Origins The area used to be part of the
County of Nice in the
Kingdom of Piedmont Sardinia. In 1861, with Italy's unification, it became part of the
Province of Cuneo. In 1947 following the
treaty of Paris the area was given to France. The idea of a ski resort near the small town of
Isola first came from a British Army ex-officer, and Olympic skier,
Peter Boumphrey, in the late 1960s, after he discovered a basin in the southern
French Alps on a map. The local village of Isola owned the land he wanted to build the resort on – a small town located at an altitude of 900m, with poor prospects for development as citizens were migrating to the cities. As a result of this, the local mayor was happy to allow Boumphrey, and the London-based contractors he persuaded to help him, to build a ski resort above Isola, as the land required was of little value as farmland. The regional government was concerned not too much about the resort itself, but about the road that was required to access it. Before the resort existed there was a small dirt road up the resort's location, and
avalanches were constantly blocking this in the winter, as well as
rockslides in the summer. Therefore, the government was interested in building a slightly longer, but safer road to the resort, that could serve Isola 2000, and also another proposed resort, called
Azur 2000, that was never built. However, the mayor of Isola was adamant that the road pass through his town, and the British contractors did not want the resort to be any further from
Nice Côte d'Azur Airport, a key aspect of the location, so the new route was scrapped, and the old road was upgraded. In the summer of 1971 the resort officially finished, and had a capacity to sleep 6,000 people. It opened in December that year.
Recent developments Over the resort's history, many new
lifts have been added and upgraded, such as new 6 seater and 4 seater
chair lifts, as well as a new
gondola, added in 2006. More
accommodation has been built around the original 70s structure, and many bars, restaurants and shops have been established. The access road to the Mediterranean coast has also been constantly improved by removing corners and adding bridges and tunnels. It is now very possible to make the drive in less than an hour and a half from the nearest city of
Nice. There is also a regular
bus service from many surrounding areas, with ticket prices very low, at around €1.00, making day trips amongst locals attractive and commonplace. During the winter ski season, a regular express bus service, known as
100% Neige, connects the resort with
Nice Côte d'Azur Airport via the Grand Arénas interchange. The
1993 Tour de France and
2024 Tour de France used Isola 2000 as a stage finish, and the
2008 Tour de France also passed through the resort. On 23 March 2008, Isola hosted various
slalom stages for the
Championnats de France de Ski 2008 (the 2008 French ski championships). ==Ski facilities==