Bourg-Saint-Maurice

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Coordinates: 45°37′03″N 6°46′10″E / 45.6175, 6.76944

Administration
Commune of Bourg-Saint-Maurice Bourg-Saint-Maurice main road
Location

Country	France
Region	Rhône-Alpes
Department	Savoie
Arrondissement	Albertville
Canton	Bourg-Saint-Maurice
Mayor	François Gazave (2001-2008)
Statistics
Elevation	744 m–3,823 m (avg. 815 m)
Land area^¹	179.07 km²
Population^² (1999)	6,747
- Density	37/km² (1999)
Miscellaneous
INSEE/Postal code	73054/ 73700
¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
² Population sans doubles comptes: residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel) only counted once.

Bourg-Saint-Maurice (Latin: Bergintrum), popularly known as Bourg, is a commune of the Savoie département, in France. It is the last large town along the Tarentaise valley in the heart of the French Alps.

1 History
2 Outdoor activities
3 Transportation
4 External links
5 References

[edit] History

Bergintrum was a place on the Gallic side of the pass of the Alpes Graiae, lying on the road marked in the Antonine Itinerary between Mediolanum (modern Milan) and Vienna (modern Vienne). D'Anville (Notice, etc.) places it, according to the Table, between Axima (modern Aime) and Alpis Graia. The distance from Bergintrum to Axima is marked viiii M. P. The Alpis Graia is usually identified with a settlement at the watershed on the pass of the Little Saint Bernard, which divides the waters that flow to the Isère on the French side from those which flow to the Dora Baltea on the Italian side. This is the place which D'Anville names l'Hôpital, on the authority of a manuscript map of the country. D'Anville first proposed the identification of Bergintrum with Bourg-Saint-Maurice; although he acknowledged that xii, the distance in the Table between Bergintrum and Alpis Graia, does not fit the distance between Bourg-Saint-Maurice and l'Hôpital, which is less. Modern scholarship confirms the identification (see, e.g., Richard Talbert, Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World, (ISBN 0-691-03169-X), Map 17.).

[edit] Outdoor activities

Bourg-St-Maurice view from Les Arcs ski resort

'Arc en Ciel' funicular railway

Bourg-Saint-Maurice is part of the Paradiski ski area. Whilst there is no actual skiing at this altitude, it is conveniently linked to Arc 1600 by the 'Arc en Ciel' funicular railway and is therefore home to many budget rental properties. Unlike the other villages that make up Les Arcs, Bourg-Saint-Maurice is open all year.

Bourg is also a popular Summer destination, as it offers lots of opportunity for lovers of the outdoors and watersports. There is a whitewater slalom course on the Isere river used for international canoe and kayak competitions. The course on the Isere has been host to the ICF world championships and is used by many European teams as a training course in the summer. The course is often changed by the floods that occur during the winter months.

The surrounding mountains are good for walking and mountain biking. Some of Les Arcs ski lifts operate during July and August to get walkers to the higher peaks and you can take mountain bikes up on these. Mountain bikes ( VTT (Vélo Tout Terrain) in French) can be hired in both Bourg and Les Arcs. Some of the high altitude restaurants open in these months, the ones at Pre st Esprit and L'Arpete have small outdoor pools.

The nearest summer glacier skiing is in Tignes (approx 27km from Bourg) on the Grande Motte, however due to glacial recession it is now closed at certain times of the year.

There is a campsite in the town (Le Versoyen) which is located by two big supermarkets, and the town's open air (and indoor) swimming pool.

[edit] Transportation

Bourg-Saint-Maurice railway station

Bourg-Saint-Maurice is the terminus of a railway; during the ski season this carries Eurostar and Thalys trains from London and Brussels, as well as sleeper trains from elsewhere in France. It is also the junction of several road passes over the mountains, including the Little St Bernard Pass to Italy. These passes are only open in the summer.