2020 071220114356 Rémi MorelThe ascent to Sainte Catherine is a direct access to everything we love about the mountains: authenticity, altitude, setting suns, and that tranquility that allows you to listen to nature and lose your gaze in the immensity with incredible views.
It’s a postcard landscape that unfolds before your eyes.
The south-facing hamlet is the highest of the three mountain villages. Known in the past as “La Fortune” because Sainte Catherine benefits from exceptional sunshine, the village is seductive because of its location. Vars Sainte Catherine is said to be the old granary of Vars, as it is still the village with the most arable and cultivated fields. Hay, rye, hemp, oats and vegetables (cabbage, potatoes…).
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Les villages de VarsSainte Catherine, the Vars 360° lookout
Choosing Sainte Catherine for your vacation means treating yourself to one of the most beautiful balconies in Vars, with the Crêtes de l’Eyssina, the real backdrop to the Vars destination, on one side, and the Ecrins massif, which rises to over 4000m, on the other. You’ll be the last to enjoy the warmth of the sunset thanks to a south-western exposure, just right for sunset lovers.
The narrow, sloping streets of this mountainside village, known as “charrières”, allow you to stroll along and discover the treasures that the most curious will be able to unveil: the sundials bear witness to the very strong relationship that the inhabitants had with the sun, a veritable natural clock for them, whose illustration on the walls of farmhouses was often accompanied by moralist phrases full of wisdom.
Le hameau de Sainte Catherine vous offre tout ce que l'on aime à la montagne: authenticité, altitude, soleil, tranquillité
Le hameau de Sainte Catherine, perché plein sud,, bénéficie d'un ensoleillement et d'un emplacement exceptionnel
Un paysage de carte postale se déroule sous vos yeuxYou can see the magnificent traditional larch wood balconies that run along all the facades, and the gruates (pulleys used to rack the haystacks).
The communal oven used to bake bread backs onto one of the village’s washhouses, a handy place to get water when baking bread. It is relit twice a year in July and August to perpetuate the tradition of bread-making at village festivals.
A free shuttle service is provided by the commune of Vars to enable you to get around in and between the villages. As the ski area is not directly accessible from Vars Sainte Catherine, this regular shuttle service gives you easy access to the slopes without taking your vehicle.
If your accommodation does not have a private parking lot, we advise you to park your vehicle in the parking lots available in Vars Sainte-Marie and use the free shuttle service.
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Vars Sainte Catherine offers direct access to the Bois de la Pinée area and a multitude of groomed, secure and signposted footpaths & snowshoe trails. Don’t hesitate to consult our map before setting off.
We also love it for this: Vars has all the assets of a major resort combined with the charms of mountain villages. Discover what makes our region so charming.
Chutes de neige abondantes dans les villages de Vars
