Written By Tim Stanley – TOUR DE FRANCE CYCLISTS PLAN BREAKS IN THREE ALPINE TOWNS WITH NEW HOLIDAY HOMES

Next month’s Tour de France – which this year starts in London on July 8 – will help staff in the UK sales office of leading French developer MGM promote the message that the Alps offer much more than skiing.
“Summers in the French Alps frequently are warmer than many people expect,” says Nathalie Turchet, sales manager in the MGM office in London’s Regent Street. “Temperatures can go as high as 30°C in August but, unlike the busy south coast, roads are uncrowded and the countryside is lush and green.”
The 20-day Tour de France includes five days in the Alps with three overnight stops in locations where MGM is building holiday homes.
“This year, the London start will mean that people in Britain take an even greater interest in the race and the inevitable TV coverage of the Alpine countryside will help to dispel the myth that the Alps are good only for skiing,” says Nathalie.
On July 14 the bikers arrive in Le Grand Bornand whose Chinaillon ski station is the location for MGM’s Le Village de Lessy , a residence de tourisme comprising 180 apartments within 12 traditionally-styled chalets with stunning panoramic views up and down the valley.

Located midway between Mont Blanc and Lake Annecy, the Savoyard market town is a magnet for hikers and bikers in summer, as well as visitors to the annual week-long festival of fun in celebration of its cows. Out-numbering the town’s 2,000-strong human population, the cows wander the ‘Sound of Music’ mountain pastures, playing their part in the production of the Reblochon cheese for which Le Grand Bornand is well-known in France.

“Although the town is relatively unknown in Britain, the Tour de France will help to put it on the map as a place to stay in the summer,” says Nathalie. She points out that sailing and water sports can be enjoyed half-an-hour away on Lake Annecy.

From Le Grand Bornand the Tour de France cyclists will pedal up the mountains to Tignes, through what is destined to become a brand new gateway to the town. It is being created by MGM which has played a key role in the improvement of Tignes,since 1999. Currently the firm is putting the finishing touches to the second phase of its new development alongside the road leading into the centre of Tignes-Val-Claret,
The new ‘entry statement’ comprises Le Nevada, a residence de tourisme with 50 apartments above a colonnade of shops and, on the opposite side of the road, a new 27-bedroom four-star aparthotel, Les Suites du Nevada, is planned for completion in 2008.

On July 17 the cyclists arrive in the historic fortress town of Briancon, just minutes away from the rustic village of Chantemerle where MGM is working on the final phase of Le Hameau du Rocher Blanc, a development of seven chalets together comprising a total of 78 apartments.

Built at an altitude of 1,320 metres above sea level, Briancon is the highest town in Europe, so it will be an uphill struggle for the cyclists but well worth the effort, according to Nathalie. She describes the town as “a year-round attraction” with its fortifications, drawbridges, cobbled steps, squares with fountains, and underground passages.
She says: “Our development is well-placed for those who enjoy hiking, mountain biking and horse-riding, and it is close to centres for paragliding, white water rafting and fishing.”

For more information about MGM’s properties along the Tour de France route, including availability and prices, contact the firm’s UK office at Kingsland House, 122 – 124 Regent Street, London W1B 5SA, telephone 0207 4940706.
In the Republic of Ireland dial 01 5290152.
Alternatively visit the website www.mgm-constructeur.com

For more information:
MGM French properties
Kingsland House
122 – 124 Regent Street
London W1B 5SA
Telephone 0207 494 0706 in the UK,
01 529015 in the Republic of Ireland
www.mgm-constructeur.com

Media enquiries :
Tim Stanley of
Tim Stanley Public Relations

Tel:01179 625 658