What's on in Chamonix (Mont Blanc), France through the year

Busy — Christmas holidays in France, school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: Ski season (18 Dec – 15 Apr (usually))

Busy — Winter (February) holidays in France, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Ski season (18 Dec – 15 Apr (usually))

Busy — Winter (February) holidays in France, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: Ski season (18 Dec – 15 Apr (usually))

Busy — Spring holidays in France, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

• Closure

  Lifts close for spring

  10 Apr – 5 May · usually

  The ski areas shut through the second half of April and the valley goes quiet again until the summer lifts start in June. Source ↗

Still on: Ski season (18 Dec – 15 Apr (usually))

Busy — Spring holidays in France, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in May.

Still on: Lifts close for spring (10 Apr – 5 May (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

• Opening

  High mountain huts open

  15 Jun – 20 Sep · usuallyTrail seasonBook early

  The staffed refuges on the Tour du Mont Blanc and the Argentiere basin run for about three months and book out for July and August months ahead. Source ↗

Busy — Summer holidays in France, school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: High mountain huts open (15 Jun – 20 Sep (usually))

Peak crowds — UTMB, Summer holidays in France

• Festival

  Fete des Guides

  13–16 Aug · usuallyMajor festival

  The valley's guides parade and are blessed around 15 August, a working ceremony rather than a show, with fireworks off the Brevent side afterwards. Source ↗

• Festival

  UTMB

  24–30 AugMajor festivalCrowdedBook early

  A week of trail races ending in a 174km lap of the Mont Blanc massif. The town is full, the trails are busy at night and beds are gone a year out. Source ↗

Still on: High mountain huts open (15 Jun – 20 Sep (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Closure

  Autumn lift shutdown

  20 Sep – 31 Oct · usually

  The summer lifts close in stages from late September, which leaves the high paths under new snow and the valley floor as the only walking. Source ↗

Still on: High mountain huts open (15 Jun – 20 Sep (usually))

Busy — All Saints (autumn) holidays in France, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in October.

Still on: Autumn lift shutdown (20 Sep – 31 Oct (usually))

Busy — All Saints (autumn) holidays in France

• Closure

  Aiguille du Midi maintenance

  2 Nov – 18 Dec

  The cable car to 3,842 metres shuts for its annual overhaul for about six weeks in November and early December, which removes the valley's main attraction. Source ↗

Busy — Christmas holidays in France, school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it

• Opening

  Lifts open for winter

  5–22 Dec · usuallySki season

  The valley opens in stages through December: Grands Montets first at weekends, the whole resort and the Aiguille du Midi from around the 20th. Source ↗

• Season

  Ski season

  18 Dec – 15 Apr · usually

  Five separate areas up the valley, open roughly mid-December to mid-April, with the off-piste and the Vallee Blanche the reason people come rather than the pistes.

Still on: Aiguille du Midi maintenance (2 Nov – 18 Dec)