One of those resorts every skier must pay homage to at least once in their lives and many end up returning to year after year, Chamonix has been drawing mountain sports lovers to its spectacular location with Mont Blanc towering above, for more than 200 years. Its popularity is such that it has grown to be one of the largest resorts in the Alps, in fact, a small town, with a permanent population of 10,000 multiplied many times by the number of guests. It has also spread out along the valley floor to encompass a dozen or so neighbouring villages and hamlets in the wider ‘Chamonix Valley.’ Skiers, boarders, and climbers visit from all over the world, all year round, giving the village much more of an international, cosmopolitan feel than most others.
Chamonix is one of the quickest and easiest ski areas to reach from Geneva in just an hour, making it popular for weekend breaks as well as the traditional ski week. It’s a busy resort town with hundreds of shops, bars, and restaurants as well as facilities like sports centres, swimming pools, and museums so is a good choice if there are non-skiers in your party.
Chamonix accommodation is varied and plentiful and there is a great selection of luxury chalets in Chamonix. Our catered chalets in Chamonix are extremely popular and get snapped up early, however, there is also a great selection of self-catered apartments and smaller Chamonix chalets, so there is something to suit groups of all shapes and sizes.
It also has an enviable snow record, thanks in large part to its proximity to Mont Blanc. It typically stays open into May with the snow still lying deep and ski tourers still up on the mountain long after the lifts finally close in spring. In terms of spectacular ski states, Chamonix is home to the biggest lift-served vertical on the planet up the Aiguille de Midi (a year-round visitor attraction in its own right) and that helps the 20km long spectacular Vallee Blanche off-piste route be the longest lift-accessed ski run in the world too.
Chamonix is one of the world’s original ski resorts and Its ski area has grown through the decades into a collection of separate areas through the Chamonix valley which altogether adds up to over 400km (250 miles) of runs – one of France’s biggest. Various lift pass options are available covering part or all of this, indeed the biggest also includes skiing at neighbouring St Gervais and Megève as well as in Courmayeur in Italy, just on the other side of the Mont Blanc tunnel, and Verbier in Switzerland – altogether more than 1000km of runs. There’s a good ski bus service linking the various ski areas (Grands Montets, Les Houches, Le Tour/Balme, La Flegere, and Le Brevent) but having a good shuttle service from your chalet is definitely a big plus factor – both for skiing and après skiing.
There are more than half a dozen separate ski areas of various sizes in the Chamonix Valley accessing some of the most amazing skiing on the planet. The main sectors include Le Tour and Les Balmes, one of the biggest with lots of easy and intermediate terrain; then Grand Montets up near Argentiere with its amazing snow record and great freeriding terrain, particularly on the upper mountain. The Brévant-Flégère and Les Houches sectors also have their charms, not least that they’re usually quieter than the rest.
Intermediates will find plenty for them in almost every sector and can tackle the famous Valley Blanche, an off-piste run accessed via a rather fearsome traverse in your ski boots from the top of the Aiguille du Midi cable car – so a head for heights is more important than ski ability to some extent. The glacier views as you make your way down through this vast area are amazing, just make sure you go with a guide.
It’s expert skiers who will get really hooked on Chamonix however with its legendary off-piste terrain. Famous groomed runs like World Cup descent ‘La Verte’ in Les Houches can also be ticked off your ‘must ski’ list.
Chamonix’s size and global popularity, plus its international clientele, means there’s a great choice of nursery and nanny services available in the valley. However opinion is mixed on how good a choice Chamonix is for families, particularly with young children, due to the very fact it is a busy resort with its ski areas are spread about around the valley. So it’s worth being very careful in your chalet choice – looking for a base that’s close to one of the family-friendly sectors such as La Balme, Le Tour or Les Houches, or has a good chauffeur service to take you there. In chalet-childcare would be a big plus too of course. The same logic really applies to beginners too.
In terms of public childcare facilities provided in the resort there’s a long-established kids club, the Panda Club, which takes children aged from three years. Above that age various ski school classes and ski kindergarten are available. At least half-a-dozen different nanny agencies operate in Chamonix such as Baby Cham or Oui Care and there are also several holiday-tutoring services for slightly older children looking to keep up to date with their studies while on their ski holiday.
