Globalista

Best Hotels

Chamonix offers everything, from the most basic of billets to four-star deluxe, headed by stylish and atmospheric Le Hameau Albert 1er. This is by far the grandest hotel here, set in a park with a Michelin-starred restaurant. It has large rooms and suites, all with open fireplaces and contemporary furniture. In the grounds, Les Fermes are two meticulously restored 18th-century farmhouses with wood-panelled bedrooms and suites. A separate restaurant is less formal and serves local specialities, and the whole mini-hamlet shares a health centre and swimming-pools. L’Auberge du Bois Prin is charming and has a fine restaurant. Grand Hotel des Alpes is new and extremely comfortable.

Also Worth a Look

For a less exalted experience, three-star Hotel Gustavia has fab food and a lively après-ski bar separated from the hotel by a soundproof door (note though, the walls and ceiling aren't soundproofed so you may be able to hear some noise). The Clubhouse is a contemporary boutique hotel inside an art deco mansion. You stay in custom-built bunkhouses, each equipped with rainforest shower, plasma screen TV and Xbox. Nearby Argentière has Hotel Jeu de Paume, a romantic boutique hotel with an outstanding restaurant. If you want to be near to Le Brévent ski area, check into Hotel Mont-Blanc, Chamonix which has old-world charm or the recently renovated Park Hotel Suisse.

Best Chalets

The lovely hameau of Les Chalets de Philippe lies in the suburb of Le Lavencher between Chamonix and Argentière. Theatre impresario Philippe Courtines created homes out of the seven restored barns, all individually designed and looking a bit like rickety dolls’ houses complete with wood panelling, ancient beams, old leather armchairs and granite fireplaces. Chalet Soli is part of Le Hameau Albert 1er (see above), with just two double bedrooms and access to the shared spa and swimming-pool. Chalet Concept One is far removed from the usual alpine kitsch, with its squashy white sofas, Philippe Starck lighting, centrepiece icicle chandelier and enormous windows. The almost-white bedrooms each vivid splashes of a second candy colour. Collineige has one of the largest selections of chalets in the resort, with Chalet Valhalla a spacious residence that fuses traditional Savoyard and contemporary style with palest wood panelling and a galleried living area. Finally, Chalet Brevent is ideal for families; it's midway between the slopes and the town and has a garden and children's playroom.

Best Lunch Spots

Eating on the mountain is expensive and not all that good, although there are some exceptions. La Crèmerie du Glacier, in the woods above the base station of the Lognan cable-car at Argentière, is one of the few restaurants not owned by the lift company. On the mountain at Les Grands Montets, Refuge de Lognan is a fantastic, old, cosy refuge run by a wonderful mountain lady and her son Zian. Plan Joran has good food and is great for alfresco eating. La Bergerie de Planpraz is the recommended eating spot at Brévent, as is La Chavanne at Flégère. Atmospheric Le Robinson is on the cross-country track at Chamonix. At Vallorcine train station in Le Tour ski area, there's a great little local restaurant, L'arret Bougnete, which serves decent local cheese, meat and croutes.

Best Dining Spots

Dining in town is better value than up the mountain, and there are 100 places from which to choose. Michelin-starred restaurant La Maison Carrier serves the finest food. L’Auberge du Bois Prin is also highly recommended, as are Hotel Eden, Atmosphere and Cabane des Praz in Les Praz, which has nice mountain decor complete with mechanical stuffed bears. La Calèche specialises in traditional Savoyard dishes; Le Satsuki has sushi and Alan Peru and Munchies are the places for Asian fusion. Le Panier des Quatre Saisons serves gourmet cuisine at a sensible price, while L’Impossible is fine rural fare in an 18th-century wooden farmhouse in Chamonix Sud. Finally, michelin-starred Bistrot, has good food and an impressive wine cellar.

Best Night on the Town

Chamonix has livelier après-ski than almost any other French resort, although it is fairly male-dominated. Explore rue du Docteur Paccard, which is full of welcoming bars such as Chambre Neuf with a live band and the chic new, expensive No Escape. Le Privilege is on rue du Moulin. Later in the evening La Terrasse, on the main square, has live music downstairs and a chill-out area upstairs. La Cantina is full to bursting on dance nights, and the other bars include Bar’d Up where the saisonnaires hang out. The Micro Brasserie de Chamonix – or MBC – on the road towards Les Praz is a local favourite, The Jekyll has DJs and is on the outskirts of town, and late-nighters end up at Garage in Chamonix Sud, the resort’s biggest nightclub. In Argentière, Office Sports Bar & Ristopub has long been the most popular bar – you can drink, eat ribs and steak, listen to live music, and even stay the night.

Best Recovery Plan

Le Bachal (+33 4 50 53 05 09) is the spa at Le Hameau Albert 1er. Treatments include physiotherapy and some unusual beauty and massage therapies such as Korean relaxation with vibration and stretching, and skull massage with facial drainage. There’s also a swimming-pool and a climbing wall for those with surplus energy.

Best Shops

As befits a resort with so many serious skiers and riders, all the big names in skiwear have shops here, such as Helly Hansen, Oxbow, Patagonia, The North Face, Peak Performance, Rip Curl, and Quiksilver. Technique Extreme is the biggest sportswear outlet in town and Foot Works is a small boot-fitting shop. Unusual among the many sports outlets is Pelle Sandelgard where rustic furniture is made to order.

Best Skiing

This is a high alpine area suited to strong skiers and snowboarders looking to test themselves to the limit. Chamonix is presided over by the Aiguille du Midi, which is reached by cable-car from the south side of town. This is the starting point for the famous Vallée Blanche, a scenic 22km route past gaping crevasses and giant ice boulders all the way down to Chamonix itself. Anyone who can ski parallel can tackle the easiest route, but you must take a guide.

The town’s main skiing is on the opposite side of the valley, reached either from the outskirts of town or by lift at Les Praz up the valley. The linked Le Brévent and La Flégère areas provide scope for intermediate and strong skiers and there's now a new, very fast bubble lift at Le Brévent. Also, Les Houches is very good for family/ intermediate skiing. The real highlight though, starts in Argentière, where a cable-car and a chair take you up to Lognan. From this mid-mountain station, a cable-car (not included in the lift pass) rises to the 3275m Grands Montets, one of the world’s greatest ski mountains. The descents from here through the glaciers are as staggeringly beautiful as they are demanding.

Le Tour, at the head of the valley, suits every standard. There are baby slopes at the bottom, easy, wide slopes for intermediary skiing on the mountain and fantastic, hors-piste skiing off the sides, especially down to Vallorcine where there is a new bubble lift to bring you back to the top of the mountain.

Best Guides and Instructors

ESF (+33 4 50 53 22 57; www.esfchamonix.com) is the traditional choice. Sensation Ski Ecole Internationale (+33 4 50 53 56 46; www.ski-sensation.com/first.php) is more offbeat and Evolution 2 (+33 4 50 55 90 22; www.evolution2-chamonix.com) very popular. Most people who come here choose to hire a mountain guide for at least a day, and these can be booked through Association Internationale des Guides du Mont-Blanc (+33 4 50 53 27 05; www.guides-du-montblanc.com); Chamonix Guiding (www.chamonix-guiding.com) which offers guiding, instruction and mountaincraft courses; Compagnie des Guides de Chamonix (+33 4 50 53 00 88; www.chamonix-guides.com); or various other companies, all offering properly qualified guides. Roland Stieger (+33 4 50 55 84 77) is a charming guide who didn’t learn the sport himself until the age of 20, so understands what it is like not to be born on skis.

Best Childcare

This is not the place to come with babies, small children or even older children – unless they are proficient skiers or boarders. Two ski areas up the mountain, Les Planards and Le Savoy, are set aside for children, but even these are far from easy. Best bet is to hire a private nanny through a tour operator such as Collineige (+44 1483 579242; www.collineige.com). Evolution 2 provides lessons for children from three years old in Chamonix (+33 4 50 55 93 03) and at Argentière (+33 4 50 54 21 36).

Best Insider Tip

Chamonix is only an hour from Geneva airport and within easy reach for the weekend – an ideal destination for the cash-rich and time-poor. Otherwise, sneak off to the old town of Courmayeur in Italy which is a mere 30minute drive through Tunnel du Mount Blanc for a spot of shopping or dinner at La Grolla (+39 0165 869095; www.lagrolla.it) where the speciality is oven-baked, caramelised apple compote and there are great views of Mount Blanc.

Best Avoided

Don’t come here unless you’re a really dedicated skier or snowboarder. The pistes are steep, the off-piste steeper, and the town is hemmed in by high mountains so it doesn’t see a lot of sunlight in mid-winter.

New Sensation

Three-star hotel Les Aiglons reopened in December 2008 after many months of renovation. As well as a restaurant and bar, the hotel now has a new spa, heated outdoor swimming-pool, steam room and sauna in the garden.

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