Chamonix
An Alpine Playground for All Seasons
With winter skiing, summer mountaineering, and vibrant local life year-round, Chamonix stands above its alpine neighbors.
Although Chamonix is next to Mont Blanc, the tallest mountain in Europe, and offers world-renowned skiing, it is first and foremost a town—and a charming, cosmopolitan one at that.
“Chamonix is so much more than a ski resort,” says Andy Symington, who has lived in the French township since 2004 and now runs Douglas Elliman’s new office there. “A lot of people who have moved here are in business, not in tourism, so it has everything that you'd expect of a small, contemporary city.”
Whereas purpose-built resort locales like Val D’Isere or Courchevel are very much winter-season driven—“as soon as the last ski lift shuts down, they become very quiet,” Symington says—Chamonix is a year-round town.
Geography plays a key role in advancing this allure. With a population of nearly 9,000 that increases by 100,000 in the ski season and 130,000 in the summer, Chamonix is close to both Switzerland and Italy. This ensures a unique mix of residents and nationalities, whether they’ve come to ski, climb, work, or retire amid the stunning natural beauty and vibrant culture.
Home to the first Winter Olympic Games in 1924, Chamonix is increasingly sought-after as an ideal place to call home. It’s steadily rising home prices and increase in international buyers suggest that the opportunity to live and play among so many natural wonders has become a big draw for many in these fraught, rushed time.
An Off-Piste Paradise
Chamonix features five ski areas, which are suitable for enthusiasts of all skill levels and require only one lift ticket. In particular, Grands Montets and The Aiguille du Midi, are world-renowned for their challenging, virgin terrain. The latter is the stepping-off point for the legendary Vallée Blanche descent, a 20-kilometer-plus off-piste ski route with a vertical drop of more than 2,000 meters.
Chamonix has long appealed to the more adventurous skiers because of its unparalleled access to off-piste skiing. Unlike the groomed pistes, or ski runs, with the compressed snow typical of many resorts (especially those in the U.S.), off-piste areas are prized for their untouched, deeply powdery snow. For diehard skiers, this is the sport at its absolute best.
In Chamonix, it’s more about the mountain than the piste. If you want unending kilometers of groomed piste and a large number of lifts, you won’t find that here. What we do have is a very accessible mountain. Grands Montets, which is the highest and the biggest ski area, offers a huge bowl of ski territory that is steep and extreme in places, but very accessible. It’s not cruising skiing—it’s skiing with character.
Savoyard Staples, Haute Cuisine, and Après-Ski
Chamonix boasts a range of restaurants that attract large numbers from nearby towns and offer inventive alternatives to the standard Savoyard fare of fondue, raclette, and ham.
At the top end are several Michelin-starred (and Michelin-adjacent) restaurants, including Restaurant 'Albert 1er', in the hotel of the same name operated by the same family for more than a century; Akashon, located just steps from the famous Aiguille du Midi cable car; Le Matafan, in the Hôtel Mont-Blanc; and La Couronne, in the village of Argentière.
For those craving après-ski nightlife, Chamonix features a number of spots for cocktails, dancing to live DJs, and late-night bites. Chambre Neuf, renowned for being “the loudest and the best après-ski bar in Chamonix,” and Bar du Moulin are classics. The dramatically vaulting windows at the centrally located La Terrasse look out directly on Mont Blanc and the Arve River below. Further afield, in the village of Les Houches, is Kitsch Inn, which bills itself as “the only retro bar in the Chamonix Valley.”
Fresh Air, Easy Access, and Quality of Life
When asked why he moved here with his wife and two sons, Symington was quick to reply.
“We wanted a change in lifestyles,” he said. “The French way of life is different: it focuses on quality of life, and that more relaxed feel was important to us.”
The fresh air of the mountains and the ease of access to all that Chamonix has to offer add up to a significant improvement in quality of life.
“My commute to the office is a nine-minute walk, rather than an hour on the tube or an hour a half in the car,” he added. “That is a real joy. Everything's there for us, and that's what we love.”
An avid skier himself, Symington is quick to point out how much else is on offer in Chamonix—on and off the mountain. Apart from hiking and more advanced mountaineering, the tennis clubs and golf courses come with stunning views.
“The French don’t like to spend their money on materialistic things,” he said. “They spend their money on good wine, good food and having a good time, and that here means the access to everything that's in the mountains whether it's skiing, hiking or simply enjoying the spectacular views. Whatever floats your boat really. Chamonix has it!”
