Three of us in our early 30s are planning a trip to Chamonix in May. Noticed this is the off season and are wondering why? Seems the weather will be decent and we%26#39;d rather hike than ski. (not hike to the top of the mountain or anything - small easy hikes are more our speed)Any advice about what to do, where to stay (we don%26#39;t have a ton of money but will pay a little more to not go budget all the way). Do we need a rental car or are day trips around the valley easy enough? Flying in to Paris is about $150 cheaper than Geneva...will we end up spending our savings on the train trip to Chamonix?
Any advice, tips, special things to do or see, places to eat (we love eating out, shopping, the markets etc.) would be appreciated.
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Skiers stop skiing sometime in April. It doesn%26#39;t matter one bit how good the skiing is after that, they just stop going. Ski resorts need skiers to pay the bills. So the resorts shut down, more or less, by about the beginning of May. Many of the lifts don%26#39;t reopen again for the summer until sometime in June. The Aiguille du Midi telepherique and the Montenvers train keep running through May, though.
There is still usually snow up high that time of year, so there isn%26#39;t much hiking to do at higher elevations, particularly on north facing slopes. But there%26#39;s still hiking to do lower in the valley. This has been a poor snow year, so things may be open earlier than average.
You shouldn%26#39;t need a car. The guest card your hotel can give you will get you free bus transportion in the valley.
Check http://www.voyages-sncf.com/ for prices of trains from Paris to Cham. I always drive, so I don%26#39;t have personal experience with the trains.
My favorite restaurants in the valley are Atmosphere and l%26#39;Impossible. Atmosphere is in the middle of town right on the river and l%26#39;Impossible is on the south side of town a block or two from the Aiguille du Midi telepherique. The best lunch I%26#39;ve had was at the restaurant at the top of the Aiguille du Midi, le 3842. If you%26#39;ve never been to a Michelin starred restaurant, try Albert 1er, it has two stars and is quite an experience. We had a 10-course degustation menu and were there for four hours one night last June!
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The earlier reply has stated pretty well the state of the lifts. These actually close on the weekend of the 7th May 2006.
I do not know where you are flying from but Paris is 600kms from Chamonix. I have never taken the train but would expect that you will change as least once at Le Feyet. If you drive from Paris most of it is on autoroute (Freeway) but this is charged for. I would expect $45 tolls each way, plus gas and about 6 hours driving each way.
Geneva is 90minutes drive from Chamonix or you can take the public bus service @ 55euros roundtrip.
This season, the snow depth is now picking up and I would not expect to be walking above 2000m in May. There are plenty of walks at the lower elevations and a good public transport system to get you to other towns etc. (Martigny in Switzerland is worth a trip).
As it will be the close season Chamonix is the place to stay and practically any restaurant is OK. The Brasserie National , next to the Post Office is pretty good.
There is a big market every Saturday morning. Food, clothes, pots and pans etc.
The shops are pretty varid but most are sports shops. You should be able to pick up sports clothes in the end of season sales, if you shop around there are real bargins to be had. Best of luck.
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Two of us in our 30%26#39;s are planning a week in Chamonix in June, its our intentions to do an independent 4-day trek into the mountains. Will there still be snow on the higher peaks and does anyone know of a suitable 4 day trek? Will we need to rely on ski lifts? I was hoping not.
Cheers
Antony
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