Chamonix piste map: reading the five ski areas and choosing yours

The Chamonix piste map misleads anyone who reads it like a purpose-built resort's. It is not a linked ski area, but a valley where five ski sectors are separated by the road, the villages and sometimes several kilometres. You do not ski from one to another: you take a train, a bus or your car.

Here is where to find the official winter map, how to read it, which sector to choose for your level, and how to organise a day without spending half of it on transport.

Where can you download the official piste map?

The Compagnie du Mont-Blanc, which runs the valley's lifts, publishes the winter map as a PDF. The valley map was put back online on 22 October 2026: download the Chamonix valley piste map (PDF). It places the ski areas, stations, ticket offices, the tourist office, Montenvers and the Mont Blanc Tramway.

An overall map of the lift network also exists, in last winter's version: download the general Mont-Blanc Natural Resort map (PDF). The tourist office also offers an interactive map of the ski areas on its website. To place the villages, stations and car parks, see our map of Chamonix.

How do you read the valley map?

Read it from west to east, following the Arve. Each ski area has its own base station, often in a different village, and the map does not always show the walking time between the station and the lift.

On top of these sectors come small local areas: the Savoy, the Planards, La Vormaine, Les Chosalets, La Poya and Le Tourchet. They serve beginners, children, lessons and days when the big areas are overflowing. The Soleil beginner pass, valid at the Savoy among others, costs €27.50 for an adult day.

How many kilometres of runs are there?

The tourist office gives about 150 km of runs for the valley. Brévent-Flégère, the largest linked area, spans about 1,030 to 2,525 m.

At Les Grands Montets, a specialist guide counts about 29 km of runs this winter, with a high point at 2,765 m according to the Compagnie du Mont-Blanc, as the historic summit remains closed.

Each number on our map is the lift base of a ski area, with its altitude. It is the plan the official PDF lacks: where to go up, from which village.

Above all, remember that kilometres are not the right question in Chamonix. The right question is: which sector is open today, how do you get there, and for what level?

Which sector should you choose for your level?

The details of each ski area, its dates and its level are in our guide to skiing in Chamonix, and the Argentière sector in our page on Les Grands Montets.

Which runs should you spot on the map?

Brévent and Flégère are the clearest choice for combining views and intermediate skiing. Le Brévent leaves straight from central Chamonix, La Flégère from Les Praz. Their lifts were running from 8:50am to 4:45pm at the start of winter 2026-2027.

Les Houches offers a more wooded, more classic resort experience. The Verte des Houches run, whose name misleads because it is a race course, hosts the Kandahar, the valley's World Cup race since the late 1960s. The 2027 edition is announced for 30 January 2027, with a men's slalom, according to the tourist office's winter highlights.

To watch the race, the Les Houches green run is 6 km from central Chamonix: come by train or bus on race day.

Balme suits a day of progress better than a search for steep slopes, with two atmospheres between Le Tour and Vallorcine. The Vallée Blanche, finally, is not a black run: it is an unmarked high-mountain glacier route, where a guide is the prudent choice. See our Vallée Blanche guide.

How do you get from one ski area to another?

Photo: Guilhem Vellut from Annecy, France, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Mont-Blanc Express is the backbone of the valley. It serves Chamonix for Le Brévent, Les Praz for La Flégère, Argentière for Les Grands Montets and Vallorcine for Balme. Between Servoz and Vallorcine, it is free with the guest card your accommodation provides.

Valley buses link the villages and the lifts, with seasonal timetables that change with the weather and works. A lift pass makes them free. How the network works, line by line, is in getting around Chamonix, and the car parks at the lift bases in parking in Chamonix.

In practice, choose one big sector per day. A morning on Le Brévent followed by an afternoon at Les Grands Montets looks tempting on the map and yields little skiing: the train, walking with your gear, waiting and the return eat up most of the time.

What does a typical day look like for your level?

Beginner: start at the Savoy, the Planards or La Vormaine depending on where you are staying, with a lesson in the morning, then have lunch on site and practise in the afternoon on the same sector. Only aim for a big ski area once your instructor agrees: a beginner sent too early to a distant sector depends on a difficult run back.

Intermediate: take the first lift at La Flégère or Le Brévent and string together blues and reds before the group lessons arrive. Only switch to the other sector if the timing and your energy allow, and come back before the last cabin.

Expert: check the openings the evening before and in the morning, then choose Les Grands Montets when the serious sector is open, arriving before opening time, without confusing an off-piste route with an open run. Keep a fallback at Le Brévent, La Flégère or Balme if the wind closes the high lifts.

What time should you ski to avoid the crowds?

No official hour-by-hour crowd data is published: this table describes trends, not measurements. Weekends, public holidays and school holidays are best avoided for a first visit.

Which lift pass matches which part of the map?

Chamonix Le Pass covers Le Brévent, La Flégère, Les Grands Montets and Balme, depending on operating conditions: €76.50 for an adult day from 19 December 2026 to 9 April 2027. The Les Houches ski area has its own pass, at €60 a day, and the Mont-Blanc Unlimited extends to the whole region.

Before buying, check which lifts are actually open, the cost of getting to the ski area, rescue insurance and a guide if you are aiming for the Vallée Blanche. The options are compared in our lift pass guide.

The gaps in the map

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

• Chamonix is not a resort where you ski from your door. You get to the lifts by bus, train or car, sometimes walking with your gear.
• The Grands Montets map shows more than the day's offer. Works, wind and snow often limit what runs; in 2026-2027, access is via the Plan Joran gondola.
• Transport time costs more than money. Even when it is free, the train imposes its timetable and connections.
• Last-minute closures. The weather changes hours and openings, and there is no public log of closures.

The dates for each sector are in lift opening dates, and the end of the season in our page on skiing in April. Gear can be rented at the foot of the sectors: see renting ski gear in Chamonix, and for lessons, Chamonix ski schools. All the skiing pages are in the Skiing section.

Sources

Sources: Compagnie du Mont-Blanc (winter maps of the valley and of Mont-Blanc Natural Resort, consulted and checked on 27 October 2026), Chamonix Tourist Office (winter 2026-2027 press kit in French and English, list of ski areas, Brévent-Flégère ski area page, winter highlights, public transport), Chamonix Le Pass and Les Houches 2026-2027 prices.

Not published: an official, consistent total of kilometres of runs per ski area, crowd levels by hour or day, lift saturation rates, the history of closures. The timetable describes trends. Research carried out on 27 October 2026.