Chamonix is an absolute mecca for people who love the mountains. It's a great place to visit both in the winter and in the summer.

In the winter you will get to enjoy one of the world's greatest ski areas, with the opportunity to ski amongst some truly amazing mountain scenery. There are 5 main ski areas in the Chamonix Valley: Le Tour , Brévent, Flégère, Grands Montets and the Aiguille du Midi.

Le Tour is at the head of the valley and offers more gentle slopes suitable for beginners and intermediates.

Brévent is accessible from the Chamonix village and offers runs of all levels. It is connected to Flégère by a cable car; you can also access Flégère from the valley. Brévent and Flégère offer runs of all levels, and absolutely spectacular views across the valley to the Mont Blanc massif.

Grands Montets is accessible from Argentiere, a few miles up the valley from Chamonix village. It offers more challenging runs that are suitable for advanced intermediates on up. A cable car takes you to the high point of 3297m from which there are both pistes and also off-piste itineraries.

The Aiguille du Midi cable car takes you from the Chamonix Village at 1030m up to the summit of the Aiguille du Midi at 3842m. The Aiguille du Midi towers above Chamonix and the journey up there is incredible. From the top station you can gaze across to the summit of Mont Blanc at 4810m. The more adventurous can ski down the Mere de Glace glacier, one of Europe's most famous off-piste runs (be sure to do this with a guide unless you are trained in glacier travel as there are exposed crevasses and other risks that you need to be aware of).

In the summer the Chamonix valley is a great location for camping, hiking, mountain biking, paragliding and a broad variety of other sports.