Chamonix in the Summer (Chamonix)

Member Name: very-useful-gal

Product:	Chamonix
Date:	27/10/09 (20 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Acitivites

Disadvantages: Costs

Chamonix is a town in the South of France. It is under the shadow of Mont Blanc and is only a five minute drive to the Mont Blanc tunnel which is the border between France and Italy.

Chamonix is most famous for its skiing but I visited this Summer and discovered that it has a lot more to offer.

There are lots of hotels in Chamonix, many are very central and within easy walking distance of the centre. The town is actually quite large and has a large supermarket, lots of reasonably priced restaurants serving French food such as fondues and raclette. If French food isn't what you fancy there are ltos of pizza restaurants and cafes (even a McDonalds).

Chamonix has more than its fair share of bars as well and Chamonix Sud is the party area of the town where most of the bars and clubs are open until 4 am even in the week.

However we went to Chamonix looking for adventure and did not leave disappointed. There are several compaines offering adventure activites ranging from an hour to days. I booked my activities through Cham adventure, Evolution 2 and Yak and Yeti and all were very helpful and knowledgable.

The activities we booked were well orgainised and included transport through the Mont Blanc Tunnel when necessary (for canyoning and white water rafting). The guides spoke fluent English and group sizes were small.

When we went glacier walking on Mont Blanc and although the trip itself was excellent it is worth noting that in addition to the cost of the trip we had to pay 50 Euros each to travel up the cable car to beign our walk. We also had to pay 17 Euros to hire equipment for the trek.

There are also free activites available- we walked up to the glacier on Mont Blanc (the trek takes about 3 hours) but were rewarded with an ice grotto you can visit which has lots of ice carvings on display (free entry) which take months to make.

Finally, I would say it is also worth taking a trip to Annecy if you are in the area as it is one of the prettiest towns I have seen (but that's another review)!

Summary: For the adventurous!