In 1974, the communes of Aigueblanche and Léchère joined together to form the District of the Aigueblanche Basin.
One of the projects at the origin of this municipal association was the creation of a winter sports resort to counter the rural exodus which was hitting the Morel valley.
A protocol was signed in August 1975. As part of the Snow Plan, the urban planner-architect, Michel Bezançon, was called upon to create a new mountain-style village, a “village resort”.
Valmorel was born in 1976. The resort has specifically “managed” architecture with robust chalets of 3 to 4 floors spread over several hamlets and built with noble materials: slate covered gable roofs, stones facades, trompe-l’oeil decorations and an abundance of wood.
The village was built around a main pedestrian street, rue du Bourg, whose shops have decorative and colourful facades and signs.
The Valmorel resort opened for Christmas 1976 with the 2 * hotel La Fontaine and a hundred apartments in the residences of La Souche and La Sapinière totalling 197 beds. The Rue du Bourg already had a few shops including the nightclub.
The ski lifts opened with 15 ski lifts and 35km of marked and maintained pistes plus the Doucy-resort link.
The ski school also gave its first lessons.
In 1975, the entire Avanchers mountain pasture land was untouched except for the Blanchot, Rocher, Plan Chevron and Empiré drag lifts in the village of Le Pré.
Over the years, Valmorel has grown and has adapted itself to changes in tourism while still retaining the charm of a mountain village.
