Chamonix or Courchevel for Christmas and New Year?

If you have been to Bukovel land and are looking for something similar in Europe, go ahead and choose the ski resorts of Chamonix and Courchevel!

Chamonix or Courchevel - Which to Choose?

Both villages are ski resorts in the French Alps. For skiing fans, it's paradise! But ordinary travelers will find plenty to do here too)

We visited the most beautiful places in 2023 / 2024 and describe them in detail below. For now, here is a map of the Chamonix region to illustrate how many extra sights and beautiful spots there are!

It's all thanks to Mont Blanc) You can see it from the French side, or you can drive through the tunnel and admire Mont Blanc from the Italian side! In other words, Chamonix is an ideal choice for Christmas and New Year! You can come to Chamonix in the French Alps from December 23 to January 2! You will definitely find something to see and do here! For plenty of information about the local attractions, see the official website montblancnaturalresort.com.

Chamonix ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - the French Alps and a copy of Ukraine's Bukovel!

The winter season here starts on December 16, and there is already snow everywhere in the mountains. At Christmas there may be no snow in the village of Chamonix itself, but plenty of lifts take you up to the summits, where there is a huge amount of it! The ideal place to stay is right in the center of the village: the main pedestrian street Rue du Dr Paccard and the small streets leading off it. There are many boutiques and shops with delicious French delicacies and wine! You can easily spend 2 hours or more strolling around the center) Although there are few Christmas decorations here... In sunny Spain, where people have only a vague idea about New Year, some towns have more of them) For example, Málaga, Marbella and Estepona - everything was glowing on New Year's Eve 2024!

Within walking distance there are 2 main cable cars and 1 cog railway. Each of them is a 15-minute walk from the center. Below are walking routes for two days in Chamonix, without skiing. For some of them you can simply show up and buy tickets on the spot, while for others you need to book online through the official website montblancnaturalresort.com. Note that there are many lifts in Chamonix, but the ones listed below are those with viewing points, i.e. real attractions where there is something to see)

1. Montenvers - Mer de Glace  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - a cog railway climbs to the glacier at an altitude of 1900 m. A round trip costs 30 euros per adult. Tickets must be booked at least a day in advance. The starting point is next to the main Chamonix-Mont-Blanc railway station - coordinates 45° 55' 22.17" N, 6° 52' 32.18" E. If you stand facing the station, there will be a bridge on your left; cross it and you will see a sign for the cog train Gare Chamonix Train du Montenvers. The ride to the top takes 20 minutes without stops - it's an express. Trains depart at the time shown on your ticket. You can return on the same train, but it only waits 10 minutes at the terminus. Ten minutes at the top is quite enough to take photos. You can also return on any later train, up to and including 4:30 pm. At the top there is a glacier and a cave with sculptures, but in December 2023 everything was closed. So we took photos for 10 minutes and went back down. Please note that you buy a ticket to board the train, but seats cannot be guaranteed! Few people want to ride in the morning, so it's best to do all such activities between 9 and 11 am. We recommend going here - the views along the way and at the end are very beautiful! Important: on the way up, sit on the left side of the train; on the way down, on the right, so you can see all the views. While the train is moving you can open the windows and take photos and videos! The whole trip takes 1 hour if you go up and down on the same train.
2. Toboggan run ⭐⭐ - After coming down, you can visit the toboggan run (ticket office: chamonix luge prices), which is 100 m from the railway station. The run is 1500 m long, and because of heavy traffic the "sleds" move slowly... it can't compare with the toboggan runs in Bukovel and Austria. But if you have never tried one, you can start with this attraction in the Chamonix Amusement Park. The wait in the queue is 20-30 minutes, and the ride lasts 5 minutes. Two people can ride in one sled - 9 euros per sled.

Chamonix has both paid and free car parks, and there are enough spaces for everyone even in high season and on holidays.

1. Aiguille du Midi ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - an Alpine peak at 3800 m. Booking tickets at least 1 day ahead is a must here. Getting on this cable car on the same day is almost impossible - by noon there are no tickets left for the whole day. You can book Aiguille du Midi tickets on the website or buy them at the ticket office of Compagnie du Mont Blanc (Téléphérique Aiguille du Midi) for the next day. The price for an adult is 75 euros for the round trip, with 1 transfer. For breathtaking views, this is the best attraction and viewing platform in Chamonix! You absolutely must come here... Keep in mind that when it's +2 down in the valley, it's -9 at the top with a very strong wind! All this is nicely complemented by the altitude of 3800 m, i.e. a lack of oxygen). Aiguille du Midi  is one of the high peaks of Mont Blanc. To keep your visit from being spoiled, bear in mind a few rules:

• bring warm clothes
• book your tickets in advance
• go up as early in the morning as possible. After 12 o'clock the summit may be covered by clouds! And after 12 the flow of tourists coming down begins, which creates a queue for the descent that is completely absent in the first half of the day.
• the cable car goes up from 8 am to 3 pm, every 10 minutes, and down every 10 minutes until 4:30 pm inclusive. But take the queue into account if you come back at the end of the day...
• go straight to the summit and visit the intermediate station on the way back. At the intermediate station you can take nice full-length photos with a view of part of the Chamonix valley, and you can visit a French restaurant (the views are not very panoramic, but they are there)
• the Aiguille du Midi summit looks like a termite mound! Tunnels are dug through the rock to several viewing platforms facing different directions. There is also a staircase up to a panoramic view of the whole Chamonix valley. But you won't be able to take full-length photos there because the railing gets in the way) An elevator goes to the very top, which also has a panorama of the whole valley, and in a small glass room you can take beautiful photos. But the queue for this glass room is about 1 hour!
• allow 2-3 hours for the visit; that's a quick one, without visiting the restaurant, without photos in the glass room and with the ascent made in the first half of the day... If you go up after 11 am or noon, double the time)) because of the queues.

Le Brévent ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - a 2500 m summit reached by the Le Brévent cable car, Chamonix. A round trip costs 38.5 euros, with one transfer. No ticket booking is required. The cable car from Chamonix to Planpraz runs continuously without stopping, and during the transfer you have to wait about 20 minutes for the second cabin. At the very top of Brévent there is a panoramic cafe / restaurant, Le Panoramic! Until noon there are still free tables) In the cafe you can have hot food and a hot mulled wine, but most importantly - the views from this restaurant!!! The visit takes 1.5-2 hours without the restaurant; the restaurant adds another 1-1.5 hours)

Tramway du Mont Blanc  ⭐⭐ - a cog railway up Mont Blanc. An adult ticket costs 34 euros round trip. If you have a ticket for 11 but arrived early, you can take the 10 o'clock train, just not later! The train runs once an hour. Tickets should be bought in advance on the same website as the Chamonix cable cars. The villages of Le Fayet  and Saint Gervais, where the train departs from, are a 30-minute drive from the center of Chamonix.

• Le Fayet - the starting and finishing station of the Mont Blanc train. The parking situation is the same as at Saint Gervais station, but from here you have to take bus B1 to get to the free car park.
• Tramway du Mont Blanc - Gare de Saint Gervais - the second departure station of the Mont Blanc cog train, in Saint Gervais. The car park here is very small and paid. Parking is also limited to 90 minutes, which is not enough for a trip up Mont Blanc. You can get on and off at any station.
• Saints Gervais-Télécabine Le Bettex - next to this cable car there is a large free car park. Right there under the bridge, shuttle buses run on a circular route every 15 minutes. To get to the Mont Blanc cog railway station (TMB), you need bus B1. All shuttle buses are free!

There are about 5 stops along the way. The train goes veeeery slowly and stands for 5-10 minutes at each station... In the end the ride takes 1 hour, and it doesn't even take you to a summit - only to Nid d'Aigle (2300 m altitude, while Mont Blanc is 4800 m)!!! So we don't recommend this cog railway. If you do go, you can get off at the last stop and walk to the penultimate station, Col de Voza, along a snowy path. You will definitely make it within an hour and can leave on the train that arrives an hour later. Otherwise, the train you arrived on stands for 5 minutes and goes back down...

1. Courchevel ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - a much-hyped ski resort, one of the Three Valleys!

In fact, there are the Three Valleys - Courchevel, Méribel and Val Thorens. Nearby you can also visit the La Plagne resort. These are all ski resorts. They suit skiers better than sightseeing travelers. There are plenty of lifts, but they all lead to ski runs, not to viewpoints and summits with a view. You can see each valley from the road by driving up as far as possible.

The closest thing to a festive atmosphere is Courchevel 1850. It has shops and restaurants, although walking up and down its streets is not that convenient... All the other resorts are places for skiing and snowboarding!!!

If you still have to choose where to spend New Year and Christmas, you can celebrate Christmas in Chamonix and go to Courchevel 1850 for New Year's Eve to enjoy the local fireworks and a fairy-tale atmosphere!

If you are choosing a resort for skiing, the best are Courchevel or Val Thorens. Méribel and La Plagne are inferior to them in the beauty of their views)