Luxury Vacations in Chamonix

Skiing in Chamonix

Chamonix's skiing spans a vertical drop of around 2,807m, and has long drawn advanced and expert skiers. Made up of five separate ski areas (Grands Montets, Brévent-Flégère, Le Tour and Balme, the Vallée Blanche, and Les Houches) each offers its own character and its own view of Mont Blanc.

The Vallée Blanche opens with a 12-mile glacier run best tackled with a guide, while there’s few beginner-friendly slopes in Le Tour, Balme and Les Houches. Freestyle and freeride snowboarders are just as well served, with powder fields and off-piste terrain spread across all five areas.

Summer Vacations in Chamonix

Once the snow melts, Chamonix doesn't slow down, it simply changes character. Meadows come into bloom, and the same mountains that draw skiers all winter turn into terrain for climbing, hiking and biking.

It suits family vacations especially well, particularly with older kids and teens after some adrenaline, like ziplining, kayaking, canyoning, abseiling, paragliding and even summer skiing on the glacier.

Chamonix summer vacations can be just as easily spent unwinding, between hotel pools and spas, mountain lunches, and day trips to Geneva for shopping or an afternoon on the lake.

Après-Ski & Alpine Lifestyle

Days on the slopes end with proper Savoyard cooking: fondue and raclette at La Maison Carrier and Le Chaudron, or tartiflette wherever the smell of melted cheese leads you. For something more polished, Albert 1er's Michelin star pairs refined French cuisine with sweeping views back across the valley.

Après-ski here starts on slope-side terraces the moment the lifts close, then moves into town as the light fades. La Terrasse and Elevation 1904 draw the earlier crowd, while La Folie Douce turns into a full-blown party, complete with dancers, live music and DJ sets running late into the night.