What we love about Chamonix
We love the extensive skiing options for all levels across the resort and the buzzing atmosphere of the town.
Getting there
Chamonix is just a 1hr drive from Geneva airport.
The Skiing
Chamonix offers some of the most challenging skiing in the Alps, especially when it comes to off-piste, but it also caters for beginners and intermediates. There is a choice of lift passes, from the all-encompassing Mont Blanc Unlimited, to individual tickets for cable cars.
Chamonix has five separate ski areas, each with their own lift systems, along in the valley. There’s enough to keep you busy for a day at each one, but having a car to get around or chauffeur service as part of a luxury ski chalet is an advantage. Les Planards and Les Houches have excellent skiing for beginners and there is a snowpark at Les Grands Montets.
There are 155km of piste in total, plus plenty of off-piste runs. Good skiers make a beeline for the famous Vallee Blanche route, accessed by the Aiguille du Midi cable car. Expert local guides and freelance instructors are able to show you the best way down the 20km glacier trail.
Best Places To Eat and Drink
If you are staying in a self-catered luxury ski chalet, Chamonix has it all – from cheap pizzerias to Michelin starred restaurants. Just take your pick. The Bistrot at Hotel Morgane is one of several fine dining restaurants, whilst local Savoyard dishes are a speciality at the Caleche and the Monchu.
La Maison Carrier is a particularly popular Savoyard restaurant, part of the 5* hotel Le Hameau Albert 1er. This traditional restaurant will not disappoint, especially when you are settled own in front of the fire and enjoying typical dishes such as a spit-roasted rack or lamb or Piedmonteuse risotto. The hotel also plays host the 2 Michelin-starred Albert 1er Restaurant which offers modern cuisine inspired by the local area as well as from the Head chef’s travels around the world – dishes such as line-caught sea bream with basil in a squid and herb crust, consommé, garlic rouille and croutons or whole roasted Breton lobster served in two ways, with yuzu confit, avocado, grapefruit and Nepalese Timur pepper, will be sure to tempt your tastebuds.
If you are not staying in a catered ski chalet, every village in the valley has its own restaurants and bars. Argentiere has a range of restaurants from pizzerias, a tapas bar to modern cuisine, and in Les Houches there is an excellent choice, from sophisticated French cuisine to cosy home cooking, and even an Indian restaurant.
Bars, music venues and nightclubs, often all mixed into one, are all over Chamonix and the surrounding area. The après ski scene is lively and fun, encompassing everything from sedate piano bars to full-on, ‘dancing on the tables to a live band’ action.