PLENTY OF CHOICE FOR ALL TASTES AND BUDGETS

For serious skiing gourmets the crucial destination here is the restaurant of the Albert 1er hotel which has superb cooking — rated two-stars by Michelin — and is priced accordingly. Its annexe property La Ferme also has the Maison Carrier restaurant which serves rustic French fare in appropriate surroundings. The cosy little restaurant of the Auberge du Bois Prin is another gastronomic treat — if you can get a table, that is. The Eden at Les Praz and the Jeu de Paume at Lavancher are two other hotels with a good reputation for their food.

In town, L’Atmosphere is a perennial favourite and has a good selection of wines from the Savoie region. L’Impossible , the eighteenth century barn converted into a restaurant by the original extreme skier Sylvain Saudan, has the best ambience in town and serves hearty Savoyarde specialities which incorporate huge quantities of cheese and potato. Le Sarpe in Les Bois is another place with a good atmosphere and reliable Savoyarde food.

Otherwise Chamonix has countless brasseries and cafes as well as a number of ethnic restaurants — you can find Mexican, Spanish, Chinese and even Japanese food in this town.