Alpine Museum / Musee Alpine
by firechick
Hidden to the side off the street which leads to the train station (pedestrian zone) is the Alpine Museum. This has a history of alpinism and mountaineering in Chamonix as well as a geological history of the region.
La Résidence
avenue Michel Croz
74400 Chamonix
Tel + 33( 0)4 50 53 25 93
It is open mainly in tourist season (ie summer and winters) in the afternoons only - 2pm - 7pm.
Some of the things you can find out about include:
1741 - The first two explorers in the "Chamouny Valley" were Englishmen Windham & Pococke. The publicity which following their climb up Montenvers started the tourism into the valley.
1786 - Michel-Gabriel Paccard and Jaques Balmat completed the first ever ascent of Mont Blanc on the evening of August 8th.
1803 - Marie Paradis was the first woman to Mont Blanc (mind you carried up in a chair!) in 1803 followed by Henriette d'Angeville in 1838
1860 - the Duchy of Savoy becomes French
1901 - first railway into Chamonix brings in more tourists.
1908 - railway built from Chamonix to Montenvers (Mer de Glace) - original journey by steam train took 55 minutes (now takes 20).
1924 - first ever winter Olympic games held in Chamonix
These tales and more are found described in the museum.
Paragliding
by Manara
The Chamonix valley is a great place for paragliding. For those who want to attend a paragliding school, buy equipment or ask for expert advice there are at least three organizations (maybe more) where they can find them.
Those who are not paragliders but want to savour the experience can try a tandem flight. All the paragliding schools listed here offer this opportunity.
LES AILES DU MONT BLANC is a school run by the world paragliding champion Sandie Cochepin. Address: 24 Avenue de la Plage, Chamonix.
ANTECIMES SUMMIT PARAPENTE is a paragliding school that operates since 1987.
Another organization is AD HAUT VOL PARAPENTE. Address: 451 rue du Lyret, Chamonix.
Fly over the mountains on a gossamer wing......
by firechick
Several mountain guide offices around town offer tandem parapenting rides. This is an amazing and exciting activity to try, and is not about falling - it's all about floating - expect between 45 minutes to one hour (or even more) of 'air time' depending on the thermals, where you take off from and what you pay.
Prices are not super cheap (over 100 euros to start), but it's definitely a unique experience if you have the money and desire to try something different. This is a popular birthday gift around town for that reason. Also, I have observed that as a girl (with a guy pilot leading your tandem flight) you may mysteriously get a bit more 'air time' than your guy friends do - take advantage girls! :-)
Depending on your fitness level and how much you are willing to pay, there are various mountains from which you can take off on a tandem flight. Common are Le Brevent and L'Aiguille du Midi (accessible via lifts) and less common are Mt Blanc du Tacul or Mont Blanc itself (requires full-on mountain climbing experience to get up there, but the descent is a heck of a lot easier!).
The person you are flying with must be certified (this is a long course) and the best of these outfits are run by mountain guides. Obviously this is also a weather-dependent activity and though the pilots are well trained, the activity is not without risk, though tandem parapenting accidents are rare.
Good Cheap Eats for those on a Budget!
by firechick about Various
Mostly the restaurants in town center are more expensive than the budget of the average seasonaire or snowboarder visiting Cham on a school holiday break.
To save more money for lift passes, the following are some places that serve decent and filling food for reasonable prices. I will not include here any giant conglomerate chain restaurants which rape rain forests to grow more cows for mass consumption and has teams of scientists paid to engineer their food's odors and tastes in order to keep you addicted.... Belouga
Midnight Express
Poco Loco
Mojo's
-- these 4 are all sandwich shops on Rue du Docteur Paccard which is in the town center. Midnight and Poco Loco stay open very late.
Belouga is the closest to the only traffic light in town and near some snowboard/mountain bike shops at the 'far' end of the street. Midnight and Poco Loco are closer to town center and basically within a few doors of each other. Mojos is across from the big fountain in the town square (across from the post office).
Which is best ?- It's a personal matter really - try all and find the one you like best. All serve a variety of cold or hot sandwiches, have vegetarian options and serve to go. Mojo's is the healthy option (no fried foods). Poco Loco has a small indoor seating area. This is 'faster' food but not 'fast' -- ie hot food is cooked when you order - they are served within a short wait.
You should be able to eat for around €5-7 with drink and frites (fries) and the sandwiches are very big and filling at all 4.
Other options for saving money are to buy a baguette at one of the many bakeries in town, and shop for some cheese or ham to fill it and pick up a piece of fruit or bag of chips. Several mini grocery stores are found all over the center of Chamonix - Casino and Super U are the 2 chains.
Local bakeries offer small quiches with various fillings, or small sandwiches at lunch time. They usually can heat up them up on request. I have never heard of a bad bakery in Chamonix, though of course everyone has their favorites by the end of the season.
There are many to choose from in town center (Rue Dr Paccard), near the tourist office and near the big roundabout to Argentiere.
In Argentiere there are 2 bakeries and a grocery store all off the main street in town (the grocery store is behind the line of restaurants/bars which include Le Stone Bar).
Planpraz to Chalet de la Flégère
by travelfrosch
Here's another wonderful hike, this time on the Grand Balcon Sud. Take a local train (or walk) to Les Praz de Chamonix. Board the Le Brévent gondola and get off at the intermediate stop of Planpraz. Follow the signs to La Flégère. Allow for a 2 hour moderate hike. Check the website below for additional details. As always, bring water, waterproof clothing, and a map.
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Lac bleu, Chamonix
Mont Blanc seen from Aiguille du Midi
Cog wheel train
