Tarentaise
The Tarentaise is one of the historic provinces of Savoy .
It consists of the Isère valley from its source at Val-d'Isère to Albertville and the side valleys. The main valley was formed by the Ice Age and is bordered in the north by the Beaufortain and Mont Blanc massifs and in the south by the ridge of the Vanoise massif .
The capital of the Tarentaise is Moûtiers , whose Latin name was Darentasia . In ancient times the Tarentaise was inhabited by the Ceutrons .
The Tarentaise has one of the highest densities of winter sports stations in the world: in the upper Isère valley above Val-d'Isère and near Tignes , on the south side of the middle valley ( Les Arcs , La Plagne ) and in the Trois Vallées in the Vanoise massif ( Méribel , Courchevel and Val Thorens / Les Menuires ). There is also agriculture (mainly dairy farming and Taranto cattle breeding ), heavy industry , hydroelectric power stations and three health resorts .
In detail, there are the following ski areas in the Tarentaise (list up the valley):
- Le Grand Domaine with the villages of Valmorel , Celliers and Doucy-Combelouvière, connected with Saint-Francois-Longchamp in the Maurienne valley, 165 kilometers of slopes
- Les Trois Vallées , the largest ski area in the world, with the towns of Courchevel , La Tania, Méribel , Les Allues, Brides-les-Bains, Saint-Martin-de-Belleville , Les Menuires and Val Thorens , connected to Orelle in the Maurienne Valley , 600 kilometers of slopes
- Pralognan-la-Vanoise , 26 kilometers of slopes
- Paradiski , the merger of La Plagne and Les Arcs , with the towns of Bourg-Saint-Maurice , Champagny-en-Vanoise , La Plagne, Montchavin-Les Coches , Peisey-Vallandry , Les Arcs and Villaroger , 425 kilometers of slopes
- Espace San Bernardo , connected to La Thuile in the Italian Aosta Valley , with the towns of La Rosière and Séez , 147 kilometers of slopes
- Sainte-Foy-Tarentaise , 41 kilometers of slopes
- Espace Killy with the villages of Tignes and Val-d'Isère , 300 kilometers of slopes. In this ski area there are two glaciers with summer skis, the Glacier de la Grande Motte above Tignes and the Glacier du Pisaillas at the Col de l'Iseran
Administratively, the Tarentaise corresponds to most of the French arrondissement of Albertville . The Tarentaise previously formed its own arrondissement with its seat in Moûtiers, but this was abolished by law on September 10, 1926 .