Chamonix Mont Blanc
Six ski areas, Europe's highest peaks and a mountain town that never really sleeps. Your guide to Chamonix from the people who live here.
The Valley
Chamonix was one of France's first ski resorts, and it is still one of the best known. The valley runs about 20km beneath the Mont Blanc massif in the heart of Haute-Savoie. It is high, snow-sure and known worldwide for its off-piste skiing.
Five villages share the valley: Servoz, Les Houches, Chamonix, Argentière and Vallorcine. Each has its own character, and good lifts and shuttles link them all. Italy is 15 minutes away through the Mont Blanc tunnel, and Switzerland is just over the Col des Montets.
The valley is open all year. Winter means skiing and ski touring. Summer brings more than 350km of hiking trails, via ferrata, climbing and paragliding. Autumn is quieter, with the larches turning gold.
Winter
The valley has five ski areas, with Courmayeur in Italy as a sixth. No single area suits everyone, and that is the appeal. Here is where we send our guests, depending on how they ski.
The largest area in the valley, with the most varied terrain and around 2,050m of vertical. Strong skiers should head up the Bochard lift for open glacial and pisted runs. Intermediates and beginners will enjoy Plan Joran and the Marmottons area lower down.
Our tipFor lunch, try Crèmerie du Glacier or Refuge de Lognan.
Piste mapThe closest area to Chamonix town, reached from the Planpraz gondola. These are sunny, south-facing slopes. Brévent suits intermediates and gets steeper higher up. Flégère is the place for powder, via the Index lift. Beginners can stay around Planpraz and La Trappe.
Our tipThe Charles Bozon run from the top of Brévent (2,525m) is a long-time favourite.
Piste mapAbout 15 minutes from the chalets, this is the best intermediate area in the valley. It has wide, rolling pistes and plenty of off-piste. La Vormaine has three gentle drag lifts, which makes it ideal for warming up on the first day.
Our tipThe back side towards Vallorcine holds powder well. Eat local at Les Trois Ours.
Piste mapWooded, north-facing and often overlooked, Les Houches has some of the best pisted skiing in the valley. It is home to the Kandahar World Cup downhill. With 18 lifts and 86 snow cannons, it is reliable despite its lower altitude, and the trees make it the best choice in poor visibility.
Our tipSki through the forest to La Vieille Luge for home cooking and the best vin chaud in the valley.
Piste mapThis is the biggest lift-served vertical drop in the area, at 2,807m. It is also the gateway to the Vallée Blanche, a 22km glacier descent and one of the world's great off-piste runs. There are no pisted runs here.
Our tipAlways ski it with a qualified mountain guide. We can arrange one for your group.
Mountain guidesCourmayeur is just through the Mont Blanc tunnel, less than 15 minutes from the chalets on our ski shuttle. The runs are mostly intermediate and fairly short. The real draw is lunch: there are 23 mountain restaurants across its 22 lifts. It is included in the Mont Blanc Unlimited pass.
Our tipWhen Chamonix is in cloud, it is often sunny on the Italian side.
Piste map"Skiing, glaciers and the highest views in Western Europe, with every one of them reachable by lift from the valley floor."
Summer & Winter
You don't need to ski to see the best of Chamonix. These four lifts take you from the town centre into the high mountains in a matter of minutes.
In about 20 minutes, the cable car climbs from the centre of Chamonix to 3,842m, with a stop at Plan de l'Aiguille on the way. At the top there is a 360° panorama across the French, Swiss and Italian Alps, looking straight at Mont Blanc.
Step into the Void, a glass box above a 1,000m drop. Walk through Le Tube, a steel gallery at 3,700m, and visit Espace Vertical, a museum of mountaineering. In summer, the Panoramic Mont-Blanc gondola continues across the Glacier du Géant to Italy.
Bring warm layers, sunglasses and sun cream. It is far colder at the top. Children under 3 are not allowed. Go early in the day to avoid the queues.
The historic Montenvers rack railway climbs from Chamonix to 1,913m. There you look down on the Mer de Glace, France's longest glacier, framed by Les Drus and the Grandes Jorasses.
A short gondola ride takes you down towards the Ice Cave, which is carved by hand into the glacier every year. Back at the top, the Glaciorium tells the story of the glacier. Le Panoramique and the Refuge restaurant both serve lunch with a view.
The cave is about 100 steps below the gondola terrace and is not wheelchair accessible. Booking online is recommended.
The Brévent faces Mont Blanc from across the valley, so it gives perhaps the best view of the whole massif. A gondola runs from town to Planpraz (2,000m), and a cable car continues to the summit at 2,525m.
In winter, it is the gateway to the Brévent ski area. In summer, Planpraz is the start for walks to Lac Cornu and the Grand Balcon Sud, and it is also a popular paragliding launch. Le Panoramique restaurant at the top has one of the sunniest terraces in the valley.
The Flégère gondola leaves from Les Praz, passes over the Chamonix golf course and arrives at 1,877m. From there, the Index chairlift climbs to 2,595m. The whole area faces south, straight onto Mont Blanc.
In winter, Index serves some of the valley's best powder runs. In summer, the Flégère is the start of the classic hike to Lac Blanc, where the Mont Blanc range is reflected in the water.
Les Houches is the first village you reach as you enter the valley. It is quieter and greener than Chamonix and looks straight up at the Aiguilles and the Mont Blanc massif. It holds the Famille Plus label for its family welcome, and it is home to our ski-in, ski-out Chalet Rubicon.
The tree-lined slopes suit every level and ski well in poor visibility. The Kandahar, known locally as "la Verte des Houches", is anything but easy despite its green name, which dates from 1946, when green marked the hardest runs. The Mont-Blanc Tramway, one of the last adhesion railways in France, climbs to the Bellevue plateau in winter and the Nid d'Aigle (2,372m) in summer.
Away from the slopes, walk up to the 25m Christ-Roi statue (1933), or visit the Parc de Merlet. This 21-hectare alpine park at 1,500m has animals living semi-wild with Mont Blanc as the backdrop, and it is a guaranteed hit with children. Booking is required.
Plan Your Trip
Geneva Airport is less than 100km away, roughly an hour by road. Our sister company, Geneva Airport Transfers, runs licensed minibuses straight to your chalet door.
Airport transfers →Chamonix Le Pass covers the main valley areas. Mont Blanc Unlimited adds the Aiguille du Midi, Les Houches and Courmayeur. We'll have your passes waiting at the chalet when you arrive.
Ski passes →Free valley buses and the Mont Blanc Express train link every village. Our concierge ski shuttle takes guests to the lifts and through the tunnel to Courmayeur.
Ask our team →Opening dates and hours change each season, and all high lifts depend on the weather. Check the official Chamonix site on the day before you set out.
chamonix.com →Stay in the Valley
Five luxury chalets across the valley, all close to the lifts, with a team who know every run, restaurant and hidden corner.