Chalmazel, in Forézian Arpitan Vers-Charmasél[2] (pronounced [ve.ʃam.ˈze]),[3][4] is a former French commune in the Loire department of the Rhône-Alpes region, known for its winter sports resort and château.

It is home to vast, undulating plateaux of moorland dotted with peat bogs, known as the hautes Chaumes, classified Natura 2000 for their floristic interest.

According to Albert Dauzat, the origin of the toponym could come from *calmis: high bare plateau, a Prelatin word; and mazel: mazet, mas, manse, house, from the Latin man(s)um, substantive past participle of the verb manere: to dwell.

In 1231, Guy IV, Count of Forez, allowed his loyal vassal Arnaud de Marcilly to build a fortified house at Chalmazelles.

[10] According to the Cahier des Visites (the bishop's inspection tour) of 1614, the parish was named Saint-Jehan-des-Neiges; then, in 1662, Exaltation of the Holy Cross, and finally Saint-Jean-Baptiste.

Medieval in appearance, it retains elements of the fortified house dating from 1231, but with all the successive modifications and additions made by the Talaru family over the centuries: loopholes, base of the walls, keep, machicolated parapet walk.

It alternates between forests and wild highland moors (les hautes Chaumes) and boasts 12 kilometers of downhill ski runs, served by 1 detachable bubble chairlift and 7 drag lifts, and equipped with 90 snow guns.

Chalmazel mainly attracts daily visitors from the Forez plain and the Roanne and St. Etienne conurbations, less than 80 kilometers away, but also, to a lesser extent, from Clermont-Ferrand and Lyon.