3 Stations, 3 Universes, one Ascent.
La Grave station and the village are the starting point for discovering the high mountains.
Wooden chalets are rare here. The scarcity of wood and a few spectacular fires over the centuries have discouraged people from building them.
The Meije region is the kingdom of stone, ranked as one of the 160 most beautiful villages in France.
Blocks of tufa or schist are bound together with earth-based mortar.
The roofs are covered with slate or “lauzes”, always for fear of fire, and have two slopes. The houses, built on the rock, are arranged in tiers facing the mountain. The many old-fashioned lanes, known as “trabucs”, weave a tight network between the houses and sometimes lead visitors astray.
“Although the Meije region is now largely dependent on tourism, it has not sold its soul. It claims and defends its authenticity.
No luxury accommodation, just comfortable hotels.
No huge holiday centres, just a family home and a few gîtes. There are no ski lifts to disfigure the landscape, just the Glaciers de la Meije cable cars and a few ski lifts.
No shopping arcades, just traditional shops.
The Meije region does not experience the large migrations of seasonal workers that the classic resorts do. The population hardly varies at all throughout the year. There are just over 700 inhabitants, both locals and former French or foreign holidaymakers who, attracted by the site, have settled here permanently.
The Haute-Romanche valley in the Oisans region is made up of two communes: