Villar-d'Arêne

Commune in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France

Coat of arms

Location of Villar-d'Arêne

(2020–2026) Olivier Fons^[1]Area

77.51 km² (29.93 sq mi)Population

(2021)^[2]

283 • Density3.7/km² (9.5/sq mi)Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET) • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)INSEE/Postal code

05181 /05480

Elevation1,519–3,883 m (4,984–12,740 ft)
(avg. 1,650 m or 5,410 ft)¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Villar-d'Arêne (French pronunciation: [vilaʁ daʁɛn]; Occitan: Vilars d'Arena) is a commune in the Hautes-Alpes department in southeastern France, between Grenoble and Briançon. It is in the French Alps, in Massif des Écrins. Near this village located in the Romanche valley, there is La Grave and Col du Lautaret. The access of the valley and its communes is departmental route 1091 (ex-national route 91) (Grenoble – Le Bourg-d'Oisans – Briançon).

Climate

Climate data for Villar-d'Arêne (1991−2020 normals)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	12.9 (55.2)	14.9 (58.8)	16.8 (62.2)	21.7 (71.1)	25.6 (78.1)	32.5 (90.5)	31.1 (88.0)	30.1 (86.2)	27.0 (80.6)	21.7 (71.1)	19.1 (66.4)	13.1 (55.6)	32.5 (90.5)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	2.4 (36.3)	3.3 (37.9)	6.4 (43.5)	10.8 (51.4)	14.5 (58.1)	19.0 (66.2)	21.5 (70.7)	20.6 (69.1)	17.0 (62.6)	12.7 (54.9)	6.6 (43.9)	3.1 (37.6)	11.5 (52.7)
Daily mean °C (°F)	−3.7 (25.3)	−3.6 (25.5)	0.2 (32.4)	5.1 (41.2)	8.6 (47.5)	12.3 (54.1)	14.1 (57.4)	13.6 (56.5)	10.5 (50.9)	7.0 (44.6)	1.6 (34.9)	−2.4 (27.7)	5.3 (41.5)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	−9.8 (14.4)	−10.6 (12.9)	−6 (21)	−0.6 (30.9)	2.7 (36.9)	5.5 (41.9)	6.8 (44.2)	6.5 (43.7)	3.9 (39.0)	1.3 (34.3)	−3.4 (25.9)	−7.8 (18.0)	−1.0 (30.3)
Record low °C (°F)	−26.8 (−16.2)	−29.6 (−21.3)	−25.7 (−14.3)	−18.1 (−0.6)	−8.7 (16.3)	−6.1 (21.0)	−1.2 (29.8)	−2 (28)	−7.3 (18.9)	−11.4 (11.5)	−21.7 (−7.1)	−25.1 (−13.2)	−29.6 (−21.3)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	44.3 (1.74)	44.1 (1.74)	52.6 (2.07)	65.7 (2.59)	95.4 (3.76)	77.0 (3.03)	70.4 (2.77)	81.9 (3.22)	58.1 (2.29)	92.0 (3.62)	102.2 (4.02)	77.5 (3.05)	861.2 (33.9)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm)	6.8	6.6	7.3	7.9	11.5	10.6	8.9	9.3	7.4	7.8	8.4	8.5	100.8
Source: Météo-France^[3]

Population

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1962	146	—
1968	160	+9.6%
1975	155	−3.1%
1982	184	+18.7%
1990	178	−3.3%
1999	219	+23.0%
2008	284	+29.7%
2013	324	+14.1%
2014	330	+1.9%

Sights

mountains as Massif des Ecrins, La Meije
Écrins National Park
Jardin botanique alpin du Lautaret
Tradition of boiled bread ("pain bouilli" or "pain noir"), a rye bread made with boiled water, in village's oven

References

^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 2 December 2020.
^ "Populations légales 2021". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
^ "Fiche Climatologique Statistiques 1991-2020 et records" (PDF) (in French). Météo-France. Retrieved 29 August 2023.