Albertville

Visit Date: Saturday, 9th November, 2013

Over the weekend of the 9th, I had a 4 day weekend because of being given Friday off and Monday was a National Holiday. Rather than sitting in my room being bored all weekend, I decided to organise a trip to Albertville with some friends. I drove there and back because it's only an hour away, and although there isn't much to do in the town, it was worth visiting just to say that I've been there. I probably wouldn't go back again because it seems quite obvious that since the Winter Olympics of 1992 the town hasn't had much of a facelift, so it seems quite run down in places. Nevertheless, some parts of it were typically cute in the usual French way, so it deserves a blog post.

The modern city of Albertville was formed in 1836 by King Charles Albert of Sardinia, who merged the medieval town of Conflans, which has buildings dating back to the 14th century, with the town of L'Hôpital. The 1992 Winter Olympics were organised in the Savoy region, with Albertville hosting it. Some of the sports venues were later adapted for other uses. Some sports venues still remain such as the ice rink designed by the architect Jacques Kalisz, although the town is more industrial than touristic.

The Town Hall

Church

Cité des Conflans

Cité des Conflans

Cité des Conflans

Olympic Park

Albertville, Video:
View from near the Cité des Conflans.