Chamonix Ski Holidays

Description

Home to the world-famous Mont Blanc, the French town of Chamonix represents, to many, the pinnacle of outdoor adventure in the French Alps. A proper town in its own right, Chamonix is a back-country skier’s paradise in the winter months — with some of Europe’s finest and most challenging off-piste terrain right on the doorstep.

Chamonix itself is remarkably pretty; a French Alpine village nestled at an altitude of 1,000 metres with slopes running up to nearly 4,000 metres. Traditional and characterful, Chamonix offers spectacular views, outdoor adventure, and plenty of things to see and do away from the slopes.

Chamonix town sits in the valley and is surrounded on both sides by neighbouring villages and hamlets including La Tour, Argentiere and Les Houches.

Getting There

If you haven’t booked a package where travel is organised for you then you will need to think about the best way for you to get to resort.

Fly

The most popular method of travel is to fly. There are 4 local airports to Chamonix:

Geneva - 100km - 1h15

Chambery - 145km - 1h30
Turin - 173km - 2h

Lyon - 221km - 2h15

Geneva is the closest airport and is extremely well connected from most UK and European cities so it is the most popular choice for travellers heading to Chamonix.

Transfers to resorts

Once you have flown out, you will need to organise a transfer to your accommodation. There are several companies who offer both shared and private transfers:

AlpyBus provides low cost shared and private transfers from Geneva Airport to Chamonix.

easyBus is one of the cheapest options offering shared transfers from Geneva.

Ski Lifts have been awarded the world’s best ski transfer operator in the world ski awards. They provide private and shared transfers from all local airports.

Mountain Drop Offs offer simple and reliable transfers to Chamonix.

Train

Getting the train to resort isn’t the easiest or fastest option. If you are travelling from the UK, you can take the Eurostar from London St Pancras or Ashford in Kent to Paris, then a TGV train to Bellegarde, then a local train to St Gervais, followed by a Mont Blanc Express train to Chamonix. The total journey takes around 7-8 hours. There is also an options to take the Eurostar via Lyon then to St Gervais and onto Chamonix, this takes around 9.5 hours.

Drive

Many people will opt to drive out to Chamonix. This can be a good idea so you can have a bit more flexibility when you’re out in resorts to be able to visit the different areas of Chamonix Valley.

If you are driving from the UK, you can either travel via the channel tunnel of take the ferry. The eurotunnel departs from Folkestone every 15 minutes and takes 35 minute. Prices start form £90 each way. You can book your crossing online at - https://www.eurotunnel.com/uk/home/.

The ferry runs from both Hull to Zeebrugge and Dover to Calais with P&O ferries http://www.poferries.com/en/portal

Remember to drive on the right hand side of the road in France and be aware that there are several tolls on the way down to resort. The cost will depend on your vehicle and the route that you take but will cost approximately €75 in total.

European travel/vehicle requirements are very strict and on-spot fines can be issued if you don’t have: headlight converters, GB sticker, warning triangle, spare bulbs, high viz vests for each passenger in the car and breathalysers.

When to Go

Chamonix is a year round resort; Summer is perfect for hiking, climbing and mountain biking; and winter is the season of all things snow! Chamonix is high altitude resort and has a long season running from mid December to the middle of April. The highest ski area is Les Grands Montets which is sometimes opened over weekends in November and will stay open until the first week of May if the snow is good enough.

Where to Stay

Chamonix

Chamonix town in located in the heart of the valley. The centre is where there is the largest selection of accomodation, bars, restaurant and shops. The Aiguille de Midi cable car services Chamonix centre. The Brevent-Flegere ski area is at the north western edge of Chamonix and is known to receive the most sunshine in the resort. The Les Pelerins and Les Gaillands areas cover a kilometre stretch of parallel roads running down the valley and are a popular place to stay as they are generally cheaper but offer excellent access to the town centre.

Argentiere

Argentiere is located 8km up the valley from Chamonix town centre. Argentiere has a traditional alpine style with plenty of chalets and hotels built in typical Savoyard style. There are a number of shops, restaurants and bars here and the area offers access to the Grand Montets ski area.

Les Houches

Les Houches is a popular choice for families looking for more of a relaxed atmosphere. There are a few restaurants and bars as well as access to the valley’s easiest ski area. There are a good number of ski in/ski out chalets as well as niche eco-chalets.

Le Praz to Le Lavancher

Le Praz to Le Lavancher is home to many of the luxury chalets and hotels which all offer stunning panoramic views of the whole Chamonix valley. Le Praz itself has a small selection of shops, bars and restaurants and is close to the Flegere ski area. Beyond Le Rraz is Le Bois, Les Tines and Le Lavancher which is home to more luxury accommodation.

Vallorcine & Le Tour

Le Tour and Vallorcine are small villages located beyond Argentiere and access the Domaine de Balme ski area. The village are very small so accommodation and dining options are limited.

Servoz

Servoz is located further down the valley and has a scattered collection of accommodation options. The village is pretty and quiet and offers some cheaper accomodation options but it is a bus or train journey to the main slopes of Chamonix.

Getting around

Chamonix is split into several resorts and villages so you will need to think about the best way to get between them all if you are planning on exploring whilst in resort.

Bus

There is a bus services that links the resorts. The buses are free if you have a lift pass, carte d’hote, gens du pays card or residence secondaire card. The buses run all year round, 7 days a week from 0700-1930, the main lines run every half hour. There is a main bus station in Chamonix Sud and all the villages between Les Houches and Vallorcince have at least one bus stop. Night buses operate from 2030 till midnight from Argentiere to Les Houches. There are 4 buses which operate through the night and can be booked in advance, night buses cost around 2€ per journey.

Train

Another popular way to get between the villages is by train. The train pass is included with the carte d’hote, gens du pays card and residence secondaire card. The train runs between Servoz to Vallorcine every hour. If you are travelling to Vallorcine the train station is right next to the lift so it is recommended to take this transport there.

On foot

If you are staying in Chamonix town then it is easy to walk around as the village is relatively compact. Walking between the different villages is only an option in summer and during daylight hours.

On Piste

Of Chamonix’s main ski areas - Les Houches, Brevent, Flegere, Le Tour and Les Grandes Montets, only Flegere and Brevent are connected by piste. To get between the two you can take the cable car to Flegere from Les Praz and ski across to take the gondola down from Brevent to Chamonix Centre.

Taxi

There is normally a taxi rank located outside the train station in Chamonix Centre. It is advisable to pre book your taxi and agree a price in advance.

Apres

Chamonix has some fantastic bars for apres ski and nightlife:

Chambre Neuf is one of the liveliest and loudest apres ski bar in Chamonix. The bar is located at the top end of the town near the train station and is a popular spot with visitors and locals alike.

La Terasse sits in a fantastic position in the centre of Chamonix. The bar, cafe and lounge serves food all day on it’s sunny terrace.

The Office is a lively apres bar located in Argentiere. The bar offers the best choice of beers and food for superb value.

Micro Brasserie de Chamonix is a brewery run by four Canadians who offer a vast selection of beer from the Blonde de Chamonix to the Granite Pale Ale and the Stout des Drus.

Elevation 1904 is located opposite the train station in the centre of Chamonix. The bar has a sunny terrace offering a great ambience with live music and DJs.

Moo Bar & Restaurant is a lively spot located near the train station. The bar is open all year round and is very reasonably priced.

The Pub is a typical British establishment in Chamonix centre. The pub has a heated terrace right on the main street and shows live sports on the big screen.

Monkey Bar is a seasonnaires favourite. They have a great apres vibe with live music, happy hours, and ping pong.

South Bar is located at the foot of the Aiguille du Midi. The bar is an excellent apres spot with daily happy hours and regular drinks promotions and special offers.

L’Amnesia is a nightclub located near the Aiguille du midi cable car. The club is open from midnight till 4am and is a popular spot with both locals and visitors.

Le Chamonix Social Club is a funky cocktail bar located in the heart of Chamonix. The residents has more of a formal feel and hosts guest Djs to keep the music fresh.

Bar du Moulin is a cosy cellar wine bar located on the Rue des Moulins in Chamonix old town. The warm and welcoming bar has a wide range of drinks to choose from and often has live music and DJs.

Les Caves is an upmarket cocktail bar. The bar plays jazz/blues music early evening and more upbeat tunes later on. The bar offers a great wine and cocktail menu and is the perfect spot for those looking to dress up a bit.

Eating out

Chamonix has a good selection of restaurants both on and off the mountain.

Chalet Refuge de Lognan is a small mountain restaurant accessed from the Grand Montets cable car. The restaurant is open all year round and offers fantastic views and access to the Argentiere Glacier.

Alpage de Balme is a charming restaurant located at the foot of the Aiguillette des Posettes at Le Tour. The restaurant serves typical mountain food and is very reasonably priced.

Munchie is a popular restaurant located on the Route du Moulin in the centre of Chamonix. The restaurant serves a mix of French and Scandinavian food with an Asian influence. Dishes include duck teriyaki, steak frites and sushi.

Le Panier des 4 Saisons sits tucked away just off the main street in Chamonix. The restaurant offers the best seasonal produce with some of the finest regional wines.

Plan Joran ia a mountain restaurant serving delicious dishes including local products and Italian cuisine.

La Bergerie de Planpraz is one of the best mountain restaurants in resort and offers one of the best views of Mont Blanc. The chef serves a range of regional dishes cooked over a wood fire.

Casa Valerio is a popular pizzeria and Italian restaurant in Chamonix centre. The restaurant has won awards for its pizzas and is a popular spot amongst locals.

Le Cap Horn is one of Chamonix’s nicest restaurants serving fine food in comfortable surroundings. The restaurant serves contemporary style Savoyard dishes, in particular seafood.

La Maison Carrier is a cosy and traditional restaurant located in the Hameau de Albert Premier Hotel. The restaurant offers both an a la carte menu and a set menu which are both very reasonably priced.

Revola Restaurant is located near the Montenvers station. The friendly restaurant offers simple and tasty food made with fresh seasonal produce.

Les Vieilles Luges is a mountain restaurant in Les Houches. The authentic restaurant has a warm and charming ambience and serves delicious home-cooked local food.

Poco Loco Chamonix serves some of the best sandwiches and burgers in the resort.

Le 3842 is one of the highest restaurants in Europe, located at the top of the Aiguille du Midi cable car. The restaurant is open all year round serving daily specials from locally sourced produce.

Chez Constant is located in the centre of Chamonix. The restaurants’ interior is beautifully furnished mixing traditional Savoyard style with modern features and offers seasonal dishes and local/regional specialities.

Le Jekyll is an Irish Pub in Chamonix centre. The pub is an institution in resort and serves great high quality food.

Good for Couples

Albert Premier

38 Route du Bouchet

74400

Chamonix

+33 4 50 53 05 09

Good for Couples

La Yaute

2100 Route d'Argentière

74400

Chamonix

+33 9 66 83 58 18

Good for Couples

Le Bistrot

151 Avenue de l'Aiguille du Midi

74400

Chamonix

+33 4 50 53 57 64

Good for Family

La Maison

44 Route du Bouchet

74400

Chamonix

+33 4 50 53 00 03

Good for Friends

Chambre Neuf Brasserie

272 Avenue Michel Croz

74400

Chamonix

+33 4 50 53 00 31

Good for Friends

La Terrasse

43 Place Balmat

74400

Chamonix

+33 4 50 53 09 95

Good for Friends

Monkey Restaurant

81 Place Edmond Desailloud

74400

Chamonix

+33 4 50 96 64 34

Activities

There are several activities for non skiers in Chamonix:

Ice Climbing
Paragliding
Snowshoeing
Husky Sledding
Fat Biking
Arts & Culture
Winter Trail Running
Wine Tasting
Spas & Massages
Shopping
Restaurant/bars

Dog Sledding

74 Place Edmond Desailloud

74400

Chamonix

+33 4 86 68 87 16

Paragliding

11 Avenue du Savoy

74400

Chamonix

+33 6 61 84 61 50

Snowshoeing

190 place de l'Eglise

74400

Chamonix

+33 (0)4 50 53 00 88

Ski School

There are several ski schools in Chamonix offering both group and private lessons. Group lessons are cheaper and more sociable but will be less intense than one-on-one tuition.

ESF has been running for over 70 years and have fully qualified English speaking instructors to help you improve your skills. ESF offer group and private lessons as well as mountain guiding for all abilities.

Evolution 2 offer ski and snowboarding lessons in sight of the Mont Blanc for everyone from complete beginner through to adventure seeking adrenaline addict.

British Alpine Ski School (BASS) have been operating for over 14 years, their team of instructors are at the top of their profession delivering both private and specialised group courses for adults.

Getting around

Chamonix is split into several resorts and villages so you will need to think about the best way to get between them all if you are planning on exploring whilst in resort.

Bus

Train

On foot

If you are staying in Chamonix town then it is easy to walk around as the village is relatively compact. Walking between the different villages is only an option in summer and during daylight hours.

On Piste

Taxi

There is normally a taxi rank located outside the train station in Chamonix Centre. It is advisable to pre book your taxi and agree a price in advance.

Family ski

There are two options for families looking for childcare in Chamonix; the first is to book into a local creche and the second is to book a private nanny.

It is recommended to book childcare in advance, especially if you are traveling during a peak week as availability is limited and you don't want to miss out.

Creche facilities

ESF operate kids club for children from 3 years.

Private nannies

Merinannies is a professional private nanny service in Chamonix that has been providing first class childcare for skiing families.

My Travelling Nanny is a family run specialist holiday nanny agency who match families with the perfect Travelling Nanny for their holiday.

Baby-Cham is a babysitters introduction agency and child equipment rental service pairing you with the perfect babysitter or equipment to meet your requirements in Chamonix.

Group Ski

Chamonix is home to the famous Mont Blanc which is the highest mountain in Europe! The resort is made up of four separate ski areas with plenty of challenging slopes spread across the valley so it makes a popular choice for intermediate skiers looking to cover a lot of ground during their trip!

The resorts close proximity to Geneva and abundance of hotels makes it a good option for groups heading for a ski weekend. The resort is home to a host of bars and restaurants and the brand new Folie Douce hotel making it a top destination for a spot of apres ski.

Childcare

With a number of different ski areas spread out along the valleys, limited learner-friendly terrain, and a fair bit road traffic flowing between the various villages, the beautiful Alpine town of Chamonix isn’t an obvious choice for parents taking the kids to the Alps. With that said, Chamonix itself is a fully-functioning mountain town in its own right, with enough to see and do for visitors of all ages.

Independent childcare companies such as Nanny in the Valley, Merinannies, or Baby-Cham either manage teams of nannies available for hire, or help parents reach out to qualified child-carers in their village of choice. This bespoke approach means parents can find the childcare services to match their requirements, from ski school take-to’s and supervised lunches to evening entertainments and more.

For younger children and toddlers, crèche facilities in the various villages of the Chamonix Valley offer care to babies from typically 4 months old. Services like the Panda Club, the La Petite Folie Chamonix Kids Area, and Cham'Pioupiou offer well-structured programmes of childcare and entertainments to younger kids, while outfits like Cham’Kids and Cham’Ados cater to older kids and teens. You can generally book half-day or full-day childcare programmes, allowing parents a flexible approach to their childcare requirements.

Away from the slopes, parents in search of non-ski activities to keep the kids entertained have a wide range of choices in and around the Chamonix Valley – after all, this is the home of alpine adventure in Europe! Activities such as snow-shoeing, ski-joering, and dog-sledding offer access to the alpine wilderness with no skis needed. Elsewhere, the Richard Bozon Sports Center offers indoor climbing, ice-rink, swimming pools plus tennis and squash, and hammam and sauna for a little rest and relaxation as a family.

The Piste

Beginners

There are 6 different nursery areas in Chamonix - Chamonix Town, Brevent and Flegere, Le Tour, Grands Montets, Les Houches and Vallorcine.

There are two nursery areas in Chamonix town; the Savoy slope which has a magic carpet and two drag lifts, and the Planards slope which has a few drag lifts and a chairlift. Also in the centre, is the Brevent cable cat which accesses several green and blue runs in Brevent and Flegere so is a good place to progress after the nursery slopes.

In Le Tour, there are both nursery slopes as well as blue and green runs further up the mountain.

Le Chosalets nursery slopes are easily accessible from Grands Montets, annd Le Tourchet nursery slopes is located in the centre of Les houches.

For those staying in Vallorcine, La Poya offers a good introduction to the slopes and the Vallorcine gondola offers access to a variety of pistes further up the mountain.

Intermediates

The ski areas in Chamonix aren’t connected so it isn’t the ideal ground for those wanting to cover vast distances but the resort does have some excellent intermediate slopes.

In Brevent, the Combe de la Charlanon run from the top of the Col Cornu chair is a good red with a black variant. Flegere has several red runs from the top of the Index chairlift.

In Le Tour, The Belle Place is a good red run through the trees, and the Ecuries, Chatalet and Caisets all join up to make one long red run which is a popular run for intermediates.

The runs in Grands Montets are slightly more challenging. La Pierre a Ric is a popular choice to practice carving, and the piste joins up to the Variate Hotel piste which is an ungroomed red with plenty of moguls.

Les Houches is a good spot for intermediates with 12 red and 6 blue runs which are all accessed from the top of the Bellevue and Prarlion telecabines, here you can also get an amazing 360 degree view of Mont Blanc.

Experts

Chamonix has plenty of runs for experts.

In Brevent, you can ski from the top of the Brevent cable car via the Charles Bozon run and Nants run to clock up nearly 1500m of vertical descent; and in Flegere you can ski both the Lachenal piste and Praz piste from the top op the Index chairlift to clock up 1300m of descent.

Grands Montets has some of the steepest and most challenging pistes in Chamonix. Some of the hardest pistes are found from the top of the Argentiere cable car. Both the Point de Vue and Pylones pistes are graded black and are not bashed so are often mogulled creating a steep and challenging run.

In Les Houches, both the Kandahar run and the Mur des Epines run from the top of the Bellevue cable car are challenging pistes.

Ski School

There are several ski schools in Chamonix offering both group and private lessons. Group lessons are cheaper and more sociable but will be less intense than one-on-one tuition.

Evolution 2 offer ski and snowboarding lessons in sight of the Mont Blanc for everyone from complete beginner through to adventure seeking adrenaline addict.

Equipment Hire

There are a number of ski rental shops throughout Chamonix and neighbouring resorts. We would recommend that you book your ski hire in advance so you can benefit from excellent online savings of up to 60%.

Intersport have two stores in Chamonix and are one of the best places for online offering a range of equipment for all budgets and abilities. They often offer fantastic 50% discounts.

Ski Republic have three stores in Chamonix. They offer a good selection of equipment and often have family, group and all-inclusive offers.

Skimium have two stores in Chamonix and offer fantastic online savings.
Sport 2000 offer affordable ski hire and have three stores in resort.

Lift Passes

There are three main types of lift passes available in Chamonix; the Mont-Blanc Unlimited full area pass, the Chamonix Le Pass which covers the local area, and the Rapid Card which is a prepaid, pay-as-you-go, non-consecutive multi-day loyalty pass.

The most popular pass is the Mont Blanc Unlimited fulla area pass as it allows you to ski the whole valley. Below are the lift pass prices based on the 17/18 Season. Prices for 18/19 Season may vary. Prices are in euros.

6 Days         Chamonix Le Pass     Mont-Blanc Unlimited
Adult (15-64y)     258                          306
Child (5-14y)       220                            260
Senior (65-79y)   220                            260

Lift passes are free for under 5s and over 79s, proof of age is required.

Family passes are available for families comprising of at least two adults and two children. Additional children are free (up to a maximum of 3 extra). A 6 Day Chamonix Le Pass is 800 and a Mont Blanc Unlimited is 950.

There are several beginner passes for different areas of Chamonix that can be bought on site at the ticket offices.