Guide to Chamonix

OH Our holiday

Ch Chamonix

TR Transport

WA Walking

OW Our walks and Days Out

EP Extra photos

If you have any questions, or suggestions to improve information given, please e-mail D and J.

For other photos see our Flickr Chamonix set.

Our holiday

Chamonix was our summer holiday destination for 2010. This was our first visit to the area, after much encouragement from Clifford, as with the steep sided valleys, some of the tougher walks did need willing hips and knees! That said, there is a great variety of walks and plenty of lifts to help with the up, and the down.

We went with Inghams, flying from Liverpool to Geneva. We were the only Ingham's guests on our flight and unusually we did not link up with other landings, and so had a private transfer into Chamonix. It only took an hour, and we arrived at the hotel (Les Aigions) just before 7pm.

At this point we got our welcome pack and guest card - this entitled us to free use of trains and buses in the valley - we didn't realise we needed to sign and date these - luckily we had a pencil in our rucksacks.

Whilst I unpacked and nested, Dennis had a look at the welcome pack and discovered the welcome meeting was 8:45pm - this meant the evening meal wasn't quite so relaxed on the first night, it was a big bonus as the meeting didn't eat into walking time on Sunday.

Joy, our rep, was enthusiastic and helpful, and organised our lift passes so that they were ready to collect in the morning - we opted for a 14 day pass as we had a late flight back on the last day. For this length of pass a photo is needed - if you don't have one to hand they can scan your passport photo. Joy even sold us the extra ticket for the ride over to Helbronner from Aiguille du Midi on a use or return basis. So by 9am on the first morning we had our tickets sorted for the whole holiday!

Our hotel was Les Aiglons, which is in Chamonix Sud, and just a five to ten minutes walk from the town centre. Our room overlooked the patio (outside dining) and swimming pool, looking towards Mount Blanc.

We had a standard room with a small balcony - no seating on the balcony but great for airing the boots and looking out. The hotel had many groups and short stay guests. The number of Inghams guests varied - but generally was under ten. We were staying for two weeks and became familiar faces to the staff who were very friendly and helpful - their English was very good, so our poor French was not used very much!

We knew that packed lunches were included - cheese/ham french stick, apple puree or drink, and balisto bar but the afternoon tea (if back by about 5pm) but the glass of local wine with the meal came as a very pleasant surprise. For the packed lunch you needed to confirm the night before, or say that you wanted each day. We did not realise this on the first day, but they rustled it up very quickly in the morning, and even offered a pack lunch for the last day as we did not leave the resort till late.

Chamonix

Chamonix is one of the major mountain resorts in the world. It is a large town, and along with Argentiere, Les Houches and other communities forms a fairly built up area along the Chamonix valley. Although a town and very busy at times, we found Chamonix a pleasant place to stay. There are a large number of shops and services, and if you need any item of equipment associated with mountain activities you will find it here. There are some buildings that are built in the typical Savoyard style. If you want to go out for a drink or a meal there is a vast choice of bars, cafes and restaurants. Eating and drinking is not cheap, but there are many restaurants that offer set meals and bars offering deals at certain times. The river Arve runs through the centre of the town.

Our hotel was located in Chamonix Sud, a few minutes from the Aiguille du Midi lifts, and next to one of the main bus stops!! Five minutes walk from the hotel was the Aiguille du Midi railway station. It was about a ten minute walk into the centre, which made for some very pleasant after dinner strolls.

Transport

The transport system is very well organised, and is excellent for getting to and from walks. Whilst we stayed in Chamonix you were entitled to a guest pass from your hotel, which gave free unlimited use of the buses and trains in the valley.

There is a train service through the valley, our free travel was allowed between Servoz and Vallorcine. There is a hourly service in both directions. All announcements on the train are in English, as well as French and the trains are clean and comfortable. They can become very busy so you may not always be able to find a seat. Servoz is about thirty minutes from Chamonix and Vallorcine thirty-five minutes. There are two stations in Chamonix - the main station, and Aiguille du Midi which is very useful if your hotel is in in Chamonix Sud.

The buses are excellent, with displays showing where you are on the journey and showing the bus stops, this is accompanied by announcements in English. The service we found useful were:

No. 01 - runs from the Prarion Cable Car Station in Les Houches to Le Tour Cable Car Station. This bus service also stops at the Bellevue, Flegere and Grands Montets lifts. This is a very popular service and the bus will be very busy at peak times.

No 02 - runs from Les Bossons cable car station through Chamonix to the Flegere cable car station.

No 21 - runs from Chamonix to the Col des Montets which is on the road between Argentiere and Vallorcine.

All the above buses stop at the Chamonix Sud bus station, as well as the main Chamonix Centre station where public toilets are available. There is a small bus that runs around the town every 10 minutes called "Le Mulet", No. 03 bus goes to the Youth Hostel at Les Pellerins, and in the peak summer weeks No. 24 bus runs to the Brevent cable car station.

Information on the bus and train timetables can be obtained from the Chamonix web site, and leaflets are available in the town.

There is an excellent choice of mountain transport in the Chamonix valley. At the time of writing (2011) all these transport options are covered in the Mont Blanc multipass save for the Bellevue lift from Les Houches. Consider the pass as the return fare to Aiguille du Midi is forty euros each and yet we bought a fourteen day pass which only worked to just over ten euros a day each.

Details of the passes, tariffs and transport timetables can be found on the Compagnie du Mont Blanc website.

Montenvers Train - the train takes you from Chamonix to Montenvers close to the Mer du Glace. The station in Chamonix is close to the main railway station. At Montenvers there is a cable car down to the glacier which is also free to pass holders - but be aware due to the receding glacier there are still a lot of steps to negotiate. A popular walk from Montenvers is the balcony path across to Plan.

Aiguille du Midi - this is one of the most famous and spectacular cable car journeys in Europe. The valley station is in Chamonix and takes you to the top of the Aiguille du Midi at over 3800m. There are wonderful views from here. We recommend that you take the cable car over to Heilbronner in Italy and back. The lift to Heilbronner is not covered by the pass. Because of the altitude there are no walks from the Aiguille du Midi but it is a popular starting point for climbers and skiiers in the winter. There is a "mid station" at Plan which is suitable for use on walks.

Brevent - From Chamonix there is a lift to the summit of the Brevent on the north side of the valley, there is a mid station at Planpraz. There is excellent walking in this area.

Flegere - This lift goes from the village of Les Praz and opens up a similar area to the Brevent lift. From Flegere there is a chair lift up to Index.

Bossons Lift - this is a old fashioned chair lift that takes you up to the bottom of the Bossons Glacier. The chair lift starts in Les Bossons to the west of Chamonix.

Grand Montets - another high altitude cable car going to the summit of the Grand Montets at over 3200m. A superb place to take in the views from the top. There is a mid station at Lognan which serves an area suitable for walkers. The valley station is close to the town of Argentiere.

Balme Lift - this lift starts from the village of Le Tour and opens up the lovely Balme area for walkers, there is a mid station on this lift. The Balme area is also serviced by a lift from Vallorcine, this has a lot shorter season than the other lifts and closes towards the end of August.

Les Houches lifts - there are two lifts from the village, both serve the hillside to the west of the village. The Bellevue lift is popular with Mont Blanc climbers as it connects with the Tramway du Mont Blanc. This lift is not covered by the pass. The other lift which is covered by the pass is the Prarion lift.

Tramway du Mont Blanc - as originally concieved this was to go the summit of Mont Blanc - which proved unrealistic - it stops at the Nic d'Aigle at 2372m, which is still a very impressive feat of engineering. This is a very popular means of transport and at busy times as well as your ticket you will also need to book a place - you can do this at the end station when you get there. This route is covered by the pass. The tramway originates in Saint Gervais but can be joined at stations close to the Bellevue and Prarion lifts.

Walking

The valley offers over 350 km of well maintained hiking trails, with walks for all levels of fitness and ability, with many transport (see above) options to aid getting out and about.

The area to the north of Chamonix is occupied by the Aiguilles Rouge area. This is a super walking area with many paths including the balcony paths of the Grand and Petit Balcon Sud. There are superb views of the Mont Blanc Massif and some pleasant alpine lakes to visit. This area is serviced by the Brevent and Flegere lifts and can be accessed from the east by the Col de Montets road.

The area to the south of Chamonix is occupied by the Mont Blanc massif. Although spectacular to look at and a super area for alpinists, the walking is more limited on this side of the valley. There is good walking to be had though and there are Grand and Petit Balcon Nord paths on this side. This area is serviced by the Grands Montets and Aiguille du Midi lifts, the Montenvers train and the Les Bossons chairlift.

At the western end of the valley is the resort of Les Houches. There are some pleasant walks from here onto the nearby hillsides of Prarion and Mont Lachat, you can also walk up to the Nid d'Aigle by the path at the side of the Bionnassy glacier or by following the tramway. This area is serviced by the Bellvue and Prarion cable cars and the Tramway du Mont Blanc. Also at the western end of the valley is Servoz, there is an extensive area of limestone country above the village, this area is not serviced by lifts and you would require a car to drive up to high level car parks to start the walks.

A lovely area for walking is in the "pastures" of the Balme area, this is on the south side of the valley east of Argentiere above the small village of La Tour. This area is serviced by the Balme lift and also a lift up from Vallorcine.

Vallorcine is on the eastern side of the Col Des Montets road that links the village with the Chamonix valley at Argentiere. It is a quiet place in summer but there are some walks in this area. The village is in France but very close to the border with Switzerland. The village is on the Chamonix train line.