Chamonix Nightlife & Après Ski

 



Chamonix sits at the foot of Mont Blanc in the heart of the French Alps. Chamonix valley is ranked one of the top skiing and boarding resorts in the world. With a huge range of on and off mountain activities, there is something for everyone throughout the year.

Historic Chamonix is a cosmopolitan town full of life and incredible scenery. There are hundreds of shops ranging from great sports shops to funky clothes outlets, countless restaurants, bars, clubs and a casino. There is also the aqua centre with indoor and outdoor pools, a diving area, slides and a solarium, plus tennis & squash courts, ice rink (ice-skating or watch the ice-hockey matches), cinema, the Alpine Museum and music festivals. Local market day in Chamonix is Saturday morning – selling a wide range of local produce.

Bars, Restaurants and Clubs

In Chamonix you are spoilt for choice for bars and restaurants, from lively late night haunts to more sedate places.  Below is by no means an exclusive list, but we have listed those we like, and also some places that just have to get a mention and therefore probably require a visit to do your Chamonix trip justice:

Après ski in Chamonix:

Unlike places like St Anton in Austria, happens off the slopes in the town centre.  The old favourite is Chambre Neuf – 272 Av. Michel Croz, Tel. 04 50 55 89 81 - opposite the SNCF railway station, with happy hour promos, live bands and a noisy cosmopolitan crowd that will happily stay in their ski boots and jackets until late into the evening. Challenging their strong hold though from just across the road is L' Elevation 1904  - which is a cafe / bar and serves breakfasts, lunch and dinner. La Terrace - 43 Place Balmat – tel. 04 50 53 09 95 - (opposite the Post Office) is the other key place to go for lively après ski, kicking off every day at 4pm, and prices it's beer jugs as the clock ticks, 5 euros til 5pm, 6 euros til 6pm!

Les Praz:

If you fancy eating closer to home L’Eden  - 35 Route des Gaudenays, tel. 04 50 53 06 40 - in Les Praz comes highly recommended, as does La Bagna - 337, route des gaudenays, tel. 04 50 53 62 90 - (sister to Alan Peru below) which is situated past Hotel Eden, about 100m up the road on the left.  La Cabane – Route du Golf, tel. 04 50 53 23 27 – is just round the corner and serves traditional cuisine in Scandinavian surrounds, and has a south facing terrace overlooking the golf course.

Bars in Chamonix town centre:

Don’t be put off by the name but ‘The Pub’ is a good place to hang out all year round with friendly, fun staff. For a quieter more sophisticated evening head to The Clubhouse, sister club to Milk & Honey in London, which is open for dining and at other times to members, guests and residents of Chamonix. If you are a member, you can visit during the day and use the laptops to surf and pick up emails.  Or try the Micro Brewery de Chamonix (MBC) and try their homebrew.

Restaurants in Chamonix town centre:

There are plenty of good French, Swiss and Scandinavian restaurants in Chamonix, a good Haute-Savoie one being  La Caleche  - 18 Rue Paccard, tel. 04 50 55 94 68 - serving Raclette and Fondue.

In addition there are more and more ‘modern’ restaurants popping up, including:

Alan Peru - 99, Av. Aiguille du Midi, tel. 04 50 53 16 04 – in the centre of town is very popular with a fusion of modern and asian flavours as is the Swiss run Le Munchie  - 87, Rue des Moulins, tel. 04 50 53 45 41. If you fancy sushi or other Japanese fair, try Saksuki – 286 Rue Joseph Vallot, tel. 04 50 53 21 99 with it’s technologically advanced toilet facilities (trust us and see for yourself!)


Finally, Chamonix has embraced English culture and Britain’s favourite dish is now available at not one, but two Indian restaurants in town: Tigre Tigre - 239, Av. Michel, tel. 04 50 55 33 42 – near the railway station and for takeaways try  L'Annapurna Restaurant Indien which is on Av. Ravanel Le Rouge.

Hmm, where do we start with additional bars in Chamonix, just a few to choose from, so here are a few of the ones we like:

Clubs in Chamonix:

In our opinion, the best parties in town are held just outside Chamonix in Les Gaillands at Hotel Le Vert  - 964 route des Gaillands, tel. 04 50 53 13 58. If you are organised, you can call Chris and team there and say you are with Chamonix All Year, and they may come and pick you up for a small fee, no promises though!  If not, it’s a 15 minute walk along Route des Gaillands and well worth the trek. Voted bar of the season in their year of opening in 2006, Chris and the team get some great DJs playing and pull in a fun crowd, especially at the weekends. Always worth mentioning our name at the bar as well as it has been known to get a cheeky shot thrown in occasionally…

Alternatively, for funky beats and a up for it crowd head for La Cantina, a great venue for live bands and DJ’s.

Also worth a look is the relatively new No Escape – 27 Rue de la Tour, tel. 04 50 93 80 65 - which although it has a restaurant and café, is very much touting itself as a trendy lounge club and is open to 4am and has a resident DJ on the decks most nights during peak season.

Then of course there is Garage Club -200 av l'Aiguille de Midi, tel. 04 50 53 64 49- which has DJs covering just about every type of music, and is where most people end up if they are refusing to go to bed!