Morzine

Morzine is a beautiful alpine town set at an altitude of 1000m in the French Alps, only one hour by car from Geneva. The seasons of Morzine are so very different, each with its own special quality.

Spring – from late April the snow is melting and the busy ski season has come to an end. The season workers of Morzine mostly disappear and Morzine returns to a peaceful, quiet, mountain town. Most hotels and guest houses close and the pace of life is calm. Cranes pop up around Morzine and building and property renovation seems to be the main activity. Beautiful wild flowers start to appear on the mountain. This is a wonderful time to visit Morzine if you’re looking for peace and quiet and to see the real Morzine.

Summer – summer in Morzine is very warm with temperatures at 25-35’C. Mountain bikers come in their thousands and the thrill of adrenalin rush of down hill mountain biking is everywhere. Summer season in Morzine starts at the beginning of July and finishes at the end of the first week in September. Although not quite as busy as winter there are so many activities to do in Morzine in the summer, including: walking, hiking, swimming in the Olympic sized outdoor swimming pool, sunbathing, mountain biking, white water rafting, canoeing, paraponting, quad biking, bird watching, ice-skating, skateboarding, skating and golfing. This list just goes on and on. It is worth mentioning that Morzine has its fair share of rain and during August it is not unusual to have ten days of rain. The weather can change from brilliant blue sky, to a down pour and back to blue sky in a morning. The combination of warmth and wet is why Morzine is so green in the summer. The fresh air of Morzine, with the wonderful mountain water, really makes for good healthy living.

Autumn – from mid September autumn arrives and the wonderful golds and browns of the autumn leaves intermingled with the evergreens is quite a sight. Morzine becomes very quite once again, with hotels, guest houses, and many other accommodations closed. It is another chance for the local people of Morzine to prepare for winter and take a well earned rest. Building and renovation projects rush to be completed before the snow arrives and the tradesmen then become employed in winter activities such as ski instructors, taxi drivers and lift operators. If you are looking for some spectacular scenery and great walking then it is hard to find a better place than Morzine and surrounding areas to explore.

Winter – winter in Morzine is such a busy time with skiers and snowboarders arriving from all over Europe and further a field. The heavy snow fall arrives during December and Morzine activities once again come to life. Snow clearing is an almost constant task. Hotels open, ski hire shops have been refitted from summer mountain bike rentals, bars and restaurants are busy and the season workers return from mid December for a special experience in their lives. Morzine chair lifts take skiers and snowboarders up the mountains and mountain restaurants and cafes become busy. Piste bashers fight to prepare the pistes, usually working right through the night. The temperature in the town is usually below freezing with -10’C being common. With such low temperatures it somehow doesn’t feel cold due to the dryness of the air. The daylight hours are short with day break at 8.00am during January and darkness by 5.00pm. Log fires are burning in many chalets and the aroma of burnt pine smoke is around every corner. All accommodation is full, some private houses are even converted to rental accommodation for the 12-16 weeks of the ski season. The trees turn white, footprints of wild animals can be seen in the snow, lakes disappear frozen over first, then covered in a blanket of snow.

In the month of February Morzine is its busiest, with the UK half term being the absolute peak. At this time it can be too busy with queues at supermarkets, restaurants full and at ski lifts. All the hustle and bustle and the cost of accommodation are at the highest in the year. Many in the know prefer to ski in January or March or even early April, avoiding the February rush.

As you can see, the seasons of Morzine are very different as is the atmosphere, scenery and activities. We do hope you find time to enjoy each season.