Read reviews of the best Chamonix activities
If you’ve visited pretty much any ski resort in the Western or Southern Alps, chances are you’re already familiar with an omnipresent, rather bulbous peak which dominates almost every vista.
Find loads of top tips and local insights in our Chamonix Sights Reviews.
It's not often I'm happy to see grey skies and rain but today it is very welcome, as it means that I have the perfect excuse not to leave the couch. This weekend has passed by in a blur and from the fragmented memories I have pieced together I think it has been a blinder.
The Aiguille d'Entreves is similar to the Cosmiques arete in many ways. Its proximity to a cable car, its short and easy access and its popularity.
After a cracking weekend weather wise we had some amazing storms at the beginning of the week – a whole day of thunder & lightning was pretty spectacular but not so good if you'd planned to take a trip up the Aiguille du Midi for the view. As usual it cleared as quickly as it came and the temperatures are back to high 20s with some amazing alpine glow sunsets. Walking around town confirms that the summer tourist season is in full swing, with a real buzz in the shops, cafes & bars.
With a couple of hours to kill today and the weather looking like it could go either way, I decided to get the skinny planks out and go for a cross-country ski round the Bois de Bouchet tracks.
When I was asked if I wanted to join Evolution 2 on their Paret (sledging) evening at Grands Montets I thought 'yeah why not.. how hard can it be, sounds like fun'??!
Everyone who has been in this wonderful valley at some point in the past couple of weeks has been horribly spoilt with Indian summer conditions. It's been absolutely lovely in quiet and peaceful surroundings while the mountains change colour. However we now have a fair whack of rain passing through now, and it seems like the cooling period could begin.
There's been a definite Swiss feel to our adventures recently. After last weekends mountain biking in Verbier, I ventured back into Switzerland on Thursday evening to catch fellow Scots singer Paolo Nutini in concert at the Montreux Jazz festival. The two week long ‘jazz' festival has been around for about 40 years now and in addition to the original jazz theme, a variety of well known artists now come and play their style of music to the crowds. Organisers reckon that as many as 220,000 visitors come each year to watch the various indoor and outdoor concerts although I'm not sure if the unsettled weather we have all experienced recently will have affected numbers? This year in addition to Paolo, the festival attracted popular well known artists including: Van Morrison, Tori Amos, The Pet Shop boys, The Chemical Brothers and Faithless (whose concert we also happened to go to, and who were also excellent!). At about an hour and a half away from Chamonix, Montreux is located on the shores of Lac Léman (Lake Geneva) which provides a spectacular setting and offers great panoramic views of the French Alps.
Some amazing weather has been given to us this week in Chamonix and it has pretty much returned to summer again! Which has been a joy, but not quite warm enough to brave swimming in the lakes and before the sun comes over the mountains the tempratures have been as low as 5 degrees! By mid afternoon though, the temperature has sat around the 25 degree mark - absoloutly brilliant for whatever activity you would come to Cham for this October.
Visiting the local swimming pool isn't usually first on the list of must do's when visiting a holiday resort, but if you come to Chamonix during the summer months you really should make the exception
It's with a mixture of relief and smug selfishness that I read the UK weather reports. Today: "..outbreaks of rain and brisk winds spreading eastwards across all parts". I don't know about you, but I prefer the Chamonix version: "Sunny - clear all day - period of sunshine close to 100%". What better way to enjoy such excellent weather than a visit to our favourite haunt of Le Tour - this time on foot rather than by bike!
The newly opened Skyway Monte Bianco is truly an engineering masterpiece and also the best and most enjoyable way to explore the Mont Blanc Massif without the stress and effort of modern day alpinism. The self proclaimed 8th wonder of the world!
We have had a little more mixed weather this week here in Chamonix, but it’s the right mix; sunny in the mornings and at least dry for the best part of the day while clouds roll in and some epic thunder storms crash and bang through the night, before the morning sun comes along to dry it all off again. At other times in the year all this evening rain would mean that climbing isn’t possible the next day, but it doesn’t take long at all for the walls to dry in the heat that we have been having while the sun is out.
Summer is now nudging into autumn, days are getting a bit shorter, temperatures are getting a bit cooler and the trails are getting a lot, lot quieter.
Some great autumnal weather here in Chamonix but definitely cooler and a lot quieter but still lots to do in this fine valley! Watching the seasons change out here is an amazing time to come out for a little break before the winter madness begins.
The last week has thrown up a mixed bag of weather in Chamonix. Apart from a couple of cloudy days at the beginning of last week, we have had standard late spring weather here with some warm sunny spells, interspersed with late afternoon showers – some of which have brought some impressive thunder and lightning displays. On Sunday night the forecasted rain seemed to have missed us, unfortunately it came eventually in the early hours of the morning just as I was walking the 20 minutes to home from a night in town. This was true Chamonix rain that came down in bucket loads, luckily I had a waterproof, a friend of mine didn't, instead he managed to fashion something out of shopping bags and cling film after a quick nightcap at another friends in town. Whilst the result wasn't 100% Gore-Tex in its waterproofing, it was nonetheless 100% hilarious and kept us entertained for the journey home.
In an attempt to escape the heat of the last few days we decided to head up amongst the shade of the trees until we reached the cool breeze of the high mountains.
A nice warm sunny day today but overall the past few days have been a lot cooler and with a lot of rain passing through it hasn't been great for the parties that were on in the town, or partaking in any form of outdoor activity! The Fete des Guides was in action over the weekend but the crowds that would normally be drawn in with the warmer weather were nowhere to be seen!
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