10 Best Things to Do in Chamonix-Mont-Blanc

The Aiguille du Midi keeps watch over the whole of the Chamonix Valley. Shaped like a jagged dagger, it cuts through the clouds some 3,842 metres above the ski town, crowning a massif that runs along the French-Italian border from Mont Blanc itself.

You won't have to strap on the crampons to conquer this one, though. It's reached by the incredible Téléphérique de l'Aiguille du Midi, which was once the highest cable car in the world. The ride whisks you all the way from the valley bottom to a top station that has panoramic viewing platforms and a museum exhibit about the history of the gondola. Brave folk can also step out onto a glass skywalk that juts over a precipitous ridge.

La Vallée Blanche might just be the most famous off-piste ski run in the world. Starting at the Aiguille du Midi cable car some 3,800 metres up, it drops a whopping 2,000 metres in vertical descent through a bowl in the Chamonix Alps, revealing twisted seracs and hidden sections of the mountains as it goes.

You will need to be a well-honed skier to even think about conquering this one. The ride is long and thigh-burning, requiring good knowledge of deep-snow skiing. You'll also need the moxie to make it onto the Vallée Blanche run in the first place – the access point is over an icy ridge that juts out from the side of the Aiguille du Midi.

The Mer de Glace literally means the "Sea of Ice" in French. It's a valley glacier that's tucked onto the northern side of Mont Blanc, running for just under 5 miles from start to finish. At its deepest point in the middle of the winter, the ice field here can be over 200 metres thick. That makes it the biggest glacier by volume in the whole of France.

A visit to the foot of the Mer de Glace is made possible by the traditional cog train to Montenvers. From there, you can survey the whole of the sea of ice and spot the gaping crevasses that open up across its surface. There's also an amazing ice cave that you can stroll through, to see the glistening walls of frozen water actually inside the glacier itself.

The Argentière - Grands Montets ski area is one of a handful of ski areas that make up the greater Chamonix Valley. It can be accessed on the Lognan cable car out of Argentière town, about 18 minutes on the ski bus from Chamonix proper.

The resort here isn't huge – it counts just 18 miles of marked slopes and only 7 lifts. However, size hardly matters when you can lay claim to one of the most famous freeride zones in the whole of the Alps. That unfolds under the shadow of Aiguille Verte, offering steep descents on mogul-ridden runs for the most advanced off-piste skiers out there.

Les Houches town is everything one would have dreamt of when imagining a true Alpine village. It's one of the first places you come to as you swing up the E25 highway into the Chamonix Valley, where it sits under a large col on the north-western side of Mont Blanc.

Little more than 3 or 4 streets make up the middle of Les Houches. They pack in cosy wine bars and a boulangerie that issues the scents of fresh baguettes into the alpine air each morning. After 5 minutes down the road, you can hop on the Bellevue lift to access the Les Houches ski area – it's considered the most family-friendly option in the region.

Brevent mountain rises on the northern side of the Chamonix Valley, to a summit some 2,525 metres up in the Aiguilles Rouges range. It can be accessed by cable car and by hiking trail, and offers a staging point for dramatic walks in the spring and summer, along with hardcore ski descents in winter.

Those with the salopettes on can hit the gnarly Charles Bozon run, a steep and mogul-heavy piste that offers over 1,500 metres of pure vertical in a single ride. Hikers can look forward to the Bellachat Trail, an 11-mile up-and-back that offers wonderful broadside views of Mont Blanc framed by shimmering alpine tarns.

The Montblanc Tramway is a historic cogwheel train that connects a high refuge at the western end of the Chamonix Valley with the lovely spa town of Saint-Gervais just below. It's a great way to travel into this stunning region, as it rises and rises through pine woods before swinging onto a plateau where you get head-on views of Mont Blanc soaring overhead.

First opened in 1907, the tramway remains the highest-altitude narrow-gauge cog railway in France. In the hiking season, it's the gateway to the famed Mont Blanc royal route for those looking to conquer the highest peak in Western Europe. By winter, it can be used as a sort of ski lift to link Megeve to Les Houches. 

The Vallon de Berard is a long and undeveloped valley and nature reserve that carves through the heart of the Aiguilles Rouges. It's a rare quiet spot in these much-loved mountains, situated on the northern side of Chamonix, directly across from the more famous hiking and skiing havens of Argentière and La Vallée Blanche.

That makes it just about perfect if you're looking to go walking in remote Alpine climbs without the usual ski lifts sprouting from the ground. Trails here weave through butterfly-filled wildflower meadows and up to rocky cirques under the serrated tops of the Aiguille de la Tête Plate and Aiguille de Bérard.

The pass of Col de Balme caps off the end of the Chamonix Valley at its easternmost point. It actually straddles the France-Switzerland border just over 2,190 metres above sea level. At its top, there are hiking paths and ski runs that will let you visit 2 countries in a single day, no car required.

Ski buses link the base station of Col de Balme's ski field with Chamonix central in the winter months. It's certainly one to consider if you're skiing as a mixed group or are learning – the slopes here are some of the easiest around. By summer, there's a consistent flow of hikers through the refuge atop Col de Balme, since the spot sits right on the path of the legendary 110-mile Tour du Mont Blanc circuit.

The Musée des Cristaux, or just the Crystal Museum, is a remarkable exhibit that showcases some of the most amazing examples of mineral rocks from the French Alps and beyond. It's housed in the Espace Tairraz centre in downtown Chamonix, just within a 10-minute walk from the main train station.

From musky fluorites tinged a blood red to mossy agate stones and sparkling quartz, there's really no end to the weird and wonderful crystals on display. In truth, there are close to 2,000 rocks on show, plus whatever's included in the regular touring exhibits dedicated to minerals found in other mountain ranges around the world.