Chamonix

Introducing Chamonix

Grungy and gritty, rough-cut Chamonix is where the serious Alpine action kicks in – with bags of natural panache! This is France’s legendary mountaineering centre where world-class skiers, boarders and climbers push themselves to extremes on Europe’s most challenging, adrenaline-pumping pistes and rock faces. This is the stuff of James Bond movies: yes, that spectacular stunt-riddled ski chase by 007 in The World Is Not Enough (1999) was filmed in Chamonix.

Chamonix is ensnared by scenery so mind-blowingly spectacular it’s practically Himalayan (think deeply crevassed glaciers pointing towards a valley from the icy crown of mighty Mont Blanc). Summer playground since the 18th century and winter one since 1903, it was here that the first Winter Olympics happened in 1924. Since 1965 the world’s highest rock-covered tunnel (2840m) has provided a road link between Chamonix and Courmayeur in Italy.

But there’s no obligation to overdo it: a once-in-a-lifetime-experience of a cable car, a little red mountain train leading to an ice cave carved in a glacier, and a tramway nearby means this incredible overdose of natural magnificence can also be revelled in without barely lifting a finger.

Last updated: Mar 2, 2009