Travel Guide

Places To See

Aiguille du Midi

A jagged pinnacle of rock rising above glaciers, snowfields and rocky crags, the Aiguille du Midi, 8km (5mi) from the domed summit of Mont Blanc, is one of Chamonix's most famous landmarks. If you can handle the height, the panoramic views from the summit shouldn't be missed. The cable car runs year round - book ahead to avoid queueing (tel: 08 92 68 00 67).

Musée Alpin

The town's illustrious Alpine history (the cliffhanging tale of local crystal hunter Jacques Balmat and doctor Michel Gabriel Paccard summiting Mont Blanc for the first time in 1786, the creation of the winter season etc) zooms into focus at the Musée Alpin. Find it inside 19th-century Chamonix Palace, one of three palace hotels built in Chamonix for the 1924 Olympics.

Grotte de la Mer de Glace

Since 1946, the Grotte de la Mer de Glace - an ice cave - has been carved every spring. Work begins in February and takes three months. The interior temperature is between -2°C and -5°C. Look down the slope for last year's cave to see how far the glacier has moved. Be prepared to climb 150 steps to access the cave.

Pre-Departure Information

Weather Information

Chamonix can experience a wide range of weather conditions seasonally and from day to day. Lying in the path of the oceanic westerly airstreams, Chamonix has a moist climate with heavy winter snowfalls and appreciable summer rain.

A weather phenomenon particular to the mountains, the temperature inversion, occurs from autumn until early winter. Stable air produces colder temperatures in the valleys than at higher altitudes. A thick layer of fog often builds which visitors often mistake for overcast conditions. Higher up though, the sun may be bathing the mountains in glistening autumn light.

With the extra heat of summer a huge amount of moisture is released into the air over the Alps, from melting snow. Strong convective air flows and general instability introduced by any nearby low pressure systems will result in the development of large thunderstorms. In these conditions fine, cloudless mornings deteriorate into heavy rain by the afternoon or evening.

History and Culture

Pre-20th Centure History

The recorded history of the Chamonix area goes back to the 11th century, when it was granted to an Italian monastery which by the 13th century had built a priory there. The town became an important commercial centre for the area's agricultural industries. Tourism, in the modern sense of the word, began changing the local economy in the mid-18th century, when the European elites began to popularise the idea of travelling for secular purposes of pleasure, rather than for religious motives. A sign that tourism was becoming more popular was the inauguration in the early 19th century of a guild of tourist guides.

Modern History

By the beginning of the 20th century, the government had begun to weigh in on the administration of the tourism industry. By this time the economy had become quite dependent on both summer tourism and the newer winter tourism. Reflecting this, in 1916 the commune changed its name from Chamonix to Chamonix-Mont-Blanc to reinforce public recognition of the area with Europe's highest peak. Chamonix hosted the inaugural Winter Olympics in 1924, and thus established itself as one of Europe's highest-profile winter resorts. In 1965, the Mont Blanc tunnel opened up traffic to Italy, thus improving accessibility.

Recent History

By the end of the century Chamonix, a town with a resident population of less than 10,000, had enough beds for about 60,000, and visitor numbers averaged about five million annually.

The Mont Blanc tunnel was closed in March 1999 following a devastating fire, which started when a goods lorry carrying flour and margarine burst into flames and quickly spread to nearby vehicles. The blaze burned for over two days and killed 39 people. A massive investigation was launched after the fire had been extinguished. The tunnel's safety systems and emergency procedures were completely overhauled, and after three years of exhaustive repairs, it finally reopened to cars and other vehicles in 2002.