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Car Parking in Chamonix

Discover & book Chamonix car-parks

Updated

In summer you'll probably find it easier to find a space to park your car in Chamonix. In winter, a covered or underground parking spot is the ideal place to leave your vehicle as it will save you all the hassle of digging it out after a snowfall, scraping your windows and trying to start a frozen car. However, parking in ski resorts can be tight and so you’ll more than likely end up leaving your car outside.

Things to remember:

Traffic wardens or “Police Municipal” are regularly seen patrolling the streets on the look out for illegally parked vehicles. Parking in ski resorts can be very problematic especially during high season, so it is always worth reserving a parking space in advance wherever possible to ensure you have a suitable spot to leave your car. Foreign plates do not give you diplomatic immunity from parking fines, so if you do leave your car in an inappropriate spot then you should expect to be ticketed or even towed away and impounded.

Parking fines vary from €11 to €135, with €45 being the norm. If you receive a fine through the post you have three options: throw it away (although the French authorities are cracking down on non-payment of penalties by foreign drivers), pay it, or contest it. If you decide to pay it then the sooner the better as the fine is lowered if paid within 15 days. You can do so either by buying a “timbre amende” from a tabac or tax office, attach it to the ticket and send it off; or by credit card on this website. Should you choose to contest it, then you need to complete the form attached to the fine and send it off to the Police Municipal.

Always pay attention to signs placed around parking areas in resort that may indicate a market or snow clearing taking place the following day. When there is snow to clear, ploughs show very little respect for things in their way and on more than one occasion have been known to scrape up the sides of errant vehicles causing significant damage. If you don’t move your car it will be towed and left elsewhere in resort, generally on the outskirts of town.

A few tips for parking your vehicle:

  • Park facing downhill and turn your wheels towards the kerb to act as a brake.
  • Leave your car in gear with the handbrake off, as it can freeze and you can snap the cabling.
  • Lift the windscreen wipers away from the window so that they don’t stick to the glass and get damaged. If there has been heavy snowfall, clear the snow from your windscreen by hand/brush rather than with your wipers – the weight of the snow can be deceptive and you’ll probably just end up burning out your wiper motor. You certainly don’t want to be without functioning windscreen wipers in winter with all the salt from the roads that sprays over your car.
  • Remember where you parked. This sounds stupid, but it can be very hard to identify your car under a metre of snow.

Car parks

Chamonix Parking
Parking in the centre of town can be notoriously difficult. There are almost 4,000 car parking spaces in Chamonix, but the ease of parking varies considerably during low and high season. All official car parks are marked on the Chamonix Town Map with a letter P and most of the ski areas have a large car park with Brévent being the only one that you have to pay for.

Argentière Parking
There are a number of places to park your car in Argentière, marked on the Argentière Town Map with a letter P. The largest car park is at the bottom of the Les Grands Montets cable car; open all year round, it is free with plenty of spaces. That said, Les Grands Montets ski area is very popular so finding a parking in space in winter can be difficult - especially on a powder day. In the village itself there are five outdoor parking spots; two at the bottom of the main high street on Chemin du Grand Chantey and at the train station, with three more parking areas on the main street, on Place du Marche and by the cemetery. There are also plenty of unofficial parking spaces to be had on Route d'Argentière, before you get to the roundabout for the Télépherique and village; however we do not recommend you park here for a long time as you might be risking a ticket or worse, being towed.

Le Tour Parking
Parking at Le Tour is restricted to one main large car park located at the bottom of the Charamillon bubble lift. When this is full you might be lucky and find a space on one of the little side streets but many of them are too narrow to drive along, let alone park without blocking someone in so take care and be considerate of residents.

Les Houches Parking
There are a number of places where you can park if you are staying in Les Houches, all marked on the Les Houches Town Map. Right in the centre of Les Houches you will find some parking along the street as well as a few car parks. Most of the street parking is in the centre of the village around the church and Mairie (town hall), although check the restrictions as some have a limit to the number of hours you can park and what time of day you are allowed to park in the spaces. All of the outdoor car parks in Les Houches are free of charge and without restriction, although check for signs as on heavy snowfall days you might be required to move your car for snow clearing. The main car parks in Les Houches are at the Bellevue cable car where you will find a large car park with plenty of spaces. The other is at the Prarion bubble where there are a number of car parks for access to the ski lift. In La Maison Neuve you will find a car park situated near to the chairlift, in Les Chavants there is a car park at the top of the Route de la Cote des Chavants. There are also a number of parking spots along the road running from the Prarion lift to the Bellevue cable car. For the Téléski du Tourchet you will find a car park located at the bottom of the poma.

Please check times, dates and fees at the time of parking as these might change.

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Free parking

Free Parking in Chamonix
Free parking in Chamonix has dwindled in recent years in an attempt to get more people to use public transport. However, there are a still a few free outdoor car parks remaining, namely Les Planards (H20).

There are a few other free parking spaces in Chamonix. Down by the train tracks on Chemin des Cristalliers there are a number of marked free parking spaces right next to the track. There are also a few roadside spots behind the train station on Rue Helbronner.

Locals and people working in Chamonix can park for free for 11 hours in every 24 hours in the outdoor car parks of Courmayeur (by the bowling alley), Corzolet, Fond des Gires (by the ice rink and athletic track) and at Tennis, at the back of the tennis courts by the river (D22). Go to the Chamonix Parc Auto office at the Entréves parking in Cham Sud with your Viacham card and your car's carte grise to apply.

Free Parking in Les Houches, Argentière and Le Tour
The outlying villages of Les Houches, Argentière and Le Tour mostly only have free parking, which can usually be found near lift stations and train stations. You might get lucky with roadside parking but check first for restrictions and that large vehicles such as snowploughs and buses can pass you with plenty of room.

Remember that free car parks are not always cleared of snow, so make sure that you have access to a shovel as some days you may have to dig your way out! Also, when snow-clearing does take place you may be required to move your car so don't leave it there for too long during winter.

Please check times, dates and fees at the time of parking as these might change.

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Indoor / Covered parking

Chamonix has three covered car parks offering approximately 700 covered car parking places:

Chamonix Car Parks
Car Park Location Places Notes
Saint-Michel 611 Allée du Recteur Payot 310 Three electric vehicle charging stations. The only floors with lift access are the first, third and fifth floors.
Place du Mont Blanc Ave du Mont Blanc  238 Two electric vehicle charging stations. There are toilets on the first floor.
Entrèves Promenade Marie Paradis, Chamonix Sud 150 Two electric vehicle charging stations.
  • Parking Saint-Michel: Convenient access to the town centre, tourist office, cinema, Espace Tiarraz, ski school meeting place and the Maison de la Montagne.
  • Parking Place du Mont Blanc: Ideal for the sports centre, ice rink, town centre and the Saturday market.
  • Parking Entrèves: Use for Chamonix Sud and bus station.

The first hour is free and then the price rises per hour, with different prices for day and night, (night parking runs from 19:30 to 07:30 and is significantly cheaper).

You can also invest in a weekly, monthly or annual parking pass, valid at all three car parks. This is worth enquiring about at the Mairie if you are bringing a car to Chamonix during the busiest times of the year, as it will work out a lot cheaper than paying per hour. The added bonus is that weekly passes are further discounted on production of a Carte d'Hôte guest card.

Brévent also has covered paid parking, which is really only convenient for accessing the cable car.

Please check times, dates and fees at the time of parking as these might change.

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Outdoor parking

Roadside paid parking is usually more expensive during the day but free overnight from 19:00 to 09:00. It can be found alongside the river on Promenade Marie Paradis and on Avenue Aiguille du Midi.

There are a number of outdoor car parks in Chamonix:

Chamonix Outdoor Car Parks
Car Park Location Places Notes
Corzolet Route du Bouchet 130 First hour is free, electric vehicle charging stations.*
Parking de la Gare Place de la Gare 15 Short term parking, first 30 minutes free, one space for those with reduced mobility.
l'Outa Allée Recteur Payot 60 First 30 minutes free, two spaces for those with reduced mobility.
Grépon Route Blanche 690 summer / 350 winter 14 spaces for those with reduced mobility, height limit in winter: 2m.
Tennis Rue Joseph Vallot 110 First hour is free, electric vehicle charging stations.
Biolay Avenue Cachat le Géant - Free of charge all year.
Poilu Place du Poilu, Rue Whymper 42 First 30 minutes free, two spaces for those with reduced mobility.
Courmayeur Route des Pèlerins 45 First hour is free, electric vehicle charging stations.
Médiathèque Route du Bouchet 45 First hour is free, two spaces for those with reduced mobility.
Lionel Terray Allée du Recteur Payot 42 First hour is free, one space for those with reduced mobility.
Allobroges Rue des Allobroges 72 First hour is free, electric vehicle charging stations*, two spaces for those with reduced mobility. 
Fond des Gires Route du Bouchet 75 First hour is free, three spaces for those with reduced mobility.
Les Planards Chemin du pied du Grépon 800 summer / 200 winter Free of charge all year.

*Discounted rates with yearly subscription.

Argentière Car Parks
Car Park Location Places Notes
Train Station Rue Charlet Straton - Free parking all year round.
La Fis Route de la Fis - Free parking all year round. 

 

Les Houches / Servoz Car Parks
Car Park Location Places Notes
Olca Rue du Mont Blanc - Free parking, max parking: 24h.
Les Houches Town Hall Chemin du Closet - Parking disc required, max parking: 1h.
Tourchet Avenue des Alpages - Free parking, max parking: 24h.
Chavants Allée des Diligences - Free parking, max parking: 24h.
Bellevue Place de la Fruitière - Free parking, max parking: 24h, reserved for lift users only.
Train Station Route de la Gare - Free parking, max parking: 24h.
Le Lac / Train Station (Servoz) Chemin de la Chenalette - Free parking, max parking: 24h.

 

Chamonix Valley Ski Lift Car Parks
Car Park Location Places Notes
Flégère Les Praz - Electric vehicle charging stations.
Brévent Clos des Chablettes - Covered and outdoor spaces, first hour is free, two spaces for those with reduced mobility.
Grands Montets Chemin des Arberons - Free parking all year round.
Le Tour - Balme Village du Tour - Free parking all year round.
Le Prarion (Les Houches) Chemin du Vernay du Fouilly - Free parking all year round, official parking of Tour du Mont-Blanc (stay up to 15 days).
Vallorcine Gare de Vallorcine - Free parking all year round.

Please check times, dates and fees at the time of parking as these might change.

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Disabled parking

Chamonix has a number of disabled parking spaces with disabled access dotted across Chamonix in indoor paid car parks, outdoor paid car parks, outdoor free car parks and a few on street parking spots. All of the indoor paid car parks that have disabled access and disabled parking spaces can be found on the resort map by the white P, with a triangle over it, in a blue box.

All of the car parks located at the bottom of the ski lifts have disabled parking spaces; Le Tour usually has parking attendants in winter to help you find a parking space.

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Motorhome parking

There is only one official parking spot for camper vans and motor homes in Chamonix. 

Located at the Grépon car park you will find this large car park with access to a 'Flot Bleu', for sewage removal, water and an electricity socket. In winter there are height restrictions of 2m from December to mid-March, but none outside of these dates. 

There is an overnight unofficial motor home spot located on Route du Bouchet. Here you can park overnight but there is no access to a 'Flot Bleu' for sewage removal, water or electricity so you will have to move on quite quickly either to the Grépon car park or to a campsite. 

There are other camp sites and caravan/motor home parks across the Chamonix Valley so have a look at our Campsites in Chamonix Page for more information on these. 

Please check times, dates and fees at the time of parking as these might change.

Car Hire in Chamonix