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MOUNTAINS
Click on the photos below to see the details of our properties in each area, or see below to find out more about the Chamonix Valley
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ABOUT THE CHAMONIX VALLEY - MULTIPLE RESORTS IN ONE
Unlike many ski resorts, the Chamonix valley is made up of distinct ski areas and the Mont Blanc Unlimited pass offers skiing in 3 different countries and access to over 1000km of piste skiing and an enormous variety of back country for mountaineering, touring and climbing. This makes for a very different ski experience to other resorts. It is possible to ski a different place EVERY DAY all on one Mont Blanc Unlimited pass.... Brevent, Flegere, Les Houches, Le Tour, Vallorcine, Argentiere, Aiguille du Midi in the Chamonix Valley alone... plus St Gervais, Megeve, Courmayeur (Italy), Verbier (Switzerland) ... as well as the Montenvers-Mer de Glace train and the Tramway du Mont Blanc. A week is simply not long enough to enjoy everything Chamonix has to offer.
If the sun is shining, head to Grands Montets in Argentiere. If it is foggy or windy, head to the tree-sheltered slopes of Les Houches. On a blue sky day you get the best views of Mont Blanc in Brevent. Fancy some amazing ski touring? Take the Flegere top drag lift with a guide to discover the most amazing back country taking you all the way back to Vallorcine through some phenomenal off piste. Fancy some freshly made Italian pasta or a wood-fired pizza? Courmayeur hits the spot. Verbier at only 40 minutes away offers phenomenal Swiss skiing with moguls galore to delight the expert skier. Wide groomed pistes and gourmet food your thing? Megeve accessed via St Gervais cable car is only a quick 30 minute drive from Chamonix.
Brevent/Chamonix
Located right in the centre of Chamonix, up a fairly steep hill, you will find the Brevent gondola which whisks you up to Plan Praz. Our chamonix apartments are in the ideal location, just 100m from the lift. Brevent offers great skiing for all levels with a newly created beginner ski area with plenty of greens to build up confidence.
The blue runs are great for intermediates building up their confidence to tackle the reds. The top bin offers black runs and Brevent offers plenty of opportunity for touring and off piste throughout the season due to its height - a guide is always recommended.
Brevent is also open in the summer and is one of the key places from which to parapente. There are some great hiking routes from Brevent, including an intreprid trek over to the Park du Merlet above Les Houches, which looks after a number of animals and offers fantastic views. There are a few mountain restaurants in the Brevent area - Altitude 2000, Le Bergerie and a couple of snack bars. A cable car offers a quick and easy liaison through to the Flegere ski area...
Les Houches
Family-friendly Les Houches offers pretty tree-lined runs ranging from green and blue, through to red and black including the famous men's downhill run the Kandahar. It is also where most of the local and international ski race training takes place.
Les Houches is the perfect resort for the whole family and mixed ability groups as it offers something for everyone. Some of our favourite runs are in the off piste in Les Houches among the trees - a veritable winter wonderland. The large areas of tree covered runs make for a very pretty area and also serve to protect from high winds or fog so when the rest of the valley might be closed, the Les Houches lifts are usually open in all weather!
There is a large variety of mountain restaurants - only rivalled by Megeve and St Gervais for quality and choice in the area. Additionally the Le Tourchet ski area located under a 10 minute walk from our chalets, offer night skiing on Thursday nights and a nursery slope with free access surrounded by a microbrewery bar and restaurant, ice skating rink and basketball courts in the summer.
Flegere/Le Praz
Located in the Le Praz area outside of Chamonix centre, but also accessed via a cable car from the Brevent ski area, Flegere offers a variety of wide pistes and steeps, some great black runs as well as the ubiquitous blues and reds, amazing access to fantastic touring and offpiste (with a guide) and a large beginner ski area with greens and a snow park area suitable for those learning to ski.
L'adret restaurant is a lovely place offering quality food with a fantastic sun deck and there are also a couple more snack bars/restaurants as well.
In the summer there are fantastic walks and hikes towards the high alpine meadows and lakes using Flegere as a starting point.
Grands Montets/Argentiere
Argentiere offers access to the largest of the pisted ski areas in the Chamonix Valley. With huge expanses of open terrain above the trees, Grands Montets offers fantastic views and glacier skiing at the higher altitude. It is mostly north west facing so it holds the snow very well, but can be cold so take extra layers! The Herse chairlift and Bochard gondola offer fantastic intermediate to expert terrain and access to plenty of backcountry.
Throughout Grands Montets, there is great off piste to be had between the pistes in natural bowls and a large area to explore with some of the most challenging runs in the valley. Restaurants are concentrated either at the gondola station or at the bottom of a blue just up from the Tabe chairlift where there is a huge sun terrace and plenty of self serve catering options.
Aiguille du Midi/Chamonix
On the other side of Chamonix town to Brevent, the Aiguille du Midi is the closest viewing point to the majestic Mont Blanc at 3842m.
It also offers a popular access point for the world-renowned Vallee Blance - the longest off piste run in Europe along the glacier in the shadow of the tallest peak in Europe. It does get busy both in summer (for hiking, touring and viewing Mont Blanc) and winter so it's always best to book.
Aiguille du Midi/Chamonix
On the other side of Chamonix town to Brevent, the Aiguille du Midi is the closest viewing point to the majestic Mont Blanc at 3842m.
It also offers a popular access point for the world-renowned Vallee Blance - the longest off piste run in Europe along the glacier in the shadow of the tallest peak in Europe. It does get busy both in summer (for hiking, touring and viewing Mont Blanc) and winter so it's always best to book.
Le Tour & Vallorcine
Offering the gentlest runs in the valley, Le Tour is the ideal starting point for beginners in the Chamonix valley with rock free runs and wide blues to cruise down. It's a great place to ski or board, but also offers an expanse of off piste and good touring. Le Tour is also fantastic for biking and hiking in the summer. There are some lovely little restaurants offering Alpine fare as well as a self serve restaurant by the top of the Gondola.
Like Le Tour, Vallorcine offers a gentle introduction to skiing whilst also offering some good off piste tracks for those wanting a bit more. Easy blues, cruising reds, and one of the loveliest restaurants in the valley at Le Cafe Comptoir by the train station and bottom of the Vallorcine gondola. As the furthest resort from the centre of Chamonix, it is best to access the area using the lovely train which whisks you right next to the gondola station.
Courmayeur
The Italian side of Mont Blanc is free and unlimited to access with the Mont Blanc Unlimited pass. Distinctly Italian, the resort is easily accessible through the Mont Blanc Tunnel is about 30 minutes. It might be cloudy in Chamonix, but more often than not the Italian side of Mont Blanc offers different weather and might be sunny in Courmayeur so it's always worth checking the live web cams! From tree lined runs to wide pistes, there are 31 runs to choose from as well as plentiful off piste. The Skyway di Monte Bianco also offers access to the stunning Vallee Blanche from the Italian side.