Novel
No food shop, school, café or restaurant in the commune.
No daily shops 4.4/100 · confidence: high· Better served than 5 % of the {n|commune|communes} of a similar size.
Identity
Novel (INSEE 74203) is in Haute-Savoie (74), part of CC Pays d'Evian Vallée d'Abondance. Population 55 (2023). [1]
INSEE density class: Rural à habitat très dispersé (level 7). [2]
Data vintages: INSEE BPE 2025 · INSEE SIRENE 2026-09 · INSEE census (RP) 2023 · INSEE COG 2026 · INSEE density grid 2026.
Permanent link: https://vivantrural.com/en/fr/74203-novel
Vitality score
Vitality score 4.4/100 — No daily shops (model fr-v0.2).
Confidence: high.
Better served than 5 % of the 5,492 communes of a similar size.
Compare this with communes of a similar size. The score measures how well a place is served relative to its own size band, and larger communes score higher as a rule — so it reads meaningfully against another village, and misleadingly against a town.
Measured but not scored in this model: Market. See the methodology for why.
| Component | Value (0–1) | Weight | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily food | 0 | 25 | 0 |
| Social | 0 | 20 | 0 |
| Education | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| Health | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| Public & culture | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Population trend | 0.37 | 10 | 3.73 |
| Housing mix | 0 | 5 | 0 |
Services
What is here, at a glance
No food shop, school, café or restaurant in the commune. [3,4]
1 × Hotel. [3,4]
Not counted, because the business register records them as closed: 1 × Hotel.
Not found in the commune: Bakery (boulangerie), Butcher (boucherie), Grocery (épicerie / supérette), Supermarket, Restaurant, Café / bar, Nursery school (maternelle), Primary school (élémentaire), GP (médecin généraliste), Pharmacy, Post office / agence postale, Library. [3,4]
All 25 service types, with per-source counts
| Type | Count | Names | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bakery (boulangerie) | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4] | |
| Butcher (boucherie) | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4] | |
| Grocery (épicerie / supérette) | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4] | |
| Supermarket | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4] | |
| Cheese shop (fromagerie) | 0 | INSEE SIRENE 0 [4] | |
| Fishmonger | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4] | |
| Restaurant | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4] | |
| Café / bar | 0 | INSEE SIRENE 0 [4] | |
| Nursery school (maternelle) | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 [3] | |
| Primary school (élémentaire) | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 [3] | |
| Collège | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 [3] | |
| GP (médecin généraliste) | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 [3] | |
| Pharmacy | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4] | |
| Nurse | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 [3] | |
| Dentist | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 [3] | |
| Post office / agence postale | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 [3] | |
| Library | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 [3] | |
| Cinema | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 [3] | |
| Gym / sports hall | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 [3] | |
| Swimming pool | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 [3] | |
| Bank | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 [3] | |
| Hairdresser | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4] | |
| Fuel station | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4] | |
| Hotel | 1 | INSEE SIRENE 1 / INSEE BPE 0 [3,4] | |
| Campsite | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4] |
Market and village life
Market day: unknown — nothing found in the datasets or on the commune website.
Trajectory
Population 54 (2012) → 55 (2023): 1.9 % over 10 years. [5,1]
Population 63 (1990) → 55 (2023): -12.7 % over 30 years. [6,1]
Dwellings (2023): 125, of which 69.6 % second homes and 6.4 % vacant. [7]
Access and surroundings
Which way the everyday services lie
Bakery (Saint-Gingolph): 3 km to the north (straight line). [8]
Food shop (Saint-Gingolph): 2.9 km to the north (straight line). [8]
GP (Saint-Gingolph): 3 km to the north (straight line). [8]
Pharmacy (La Chapelle-d'Abondance): 8.2 km to the south (straight line). [9]
Primary school (Saint-Gingolph): 2.8 km to the north (straight line). [8]
Climate
Where this sits nationally
An average of 3 days a year at or above 30 °C and 133 days at or below 0 °C, over 19 complete years in 1995–2024. [10]
Measured at the VACHERESSE AUXI weather station, 10.7 km away at 790 m; the village itself is at 957 m. [10]
The village sits 167 m above the station, so each day's reading was shifted by 6.06 °C per km of altitude before the days were counted. Expect the result to be within about 0.68 °C. [10]
Muggy days — a dew point at or above 18 °C — average 0 days a summer. [10]
Humidity measured at EVIAN SA, 15.9 km away at 725 m, over 23 summers. [10]
That station sits 232 m below the village, so each day's humidity was shifted by 3.69 °C per km before the muggy days were counted. [10]
An average of 1,779 mm of rain a year, spread over 143 days — about 12.4 mm on a day it rains. [10]
Rainfall measured at NOVEL, 0.1 km away at 949 m. Rainfall is not adjusted for altitude: unlike temperature it has no simple gradient to correct by. [10]
Uncertainties
No specific uncertainties flagged.
References
- INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 74203/2023
- INSEE density grid 2026
- INSEE BPE 2025
- INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
- INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 74203/2012
- INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 74203/1990
- INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 74203/logement/2023
- INSEE BPE 2025 — 74237
- INSEE BPE 2025 — 74058
- Météo-France daily climatology 1995-2024
Villages like this one
Matched on size, density, second homes and which everyday shops and services are present — not on the score, so a village of the same kind that is doing better or worse shows up rather than being hidden.
| Commune | Dept | Distance | Population | Score | Band | Climate vs here |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Planès | 66 | 567 km SW | 57 | 11.8 | No daily shops | Similar summers, milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 100 % · winter 49 % · humidity 100 % |
| Altiani | 2B | 501 km SE | 53 | 1 | No daily shops | Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 26 % · winter 0 % · humidity 93 % |
| Lesches-en-Diois | 26 | 220 km SW | 57 | 7.8 | No daily shops | Warmer summers, similar winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 69 % · winter 97 % · humidity 100 % |
| Santa-Reparata-di-Moriani | 2B | 494 km SE | 52 | 10.6 | No daily shops | Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 26 % · winter 0 % · humidity 29 % |
| Omblèze | 26 | 208 km SW | 55 | 4.2 | No daily shops | Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 85 % · winter 0 % · humidity 100 % |
| Labessette | 63 | 343 km W | 58 | 0.7 | No daily shops | Similar summers, milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 87 % · winter 11 % · humidity 100 % |
Order by distance instead
| Commune | Dept | Distance | Population | Score | Band | Climate vs here |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Omblèze | 26 | 208 km SW | 55 | 4.2 | No daily shops | Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 85 % · winter 0 % · humidity 100 % |
| Lesches-en-Diois | 26 | 220 km SW | 57 | 7.8 | No daily shops | Warmer summers, similar winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 69 % · winter 97 % · humidity 100 % |
| Labessette | 63 | 343 km W | 58 | 0.7 | No daily shops | Similar summers, milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 87 % · winter 11 % · humidity 100 % |
| Santa-Reparata-di-Moriani | 2B | 494 km SE | 52 | 10.6 | No daily shops | Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 26 % · winter 0 % · humidity 29 % |
| Altiani | 2B | 501 km SE | 53 | 1 | No daily shops | Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 26 % · winter 0 % · humidity 93 % |
| Planès | 66 | 567 km SW | 57 | 11.8 | No daily shops | Similar summers, milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 100 % · winter 49 % · humidity 100 % |
Sort and compare these on the full list →
…and in much the same climate
The same match on size and services, narrowed to communes whose summers, winters and summer humidity are all close to Novel's. All three are required, so this section is absent for the 11.8 % of communes with no humidity station near enough to measure: two temperature axes alone cannot tell a muggy coast from a dry one.
| Commune | Dept | Distance | Population | Score | Band | Climate vs here |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malleval-en-Vercors | 38 | 172 km SW | 57 | 11.8 | No daily shops | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 85 % · humidity 100 % |
| Villard-Reymond | 38 | 160 km S | 46 | 11.8 | No daily shops | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 96 % · humidity 100 % |
| Bareilles | 65 | 634 km SW | 39 | 2.2 | No daily shops | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 92 % · humidity 100 % |
| Réal | 66 | 556 km SW | 81 | 11.8 | No daily shops | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 97 % · winter 93 % · humidity 100 % |
| Saint-Alban-en-Montagne | 07 | 291 km SW | 63 | 3.4 | No daily shops | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 90 % · winter 95 % · humidity 100 % |
| Le Plagnal | 07 | 289 km SW | 66 | 5.2 | No daily shops | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 88 % · humidity 100 % |
Elsewhere
Commune website · Wikipedia (en) ·Wikipedia (fr) · INSEE dossier complet · OpenStreetMap · Web search · Map
Permanent link: https://vivantrural.com/en/fr/74203-novel