Hautes-Alpes

Presided over by chef Michel Troisgros, this year’s event brought together 300 French and international jurors, who awarded 176 prizes.

For the first time, the Agence de Développement des Hautes-Alpes took part in the event as a member of the jury.

The Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region came out on top with 20 medals, confirming its position as France’s second-largest beekeeping region.

The Hautes-Alpes contributed to this success with six awards: three gold medals, one silver, one bronze and a “coup de cœur”. These awards are an important recognition of the quality of beekeeping products from the Hautes-Alpes.

Among the winners were several beekeepers from the Hautes-Alpes region, including Joël Borel, Joseph Faure and Lucie Gantes.

This success reflects the dynamism of the local beekeeping industry, which boasts over 500 beekeepers and relies on apiary schools and the Apiland museum to preserve and pass on its know-how.

In 2025, the Bureau d’accueil des tournages recorded 45 requests from project developers, resulting in 28 film shoots hosted in the Hautes-Alpes and Alpes de Haute-Provence regions, for a total of around 316 filming days.

The year’s highlights include three feature films:

• Jean Valjean by Éric Besnard (already in theaters);
• Pirates by Myriam Gharbi (in theaters soon);
• Et après by Pierre Menahem (in cinemas soon), shot in July 2025 at La Grave with Emmanuelle Béart.

The region has also played host to several major television shoots, including three episodes of the France Télévisions series Alex Hugo(Le Tombeau du poète, La Chute d’Icare and La Vallée des oubliées), the latter directed by Samuel Le Bihan himself.

Other productions filmed in 2025 include: Impossible by Emmanuel Finkiel (Gapençais, Buëch, Valgaudemar, La Grave), Le Train perdu by Aude Gogny-Goubert (Gap and Serre-Ponçon) and the series The Mystery of the Yellow Room series by François Velle.

The result is direct spin-offs. The TV movie Le Train perdushot in November and December 2025 in the Hautes-Alpes region, generated almost 400,000 euros in direct local spending.

These next four weeks will be decisive for the Hautes-Alpes resorts, as they alone generate 40% of the winter season’s sales. During this period (February 7 to March 8, 2026), the occupancy rate for resort accommodation in the Hautes-Alpes reaches 70.8% (-3.5 points compared to last year, due to the different school vacations).

Hope, because we’re off to an excellent start to the season, and the Hautes-Alpes is one of France’s best snow-covered massifs. This augurs well for last-minute bookings and major day trips. Lucidity, because this year’s school vacation schedule is not very favorable.

These figures testify to the strong appeal of winter sports to the French (Source: Harris Interactive survey – Atout France 2025, in partnership with ADDET05):

• 1 in 3 French people visit the mountains in winter;
• 1 in 5 French people ski;

At the heart of this alliance, the Hautes-Alpes set the stage for more than twenty freestyle skiing and snowboarding competitions. The venue is Serre Chevalierthe largest resort in the Southern Alps, and in Montgenèvrethe doyenne of French resorts, where riders will take to the skies, their trajectories intersecting against a backdrop of majestic peaks.

Briançona citadel of stone, will be the vibrant epicenter. Its Fort des Têtes, aUNESCO World Heritage site, will be transformed into an Olympic village: a crossroads of cultures, a logistics hub, a forge of energy.

Beyond the light the Games will shed on the department, their legacy is immense. They will leave the Hautes-Alpes with concrete advances in terms of more fluid access and rethought mobility, particularly by rail. Olympism won’t just cross the mountains: it will take root there, making the Hautes-Alpes not just a theater, but the center of the world.

Parks as refuges

The Écrins National Park (925 km²), the Queyras Regional Nature Park (650 km²) and the Baronnies provençales Regional Nature Park (1,560 km²) form a protective belt around exceptional landscapes.

The breath of wild animals

Ibexes, chamois, bearded vultures, black grouse and the Ecrins trout are all part of a resilient yet fragile fauna.

The richness
of mountain flowers

The flora of the Hautes-Alpes is a journey between altitude and the Mediterranean.

Water,
shared treasure

In the Hautes-Alpes, following the river’s course means understanding the intimate link between people and their environment.

In the heart of winter, discover the wild Clarée valley, its fauna, flora and magnificent landscapes. Along the way, mountain refuges welcome you for a warm and comforting break.

• Névache → Refuge Buffère
• Refuge Buffère → Refuge du Chardonnet
• Refuge du Chardonnet → Refuge Ricou
• Refuge Ricou → Refuge I Re Magi
• Refuge I Re Magi → Névache

This roadtrip guides you from producer to producer, from the orchards of the Haute-Durance to the vineyards of the Avance valley, from the alpine pastures of the Dévoluy and the Queyrasto the bocages of Champsaur. In just a few days, you’ll discover all the richness of the Alpine terroir : meats, cured meats, market gardening, cheeses, fruit, wines, beers, liqueurs… on an itinerary through enchanting landscapes.

• Sisteron → Buëch Valley
• Buëch Valley → Dévoluy
• Dévoluy → Champsaur → Gapençais
• Gapençais → Avance Valley
• Avance Valley → Queyras

February^1st – ValgaudemarLa Valgaude Blanche

Set in the wilds of the Valgaudemar, Valgaude Blanche brings the valley to the rhythm of Nordic skiing. We glide between majestic peaks and snowy forests, carried by the pure breath of the mountains.

The atmosphere is warm, the cheering resounds and every kilometer becomes a moment of shared pleasure.

Cross-country skiers can choose from a range of distances and styles for an authentic day of sport.

February^1st – MontgenèvreMontgenèvre Snow Race

At dawn, the Montgenèvre peaks glisten under the snow and the runners’ footsteps trace their first white lines.

The Snow Race is a winter trail adventure running through larch forests, frozen alpine meadows and breathtaking Alpine panoramas. Every stride is a blend of effort and freedom.

Two routes (8 km and 17 km) will give everyone a taste of the unique intensity of winter mountain running.

February^1st – AncelleSud Raid Blanc

When winter envelops the Champsaur mountains in snow and light, the Sud Raid Blanc invites adventurers to get off the beaten track.

In pairs, we link skiing, luge, orienteering and fun challenges in the heart of grandiose landscapes. More than a race, it’s an exploration in which you share the effort and pleasure of progressing together, whatever your level.

Between two bends and a glass of mulled wine, a new ritual has taken hold in Serre Chevalier and Montgenèvre : the sugar break!

The Réallon resort has been awarded the Flocon Vert (^1st level) by the Mountain Riders association, which recognizes mountain destinations committed to the ecological transition. Nestled at the gateway to the Ecrins National Park and overlooking the Serre-Ponçon lake, this human-scale resort is reinforcing its position as one of the most sustainable areas in the Alps.

Réallon is implementing several structuring actions linked to the label: optimization of water consumption, installation of solar panels and creation of a collective self-consumption company (25%self-consumption of energy).

In addition, a responsible charter brings together hosts, restaurateurs and service providers to promote short circuits, waste reduction and soft mobility (car-sharing, shuttles).

From the 50th anniversary of the Ecrins National Park (in 2024), to the Vallouise speech proclaimed by Valéry Giscard d’Estaing in 1977, the Hautes-Alpes is leading the way.

It’s the story of a mountain region aware of its vulnerabilities, seeking to strike a balance between preserving and enhancing the exceptional natural environment that is its greatest asset.