Chamonix Ski Area Map

We’ve put together a ski bus and Mont Blanc Express map showing all the main routes across the valley, from Chamonix to Le Tour and Vallorcine in the east. It’s laid out like a metro map, so you can quickly see which lines stop at which ski areas and where the routes overlap. If you’re based in Chamonix town, the map shows at a glance that Chamonix Sud, Chamonix Centre or Place Mont Blanc are your main starting point for most ski bus services.

While the Mont Blanc Express running along the bottom of the map gives you a parallel option for reaching Argentière and beyond. Each route is colour coded by line number and the ski area information panel on the right tells you the number of runs and lifts at each area so you can make a quick call on where to head on any given day. You can download the full map as a PDF.

Ski Resort 1: Brévent-Fléger

If you are going to ski one area during your Chamonix trip, most people would tell you to make it this one. Not because the runs are the most technical, but because of what you are looking at all day. The entire time you are up on Brévent or La Fléger, Mont Blanc is directly in front of you. On a clear day, that view never gets old.

Brévent-Fléger Ability level:

Intermediates will be very comfortable here. Advanced skiers will enjoy the top sections and the off-piste potential. True beginners will find the terrain limited above Planpraz, though there is a gentle beginner area lower down.

Getting to Brévent-Fléger from Chamonix Centre:

• Walk: roughly 10 to 12 minutes to the Brévent gondola base on the western edge of town.

Getting to La Fléger from Chamonix Centre:

• Cable Car: Access via Brévent and take the gondola across the ridge.
• Bus: Ski Bus 1 or Ski Bus 15 to Les Praz de Chamonix, around 10 minutes on the bus.
• Train: By train go one stop to Les Praz on the Mont Blanc Express.

About Brévent-Fléger Ski Area

Brévent and La Fléger are two separate lift systems, but they connect across the ridge, so you can ski between them and treat the whole thing as one area.

Brévent tops out at around 2,525m. The runs here are mostly red and blue with a couple of testing blacks near the summit. The terrain is open and exposed higher up, so wind and whiteout conditions can roll in faster than you expect.

La Fléger at Les Praz is a little more sheltered, with wide runs that catch good morning sun. It is also where the Index chairlift takes you up for some of the better intermediate terrain in the area, and where you can start the classic ski traverse across to Brévent.

Ski Resort 2: Les Grands Montets, Argentière

This is the serious one. If Brévent is about the views, Les Grands Montets is about the mountain. The lifts here climb to 3,275m, making it the highest on-piste skiing in the Chamonix valley, and the terrain up top is a different category entirely. Long, sustained blacks, serious off-piste access, and the kind of scale that takes a moment to process when you first come out of a lift at altitude.

Ability level:

Intermediates upwards. The lower and mid sections work for strong blue-run skiers. The upper mountain is genuinely advanced. Beginners have limited options here.

Getting to Les Grands Montets from Chamonix Centre:

• Bus: Ski Chamonix Sud, direction Argentière. Around 20 to 25 minutes
• Train: Mont Blanc Express from Chamonix Gare to Argentière station, around 12 minutes, then a short walk to the lift base. The train is often the better option in the morning rush as it avoids road traffic

About Les Grands Montets Brévent-Fléger Ski Area:

Argentière sits around 5km up the valley from Chamonix. The lift system has undergone changes in recent years, with significant investment in new infrastructure. Check the current operational status of individual lifts before you plan your day, as works have affected access to some higher sections at various points during recent seasons.

Mid-mountain, there is good cruising terrain on longer reds and blues, which suits confident intermediates well. Higher up, the runs get steeper, and the off-piste options are extensive if you have the experience and conditions to use them. Plan for a full day here. It rewards the time.

Skir Resort 3: Le Tour and Balme

Le Tour is the easy day. That is not a criticism. After a hard day at Grands Montets or a big session on Brévent, Le Tour is exactly what your legs need. It is the sunniest part of the valley; the terrain is wide and forgiving, the queues are shorter, and the whole place has a more relaxed pace. It also connects with Balme on the Swiss side near Vallorcine for a bit more variety.

Ability level: Beginners and lower intermediates will feel most at home here if you start in Le Tour. Stronger skiers use it as an active recovery day or a late-season option when the lower snowline suits it best.

Getting to Le Tour and Balme from Chamonix Centre:

• Bus: Ski 3 for the express route or SKI 15 for the all stops service from Chamonix. All the way to the end of the line at Le Tour. Around 25 to 30 minutes
• Train: Mont Blanc Express and alight at Vallorcine, take the cable car straight up and work your way across to Le Tour. Or if you want to start at Le Tour alight at Montroc and take the bus to the lifts.

About Le Tour and Balme Ski Area:

Le Tour sits at the top of the Chamonix valley and faces broadly south, which means it gets the sun earlier and holds it longer than the shadier sections further down. The top lifts reach around 2,200m, lower than Grands Montets, but the terrain is well-maintained, and the snow quality here is often good in early and late season when higher areas can be icy.

The runs are mostly blues and reds with good width and visibility, ideal for building confidence or enjoying a fast, flowing descent without having to think too hard. There is also a good children’s area and day-care centre at the base, which makes it a family-friendly option in the valley.

Mountain Viewpoint: Aiguille du Midi

The Aiguille du Midi cable car is not a ski resort. It is something else entirely. The cable car leaves from central Chamonix and climbs in two stages to 3,842m, making it one of the highest cable cars in the world and the most dramatic way to gain altitude in the Alps without getting on a plane. If the sky is clear and you have a morning free, this is non-negotiable.

Getting there from Chamonix:

• Walk: roughly 8 to 10 minutes to the cable car base at Place de l’Aiguille du Midi
• No bus needed: The station is central and well signposted

About Aiguille du Midi

The cable car rises from 1,035m at the valley floor to 3,842m at the summit station in around 20 minutes, crossing two stages with a mid-station at Plan de l’Aiguille at 2,317m. The vertical ascent of around 2,807m is one of the largest of any cable car in the world. At the top, there are outdoor terraces, a viewing tunnel carved into the rock, a restaurant, and the Step into the Void glass-floor box built out over the edge of the mountain.

The views from the top are the main event. On a clear day, you can see across the entire Mont Blanc massif, into Italy, into Switzerland, and down the Chamonix valley below you. The summit is shared with serious alpinists who use it as the starting point for high-altitude routes, which adds considerably to the atmosphere.

The Vallée Blanche is also accessed from here, a 20km off-piste glacier descent that is one of the most famous ski runs in the world. It requires a guide and appropriate conditions, but even watching the groups setting off from the ridge is an experience.

The Montenvers Train and the Mer de Glace

About an eight-minute walk from UCPA, next to the main Chamonix station, is a different kind of departure point. The Montenvers is a small red cogwheel railway that has been running since 1908, and it takes you up to one of the most striking sights in the Alps.

Getting there from Chamonix

• Walk: The station sits directly next to the main Chamonix SNCF station, connected by a footbridge
• Reservations: Not needed for the train. Just turn up, buy at the counter, and board

About The Montenvers Train and Glacier experience

The train climbs from Chamonix at 1,035m to the Montenvers station at 1,913m in 20 minutes. At the top, you step out onto a terrace overlooking the Mer de Glace, the largest glacier in France at 7km long and 200m deep. It sits below you in a vast bowl, pale blue-grey and ancient-looking, with the Grandes Jorasses and Les Drus rising behind it.

From the station, a gondola takes you down to the glacier surface. From there, you walk into an ice cave carved by hand each year directly into the glacier itself. The cave has to be re-carved annually because the glacier moves around 70 metres every year. Inside, the ice is a deep blue-green, the light is strange, and it is considerably colder than the station above.

The Glaciorium is an interactive exhibition about the glacier’s history and the effects of climate change on it. The displays show how much the Mer de Glace has retreated over the past century, using markers on the valley wall to show where the ice surface once reached. It is worth 20 to 30 minutes if you have the time.

Opening hours & prices: Winter season runs daily 10am to 4:30pm, last train up at 4pm. Trains run every hour, or every 30 to 20 minutes depending on demand. The full package (train + gondola + cave + exhibitions) costs €49.70 for adults, €42.20 for children aged 5 to 14, and €154 for a family of two adults and two children. The train is only €31.50 return for adults. Included free with the Mont Blanc Unlimited pass. Allow 2 to 3 hours for the full visit.

Photography tip: Sit on the left side of the train on the way up for the best views down the valley.