Saint-Martin-de-Belleville

Notre-dame de la vie sanctuary

Coat of arms

Saint-Martin-de-Belleville

Location within Rhône-Alpes region

Saint-Martin-de-Belleville

Coordinates: 45°22′52″N 6°30′19″E / 45.3811°N 6.5053°ECoordinates: 45°22′52″N 6°30′19″E / 45.3811°N 6.5053°E

Country

Moûtiers

Government

• Mayor (2001–2008)

André Plaisance

Area¹

161.79 km² (62.47 sq mi)

Population (2006)²

3,123

• Density

19/km² (50/sq mi)

INSEE/Postal code

73257 / 73440

Elevation

640–3,564 m (2,100–11,693 ft)
(avg. 1,400 m or 4,600 ft)

¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

² Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Saint-Martin-de-Belleville is a commune in the Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.

Despite being in the world famous Trois Vallées (Three Valleys) skiing area it has managed to keep its traditional French character, consisting of many alpine chalets with beautiful window boxes bursting with flowers. It is also the setting for the infamous novel by the Marquis de Sade, 120 Days of Sodom. Saint-Martin-de-Belleville is home to one of the best restaurants in the French Alps, the 2 Michelin starred La Bouitte.^[1]

Ski

The Saint-Martin-de-Belleville ski area is part of the Three Valleys ski area that includes the resorts of Les Menuires, Val Thorens, Meribel, Courchevel and La Tania. In total the area has 600 km of pisted runs and 200 ski lifts.

Summer

Saint-Martin has also in the past few years increased its publicity of the area for summer visitors. All of the winter brochures now include a section on the summer season that runs most years from the 30th June until 1 September. The 3 Valleys links are open on a Tuesday and a Thursday for mountain biking and walking.