Surroundings
Historique
Villard Reculas – 60 inhabitants, 1500 beds available for tourists
It is a lovely story of this small mountain village which had only 6 inhabitants just 20 years ago.
At the start of the century, Villard Reculas had 200 inhabitants who made their living from agriculture. The decline of the population started with the First World War (1914-1918). Then the school closed in 1965. However Villard Reculas managed to attract skiers thanks to its ski-lift built in 1946, which enabled skiers to reach the summit of the Signal and make the descent down to Alpe d’huez. The inhabitants of the village and the mayor decided to take matters in to their own hands regarding the future of their village after seeing some promoters take an interest in the ski area.
At the same time, new plans were being put in to place for new buildings to respect the local environment and the beauty of the countryside.
Shops, gites and the tourist office were built and slowly more and more chalets started to appear. The ski area was taking shape and tourism started to bring more life to the village.