Apartment Balmat is one of the top apartments in Chamonix. This new, nonsmoking apartment is located in the redeveloped Hotel des Alpes, originally the top hotel in Chamonix. This is a superb location, with high-quality shops below the apartment including Chanel. From the apartment balcony, you can enjoy the lovely atmosphere of the open piazza area. Rue du Docteur Paccard leads quickly to the main square, Place Balmat, around which can be found many excellent restaurants and one of the loveliest chocolate shops anywhere in the world. All of the apartments are privately owned, and most are used solely by their owners for their own holidays. The adjacent small exclusive five-star hotel (from summer 2004) has its own 24-hour concierge service, restaurant, swimming pool, and other facilities.
For summer visitors, the views and the mountain air are breathtaking, particularly if you use the major cable cars and mountain trains to get to the top. There are glaciers, lakes, and gorges to explore, as well as churches and museums to discover. Playing the 18-hole golf course is a delight. Concerts, piano bars, and cinemas add to the possibilities. You can use Chamonix as a touring base, as many did in its early twentieth-century heyday, and drive into Switzerland to Martigny, Montreux, and beyond, or Italy through the Mont Blanc tunnel into the beautiful Italian Aosta valley and even as far as Turin. Take the train to Geneva for the day to see the lake and international shops. Visit beautiful Annecy, the “Venice of the Alps” with its own canals, and take a boat trip on its awesome lake surrounded by mountains.
During the winter, Chamonix is world-famous as a skiing location, with slopes spread along the whole of the valley. Argentiere, at the top of the valley, is renowned for its top-class skiing at Les Grand Montets, and Le Tour provides skiing for beginners and intermediates. The slightly more adventurous can experience the day-long Valley Blanche under the direction of a ski guide.
Ideal for 4 people, this large (64 sq m) apartment accommodates up to 6 and includes a balcony. There are two bedrooms, one with a queen-size bed and one with twin beds, all with fully sprung mattresses for comfort. Each bedroom has its own bathroom with marble surfaces and tiling. The living area offers two large, very comfortable sofas (one a double sofabed), TV with DVD, and stereo system with CD. The fully equipped kitchen includes a dishwasher and washer/dryer. There is underground garage parking, a storage area and ski locker with two elevators leading directly to the second floor. An excellent local agent is conveniently based only 100 yards' walk from the apartment. Linen and towels provided.
France (1071)
800-221-2260