Practical services in Chamonix: pharmacies, emergencies, left luggage, shopping and the tourist office

A stay in Chamonix is rarely ruined on the summits; it is ruined by a suitcase with nowhere to go, a pharmacy closed on a Sunday or a ski accident without the right insurance. This page gathers the everyday services, with what official sources publish.

Our advice on arrival: save 112 and 3237 in your phone, find the pharmacy closest to your accommodation, and slip your insurance certificate into your ski jacket pocket. The rest is below.

Which numbers should you call in an emergency in Chamonix?

Mountain rescue in Chamonix is handled by the PGHM, the gendarmerie's high-mountain unit, together with the other emergency services. The tourist office's safety pages give the PGHM number, 04 50 53 16 89, and the Office de Haute Montagne gives information on conditions on 04 50 53 22 08. In an emergency, 112 remains the safest number, for French residents and foreign visitors alike.

On a marked slope, call the ski area's rescue number if it is displayed, otherwise 112. Have ready what you will be asked: the ski area, the run or route, the nearest marker or sign, GPS coordinates if possible, the number of casualties, whether they are conscious and breathing, the weather, and a number to call you back.

Do not move someone yourself who has lost consciousness, is breathing badly or may have a back injury. And keep the phone line free after your call.

Where can you find a pharmacy, and which one is on duty?

The tourist office's pages confirm five pharmacies in the municipality. Full phone numbers are not shown on those pages: we do not reconstruct them.

Pharmacies announce special closures on the main public holidays (1 January, Easter Monday, Ascension Day, Whit Monday, 1 and 8 May, 14 July, 15 August, 1 and 11 November, 25 December). On a Sunday, a public holiday or at night, dial 3237: the service gives you the duty pharmacy for the day, day or night.

Where can you get medical care: hospital, doctors, dentist?

Chamonix hospital is at 509 route des Pèlerins, switchboard +33 4 50 53 84 00. In winter it runs an urgent care centre: last season it was open from 20 December 2025 to 29 March 2026, every day from 9am to 8pm.

Admissions and major tests go to Sallanches hospital, about thirty kilometres away. The winter 2026-2027 calendar is announced in December by the Hôpitaux du Pays du Mont-Blanc.

So the right method is the medical dispatch line: if you have a serious medical doubt, call 15, which directs you to the right facility according to the time and how serious it is. For an ordinary consultation, your accommodation's reception, the tourist office or a pharmacy will point you to a practice; ask which languages are spoken when you book.

What insurance should you take out to ski in Chamonix?

Rescue on the slopes can be billed to the person rescued, even when someone else made the call. The cost depends on the resources used, ski patrol, snowmobile, ambulance or helicopter, and a helicopter evacuation is by far the most expensive.

Before leaving, check that your policy explicitly covers:

• search and rescue costs, helicopter included;
• skiing on piste and off-piste, if you plan to do any;
• transport to the doctor or hospital, medical costs and repatriation;
• personal liability;
• exclusions (alcohol, competition, ignoring instructions) and the prior approval procedure.

Insurance included with a lift pass or a bank card is not automatic: read the limits and the excesses. Keep your lift pass, receipt, medical certificate and rescue bill. Choosing the lift pass itself is explained in our lift pass guide.

Where can you leave your luggage in Chamonix?

Not at the SNCF station: no automatic lockers are reported there. It is the first surprise for travellers who arrive in the morning and cannot get into their accommodation until 4pm.

• ChamLockers, at 47, place de la Gare: automatic left luggage with four locker sizes, open every day from 7am to 11pm. You book on site or online for the large lockers, with a code sent by text or email. The exact price is not shown online.
• Nannybag: drop-off at partner shops in the centre and around the station, from €4.40 per bag per day.
• Radical Storage: partner points near the station, the centre and the Aiguille du Midi, from €3.90 per bag per day, with hours that vary from shop to shop.

Note the difference: Nannybag and Radical Storage leave your bag with a shopkeeper, not in a locker. Drop-off and pick-up follow the shop's opening hours: check them before an early departure.

No official left luggage is documented at the Aiguille du Midi cable car station, nor any ski lockers at the Brévent, Flégère or Grands Montets departures. Before going up, leave anything you do not need at your accommodation; see Aiguille du Midi tickets to prepare the ride.

Where can you shop and find the market?

The most convenient supermarket in the centre is the Super U Payot Pertin, at 117, rue Joseph-Vallot, listed as open every day, with fish, meat and cheese counters, online shopping and home delivery. Handy if you are staying in an apartment: shop on a weekday, as holiday Saturdays are the busiest.

The Chamonix market is held all year round on Saturdays, from 7am to 1pm, on place du Mont-Blanc: local produce, food and manufactured goods, free entry.

Prices are said to be higher than in a city, especially in the small shops of the centre during the holidays, but no price survey proves it. For other supermarket chains, bakeries or shops in Les Houches and Argentière, our sources give nothing reliable.

What does the tourist office offer?

The main office is at 85, place du Triangle de l'Amitié, right in the centre. It offers free brochures and information, sign-ups for guided tours, last-minute hotel bookings, guest cards, fishing permits, photocopying and printing, scanning and free Wi-Fi.

Two machines there are useful before heading into the mountains: the Compagnie du Mont-Blanc one, for summer and winter lift passes and Aiguille du Midi, Montenvers and Brévent tickets, and the Chamonix Mobilité one for bus tickets and passes.

For post, the Les Houches and Vallorcine offices are Chronopost and Colissimo parcel points. The Chamonix post office is at 89 place Balmat (+33 4 50 53 15 90), and cash machines are in the pedestrian streets around it.

Toilets, EV charging, wheelchair access: what is available?

Toilets: the only documented ones are in car parks, on level one of the Mont-Blanc car park, and to the left of the pay desks in the Saint-Michel car park, accessible to people with reduced mobility. Lift stations and tourist offices are also worth knowing about.

Charging: the local network is eborn. The Saint-Michel car park has 9 sockets, the Centre-ville car park several slow and fast points, and Allobroges two chargers of 4 and 22 kW. Details are in parking in Chamonix.

Wheelchair access: reserved spaces exist in the car parks (14 at Centre-ville, 6 at Mont-Blanc, 2 at Allobroges), and the Mobil'bus on-demand service is covered in getting around Chamonix. In winter, the snowy pavements of the centre remain the main obstacle: call ahead to confirm access to a practice or a pharmacy.

What should you prepare before you arrive?

Photo: Mateus2019, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

• An international bank card and a backup way to pay, with a few euros in cash.
• Your ski insurance certificate and assistance number, saved offline.
• Your prescriptions and medicines, ID and health insurance documents.
• An offline map and a power bank for the mountains.
• An eborn-compatible charging app or badge, tested before you leave.
• The name of the left luggage point where you will drop your bags if you arrive before check-in time.

And one rule for all of the above: opening hours change with the seasons. Confirm the day before, especially on a Sunday, a public holiday, in the off-season and over Christmas and New Year.

To get to Chamonix, see how to get to Chamonix, to find your way the map of Chamonix, and to choose the right month when to go to Chamonix. The rest of the logistics is in the Practical section.

Once you have settled in, build your plans with things to do in Chamonix and, to sleep in the right place, where to stay in Chamonix.

Sources

Sources: Chamonix Tourist Office (pages for the Vallée, Mont-Blanc, Aiguille du Midi, Alpes and Pèlerins pharmacies, updated between March 2025 and October 2026, Super U Payot Pertin page, Chamonix market, tourist offices of Chamonix, Les Houches and Vallorcine).

Also: Ville de Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (car parks, charging, toilets and disabled spaces), Hôpitaux du Pays du Mont-Blanc (press release of 16 December 2025), La Poste, ChamLockers, Nannybag and Radical Storage (left luggage).

Not published in a verifiable way: the list of doctors and dentists, 2025-2026 slope rescue rates, launderettes, banks and cash machines, and ChamLockers locker prices. Research carried out on 27 October 2026.