Chamonix, France is located in the Alps, near Switzerland and Italy. It is a haven for outdoorsy Europeans and a must visit if you are a serious hiker, trail runner, or mountain climber, and wonderful for families too! My family and I stayed a week in Chamonix, France in the summer of 2022, and it was one of the highlights of our Europe trip. London and Paris were awesome, but for a family of outdoorsy-introverts, like mine, they were also overwhelming and a bit stressful. Sandwiching our week to Chamonix between our city visits turned out to be a smart plan. We could decompress after London and rest up for Paris. Read on to check out what our family experiences were in Chamonix!
We stayed at the Le Morgane Hotel. It was wonderful and reminded me of the Hotel Columbia we stayed in while visiting Telluride, Colorado years ago—-it had a similar modern boutique mountain hotel vibe, similar to some of the smaller Ritz Carlton hotels where we have stayed, because the customer service level at Le Morgane was superb. The hotel restaurant was one of my favorite restaurants the entire trip and one of the few places where I was able to find real sourdough bread and the best I have ever had. Every morning, I woke up, went downstairs to the restaurant, had delicious coffee, and ate from the all-you-can-eat buffet breakfast. In June, even in the unseasonably warm weather (Thanks, climate change), the mornings were still crisp. The windows were open, and I could see Mount Blanc from my table. During our week in Chamonix, we ate mostly simple lunches of ham and cheese baguette sandwiches and pizza for dinner, but one night we ate a five course meal at the hotel restaurant. It was Father’s Day and my husband spent the day hiking alone (Penelope and I needed a rest day) and when he came back to the hotel, he was starving. All he wanted for Father’s Day was a delicious meal, and boy, did he get it. The dinner was otherworldly. I ate the most perfect tomato salad I have ever eaten. The dessert had such unique flavors; I don’t even know what it was, some sort of magical concoction of strawberry, meringue and tarragon pesto. Chef’s kiss! I loved this hotel and town so much, I was actually sad to leave because we had to go to Paris. You know it’s goooooood, when you would rather stay in Chamonix than go to Paris. To Paris, people!
My daughter and I also got to visit the spa at Le Morgane, a special treat; an interesting factoid: I used to be a licensed massage therapist and I love going to spas and receiving bodywork, but I wasn’t a fan of the spa room painted red, yet it was a relaxing massage. Each day we went on a different gondola ride and bought a four-day ticket from Mont-Blanc Natural Resort, and hiking to Lac Blue was my favorite. It was so beautiful and felt so refreshing to put my tired feet in the FREEZING glacial waters. There was even a little cafe at the top! Thank God, because we had run out of water.
We went to Italy one day also! Sadly, we didn’t get our passports stamped, but we spent the afternoon in Italy and had a nice Italian lunch and did all of that through several gondola rides. It was pretty cool.
I love hiking, and being outdoors is the reason for coming to Chamonix, but one of the most precious memories for me was attending Sunday Mass at the local Catholic Church, St. Michel. It happened to be mass where the local children were receiving their First Communion and it was really special to witness. I didn’t understand a single word, but I didn’t have to be fluent in French to feel the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Lastly, two food places YOU MUST GO TO: The Dainty Slow Dough Pizza (it is Sourdough pizza, need I say more??) and La Mer de Glaces (I originally asked for the chocolate sorbet, trying to keep my dairy and calorie consumption down, and the female proprietor just shook her head and said that I needed something else, lol). Lord, was she right, the Ferrero Rocher dark chocolate gelato was a magical healing balm for my soul. Do not worry about calories when you are on vacation, or really, ever.
One thing that was sad about visiting the area was the stark reality of climate change. The glaciers in the area are severely receding. Click here to read more about the science of the receding glaciers.
All and all it was an extremely relaxing, but adventurous week in Chamonix and I hope I get the chance to come back to Chamonix and visit again one day!
Read more: Things To Do in Chamonix, FranceI was not paid or compensated in any way for this post these are my own, honest opinions. If I ever get paid to post about a trip, I will still always share my honest opinions.
