Stadtzentrum - Kamin, Wlan, im Herzen der französischen Alpen

The flat is tucked back from the main street, facing the beautiful glacially fed Arve river. The private balcony has views of Mont Blanc and catches the morning and early afternoon sun. Includes a fire place and wireless internet. Private ski locker.

We have adjusted our cleaning and welcome procedures to conform with known best practices to control Covid-19.

Sleeps 6 comfortably. There are 2 Bedrooms (one master double bed and a family bedroom with 2 bunks), one separate WC, a shower room and a full bath/shower + 2nd WC en suite to the family bedroom. There is a sofa bed in the living room.

You will be only a 5 minute walk to the popular Aiguille du Midi lift (and the famous Vallée Blanche ski run) or to the Brèvent lift station.

You are 250m from the Cham Bus stop which brings you quickly to all the hamlets up and down the Chamonix valley, and a short 5 minute walk to the nearest train station.

The Aiguille du Midi SNCF train stop is the closest, or the Chamonix main train station is an easy few minutes from the town center location of this apartment.

Unlike other apartments in Chamonix town centre, the Residence Anna Bouclier is a small residence of 4 total apartments and is very quiet. Our flat is located behind the high street and is facing a garden, the river and Mont Blanc, with double glazed windows and metre-thick stone walls. You will not need to worry about getting good night's sleep before your ski, hike or climb.

The glacial river keeps the apartment cool in the summer, and the enclosed cast iron and glass fireplace helps keeps it toasty warm and inviting during colder weather.

Skiing - need we say more ? Chamonix offers runs to challenge every level of skier from the beginner to the expert. It is best for skiers of a moderate ability and higher, though certainly there are several ski hills for beginners (and one of the owners learned to ski in Chamonix as an adult and is now a ski instructor !).

The closest ski stations to the flat is the Brèvent-Flégère area, which is walking distance. The off piste high mountain runs off of the Aiguille du Midi are also walking distance (hiring a mountain guide highly recommended before attempting these routes). The beginner/intermediate ski areas of the Planards and the Savoy are also a short jaunt from the flat. We are close to several ski rental outlets.

The free Chamonix ski bus or the SNCF trains will take you quickly to the other ski areas of Chamonix, and the main bus stop is only a hundred metres from the flat, near the Office of Tourism. These ski areas are:

Domain de Balme (Le Tour) is at the Swiss border end of the valley - with plenty of great wide blue and red pistes and lovely rolling off piste terrain. The groomed runs are great for carving and if you are trained in avalanche awareness, the off piste is heaven. The off piste is not avalanche controlled (anywhere in France) therefore a mountain guide or ski instructor are recommended to bring you off piste safely if you are not trained up on this. If you want to travel off piste on a glacier, a mountain guide is required, otherwise you can book a ski instructor to go off piste safely.

Le Brèvent - Flégère, on the sunny side of the valley - lots of rolling and steep off piste and easy couloirs to test your mettle along side a gentle green beginners area and many wide intermediate pistes. An air bag to practice jumps is available at Le Brèvent. The Flégère lift can be accessed via the liaison lift. If you choose to descend the Flégère black run to the valley rather than return to the Brévent, a bus will zip you back to town center in a few minutes.

Les Grands Montets - the crown jewel of Chamonix off piste challenges rests in this ski area. This ski station boasts challenging intermediate runs and expert runs (this area has no green runs so is not recommended for beginners or timid intermediates) and is generally steep. The blue runs at this area may be labelled red runs in other places ! The off piste at the Grands Montets is what it is all about though, and many runs are left un-groomed but avalanche controlled so that you can build your off piste abilities without worry. Bumps abound in times without frequent snowfall, and when there is fresh, the powder runs are outstanding.

You also can access many off piste glaciated ski tours and the famous off-piste 'Pas de Chevre' itinerary from this ski hill. These are not avalanche controlled and therefore a mountain guide is highly recommended for anyone not fully trained and qualified in glacier travel and avalanche awareness and search and rescue techniques. In fact, you will be out of fashion on this ski hill if you do not carry (and know how to use) your avalanche transceiver, shovel and probe. Fat skis will feel at home here.

Hikers and trail runners: Local book stores (one just 3 doors down the street from the flat) sell copies of trail guides to the region. Using buses, trains and lifts you can access a huge variety of trails without need for a car.

Hikes can be steep or flat, long or short as desired. Even with small children or the elderly you can for example go by cable car and chair lift for a picnic in a mountain meadow at the top of the Col de Balme with beautiful views of the entire valley, requiring very little physical effort (about 5 minutes walk on a flat trail).

Or, for the more adventurous, a day's hike and picnic on the Mer de Glace glacier may appeal (mountain guide references available upon request).

Overnight hikes are possible using one of the numerous mountain refuges (with beds and meal service!) without the need for a tent and large backpack.

Hiking in the early morning or late evening in the high mountains, you can often see marmots or ibex and beautiful flowers are nearly always in bloom. Robert is a fully qualified hiking guide (IML) and you can speak with him about arranging guided hikes.

Rock Climbing, Trail running, Mountain Biking, Paragliding: What better place to practice these more so-called 'extreme' sports than Chamonix?

In summer time the mountains offer countless routes of more and less technical nature, from bolted sport climbs at Les Gaillands on to multi-day full alpine climbs such as routes in the Aiguilles Rouges. For simple cragging, many guide books are available. For bigger mountain routes hiring a mountain guide is recommended.

Mountain bikers will find the Chamonix valley steep and challenging. Most lifts will accommodate bikes for those into downhill (Les Houches is popular).

Paragliding fans can find companies set up to take you on tandem jumps as well as courses for learning to pilot the wing yourself!

Practice ice climbing in the summer by using the giant crevasses of the Mer de Glace. Equipment rental or purchase is available for these sports at dozens of stores in town.

We enjoy many of these sports ourselves, and are happy to answer questions or point you in the right direction to get started.

Golf, Swimming, Horse Riding:
Other activities available in the valley are a high quality 18 hole golf course (designed by Trent Jones Sr) with views of the Mont Blanc Massif; horse riding in Argentiere on mountain trails; swimming at the indoor or outdoor pool in the centre of town at the Richard Bozon sports centre; going river rafting or body surfing on the Arve river; indoor rock climbing at the gym in Les Houches; and organized activities for children during the school holiday season (creches).

Trail and mountain running are very popular now, culminating in the UTMB Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc series of races at the end of August. Other local endurance events include the Trail des Aiguilles Rouges and the Evergreen Triathlon in September.

For a true 'spa day' visit the nearby town of Pre St Didier in Italy 20 minutes away - very affordable yet luxurious natural hot springs. Reservations available on line are a must in high season. Other smaller spas and massage treatments are available in down town Chamonix such as at the new QC Terme spa. Or take the local SNCF train 30 minutes to St Gervais les Bains for a quick energising break at their natural hot springs.