Chamonix Practicalities

Practical information and Apres Ski guide to Chamonix

Chamonix Practicalities

Chamonix is a large yet attractive town incorporating several satellite villages along a 12-km-long glacial valley. It has a long mountaineering history thanks to its location at the base of Mont Blanc and its bars buzz with happy, modern-day mountain-lovers from 1600 onwards. Yes, there's a Chanel shop but don't expect glamour - locals and regular visitors wear climbing harnesses and carry ABS rucksacks, and there's accommodation and dining to suit all budgets.

Chamonix is a large attractive town incorporating several satellite towns along a 12 km long glacial valley.

Apres Ski in Chamonix

Chamonix is a colourful and lively alpine town with a superb history and architecture - to a lot of skiers, boarders and climbers it's considered the capital of ski holidays. The town’s nightlife is busy.. With 7 clubs, 14 bars, 80 restaurants and over 100 shops.

Best apres-ski

Apres-ski is well deserved in Chamonix and locals party as hard as they ski. MBC, Chambre Neuf, Elevation, Jekyll and LaTerrasse rate among our favourite bars in the ski world.

Bars and Clubs

Le Derapage, tucked away in the centre of town, warms up after 2000. Bar'd Up attracts raucous crowds at Happy Hour. No Escape and The Clubhouse (members only) are trendy new bars, while Le Lapin Agile is an unpretentious wine bar. Also good are Monkey Bar in Chamonix Sud and The Office in Argentiere. Le Choucas nightclub is expensive and has a miniscule dance space but is open late, wl ,ile The Garage is old-school cheese, with a hint of sauciness.

Eating

Mojo's sandwiches and Beluga's cobs are legendary (slap a Beluga sticker on your skis for instant local'kudos). For more substantial meals, Munchies does Asian food, MicroBrewery Chamonix (MBC) does

excellent burgers, Le Caveau is an ancient cattle cellar accessed by a tiny door on Rue du Dr Paccard and Casa Valeria does great pizzas. The Jekyll is a gastro-pub while Maison Carrier (Albert ler), Le Chaudron, La Bergerie and Le National are good for local specialities. Albert ler's Michelin-starred restaurant deserves its two stars, chef Mickey at Le Bistro creates imaginative dishes, while Le Panier des Quatre Saisons might look unremarkable but serves remarkably good local food