Destination Guide : Chamonix Valley
Les Houches, Servoz and Vallorcine make up the Chamonix Valley, along with Chamonix Town/Argentiere. Together all four communes offer a wealth of activities, sightseeing and things to do, whether you’re mad for skiing and boarding, crazy about climbing and mountain biking, or just keen to take in the fresh air and views at the foot of the Mont Blanc massif.
Servoz is the gateway to the Chamonix Valley and sits in a sunny part of the Valley halfway up the road on stilts. Tempting you with amazing panoramas of the Aiguilles, this laid back little village offers a traditional mountain holiday in an authentic style. Being a little further down the Valley, your Mountain Drop Offs transfer time from Geneva airport is around 45 minutes.
Next stop is Les Houches. This family-orientated village is a ski resort in its own right and offers a satisfying combination of activities, amenities and tranquillity. 
On bad mountain weather days, dropping off the piste to ski through the pine trees in Les Houches can’t be beaten. Youngsters will love the sunny, gentle learner slopes and speed demons will be jumping in their ski boots at the thought of skiing the famous ‘Verte des Houches’ piste. Used for professional World Cup competitions such as the Kandahar and Junior World Championships, the piste is even included in the Annecy 2018 Winter Olympic bid.
Apres-ski is a laidback affair in Les Houches, with just enough bars and restaurants to keep you amused. There is also a outdoor ski rink in winter which is free to use, night skiing every Thursday during the school holidays on the Tourchet piste in the village centre, an indoor climbing wall and lots of snowshoeing and cross country ski routes on the Prarion plateau.
Les Houches really comes into its own in the summer as the start or finish point of the Tour Mont Blanc itinerary
, the walking tour which takes you around the Mont Blanc Massif, most popularly starting from Les Houches, passing through Italy and Switzerland before heading back into the Chamonix Valley. The Les Houches mountains offer some of the best walking in the valley, with alpine pastures, mountain farms and hamlets to explore.
Passing Chamonix and its communes of Les Praz and Argentiere, you can then take the road up and over the col des Montets into the last village in the Chamonix Valley, Vallorcine. Tucked into the mountains near the Swiss border, Vallorcine proudly retains the most laid back, natural Savoyard feel in the whole of the Chamonix Valley, with a flora and fauna that is a real delight to discover in winter and summer.
Vallorcine offers direct access to the pistes of the Le Tour/Balme ski area with the bubble lift and there is a range of cross country skiing pistes around the village. 
You can also have a go a ski joering in Vallorcine, which is basically skiing with a horse pulling you along. Over the col in Le Tour you can enjoy some time sledging with our gorgeous furry friends the husky dogs. If all that hasn’t tired you out, there is a free open-air ice rink that the whole family will enjoy in front of the SNCF train station.
Life happens at an altogether different pace in Vallorcine, but there are just enough amenities to make it practical and not too many to turn it into a full-on commercial resort. You must visit the village Post Office-cum-bar, the teashop, the deli selling Savoyard cheeses and cooked meats and the local butchers that is renowned as the best in the Chamonix valley. You can also hire skis and snowboards from the Sanglard sports shop located in the Residence Vallorcine Mont Blanc.
In summer, Vallorcine has become a Mecca for mountain bikers, with the super-steep purpose-built down hill run, complete with modules to really test your biking skills. 
There is also a wide choice of sport climbing and bouldering to be done around Vallorcine and you even go canyoning in Barberine right on the Swiss border. If you prefer to keep your feet on the ground, you will love the walking, especially around the Aiguilles Rouges nature reserve of the col des Montets and the pretty hamlet of Trelechamp. Vallorcine really is the Chamonix Valley’s best-kept secret…just don’t tell everyone.
Chamonix Valley Top Tips
• Visit the ‘Maison de l’Alpage’ in Servoz village – a well put together exhibition on alpine life
• Visit the St Bernard dog breeding kennels just outside Servoz village
• Go night skiing in Les Houches and enjoy music, vin chaud and even flame descents by the ski school instructors – all for free (every Thurs during school hols)
• Ski the same lines as skiing legends Bode Miller and Alberto Tomba on the impressive ‘Verte des Houches’ black run in Les Houches
• Head to Les Houches for the best mountain restaurants in the Chamonix Valley. Our number one choice is the Vieilles Luges hidden in the forest of the ski area
• Book an Evolution 2 guide and go snowshoeing in the Aiguilles Rouges nature reserve from the col des Montets
• Take the train all the way through the Chamonix Valley to Vallorcine and meander along the short riverside walk to eat at La Ferme des Trois Ours restaurant and farm shop (the train is free from Servoz to Vallorcine with a carte d’hote card given to you by your accommodation provider)
• Ski down the Foret Verte piste from Le Tour through the pine trees to Vallorcine village and have lunch at L’Arret Bougnete at the train station, before catching the lift back up
• Go walking around the waterfalls of Barberine and visit the ‘Maison de Barberine’ countryside museum
Websites for the Chamonix Valley
Servoz tourist information – find out more about the village at the gateway to the Chamonix Valley.
Les Houches official website – a complete online guide to what’s on and amenities in Les Houches.
Welcome to Vallorcine – discover all you need to know about the Chamonix Valley’s best-kept secret.
Chamonix town and Valley guide – an up to date guide to visiting Chamonix in English.
Chamonix what’s on – news, what to do and where to be – all the goings on in the Chamonix Valley.
