpe Valley of Villar-d'Arêne in Écrins National Park offers an easy hike and serves as a starting point for further mountain tours. Villar-d'Arêne is situated on a mountain slope facing south-southwest at an altitude of around 1,650 metres.
When planning a trip to Villar-d'Arêne, the focus is on finding a holiday apartment to rent.
Landscape
Haymaking and pasture farming strongly shape the landscape around Villar-d'Arêne. The Chalet-refuge de Chamoissière is located on the Alpe-Plan at 2,106 metres, at the foot of the glaciers and at the entrance to Écrins National Park. From Arsine in Villar-d'Arêne, it can be reached on foot via a path in around 1.5 to 2 hours.
The Jardin du Lautaret in Villar-d'Arêne preserves a collection of 2,000 species of mountain flowers from around the world at an altitude of 2,100 metres. The garden offers one-hour guided tours of its collection of alpine flowers.
Hiking
The Refuge de l'Alpe de Villar d'Arêne welcomes day hikers and is suitable for a first stay in a mountain hut. It provides accommodation for ski touring and mountaineering in the Écrins Massif and is an overnight stop on the GR54 long-distance hiking trail.
The Via Ferrata d'Arsine is a two-hour route measuring 300 metres in length with 200 metres of elevation gain. It is located at the foot of the Meije Massif and at the entrance to Écrins National Park, is relatively easy, and includes some exposed and athletic sections. Halfway along, it has an escape route; equipment can be rented from sports shops in Villar-d'Arêne or La Grave.
The marked out-and-back hike to L'Aiguillon is 7.5 kilometres long and involves 430 metres of ascent. From the summit, it offers a 360-degree panorama of the Romanche Valley, the Écrins Massif and its glaciers.
The Itinéraire piéton in the Nordic area of Villar-d'Arêne is a marked 8-kilometre out-and-back route with 85 metres of ascent and a stated duration of 2 hours and 15 minutes. As a free, groomed and marked footpath, it runs for around 8 kilometres from Villar-d'Arêne via Arsine to Fond de la Gravière.
Winter
The snowshoe circuit Tour des hameaux de Villar d’Arène can start at the village church, at the side of the D1091 or in Arsine. It is around 11 kilometres long and passes through the hamlets of Villar-d'Arêne with their historic ovens, chapels and churches. Three marked and freely accessible snowshoe hikes start from Villar-d'Arêne.
The Crête de l'Aiguillon is freely accessible, marked with orange poles, and is closed or opened depending on snow conditions.
Culture
The Church of Saint-Martin de Tours in Villar-d'Arêne was built between 1866 and 1870 from tuff stone or travertine from the Col du Lautaret. Its porch hosts exhibitions during the European Heritage Days as well as the Heritage and Mills Days.
Le Moulin à grains de Villar d'Arène is a restored complex of three mills that preserves the former operating systems. It is designed as an ecomuseum of Faranchin life and displays historical objects, the processing of dairy products, a miller's clothing and how the machinery works.
The sculpture “SITE” by Antony Gormley was created in October 2021 and stands permanently on the hiking trail at Pointe de l'Aiguillon.
Guided tours are offered at the Four banal de Villar d'Arène, telling the story of the village's former life. The “Au fil des Fontaines” discovery trail in Villar-d'Arêne leads to seven fountains and presents the village's architecture and traditions.
Local traditions
The tradition of Pain Bouilli continues to this day in Villar-d'Arêne; visitors passing by can sample local specialities such as Tourtes, Ravioles, Pompes and Crozets. The oldest written evidence found concerning the production of this bread dates back to 1450.
To the main travel overview: Hautes-Alpes.
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