Mont-Blanc - Les Houches

Nestled in the heart of the Mont-Blanc, Les Houches village & resort offers an outstanding panoramic view of the Aiguilles de Chamonix. This family

Ski resort keeps the traditional image of mountain ski holidays.

There are a number of pleasant bars and good restaurants in Les Houches for quiet evenings out and buses run in and out of Chamonix all evening.

Les Houches’ friendly relaxed atmosphere provides a great base for families. Les Houches is also ideal for those wishing to explore the rest of the legendary valley.

Les Houches Resort Opening Dates

Les Houches opens on 18/12/10 and closes mid April 2011.

Follow the links below

Why Les Houches?

·          Unrivalled scenery with splendid views of the Mont-Blanc and Aiguille du Midi & Aiguilles de Chamonix.

·          Easy access as only 2km from the motorway exit

·          Ideal base to discover the Chamonix valley

·          Good children’s facilities

Childcare in Les Houches

Les Houches has acquired the Famille Plus label for its childcare facilities. Please view here for more information on the Famille Plus label.

CHAVANTS’ NURSERY

–18mnths to 3 years Mon-Fri

From 3 years Sun-Fri

Tel. +33 (0)4 50 54 43 33

Before 20 Dec. on +33 (0)4 50 54 68 89

email: enfancejeunesse@leshouches.fr

Open from Dec-April.

From Sunday to Friday.

Bookings: Saturdays 3.00 pm - 6.00 pm.

Hours: school holidays 8.30 am - 5.30 pm.

Outside school holidays 11.30 am - 5.30 pm.

Proposed nursery activities: games in the snow, luge, sledging, creative workshops and games.

Half days with or without meal

0830-1230 or 1330-1700

0830-1330 or 1145-1700

Rates 10/11

Full days with lunch - €44.30

Half day with lunch - €36.50, without meal €22.50

Meal + 2 ½ hours nursery at lunchtime (11.30-14.00) - €23.40

Municipal Day-Care Centre

Tel. +33 (0)4 50 54 48 19

email: creche@leshouches.fr

Open Monday to Friday. For children of 3 months – 3 years, depending on place availability.

Centre de Loisirs

Maison familiale de Montvauthier

Tel. +33 (0)4 50 47 20 65

email: montvauthier@fol74.org

Open during the school holidays for 6-12 year olds.

Outdoor and educational activities (walking, snowshoeing or sledging, skiing).

Sledging

Les Houches

At Les Chavants - Special slope

At Le Tourchet - special site in village centre

Sledge hire available in all the sport shops.

Servoz

Sledging slope - access via the Chemin de la Grangiat.

Sled hire available at the Tourist Office

Merlet Animal Park

A tour of the park and active participation in feeding the animals. Outstanding panoramic view of the Chamonix Valley.

Afternoon tea in an Alpine chalet.

Every Wednesday & Thursday from 13:00 to 17:30, depending on snow coverage, from 20/12 to 15/03. Booking is required.

Coupeau 74310 Les Houches - Tel.: +33 (0)4 50 53 47 89

www.parcdemerlet.com

Childrens Ski Lessons in Les Houches

Children can ski from 3 years old in Les Houches with ESF.

Peak Retreats can pre-book this. See here for details.

Activities in Les Houches

Non-skiers can try out the many other activities Les Houches has to offer such as dog sleigh rides, ice-skating, Abre Adventure, climbing, snow shoeing, ice climbing, tree-tops adventure, ski jumping, paragliding, and air excursions. Places to visit include Les Houches local markets, the ‘Musée Montagnard’ and the Saint-Bernard breeding kennels.

Paragliding

Tandem flights from 75 to 215 €

Courses from 95 €/day

LES AILES DU MONT-BLANC 24 av. de la Plage - 74400 chamonix

Tel. +33 (0)4 50 53 96 72 or 06 20 46 55 57

With Sandie cochepain, World champion in 1997 and 2000.

Climbing

MONT-BLANC ESCALADE in Les Houches

A climbing arena of 1,250 m² with more than 100 routes for all levels.

Winter: open Monday to Friday noon to 10 pm, Saturdays noon to 9 pm,

Sundays and bank holidays from noon to 8 pm.

Christmas and February school holidays: noon to 8 pm.

Open at 9 am in bad weather.

Adults from 12,50 €

Juniors (13 - 16 yrs) from 9 €

Children (5 - 12 yrs) from 7 €

Sightseeing by Helicopter

Chamonix Mont-Blanc Hélicoptères

Tel. +33 (0)4 50 54 13 82

Flights of 10-30 minutes to admire the most beautiful peaks in the alps. Inter-resort flights from Geneva and Chambéry Airports also available.

Price per person (min.6) depending on destination 67,50 to 200 €

Tree adventure

Two routes in the trees - Indiana’ventures

285 rte de coupeau - 74310 Les Houches

‘La Forêt du Mont-Blanc’ - Coupeau

70 activities taking you from tree to tree in a new layout of this three hectare park facing the Mont-Blanc massif.

Technical equipment provided.

Kid Adventure - Les Chavants

For 4-9 year olds. Children are attached by rope and harness on a continuous safety line making it 100% safe.

Sleigh dogs

HUSKYDALEN

Tel. +33 (0)6 84 99 34 67

Initiation into, sledge driving, half or full day outings, trapper evening, seminars, activities for the handicapped, tours.

ÉVOLUTION2

+33 (0)4 50 55 90 22

Introduction (1-2 children in the sleigh) from 69 €

Initiation into sleigh driving from 69 €

Saint Bernard dog breeding centre

Tel: Les Houches +33 (0)4 50 47 23 60

In a guided tour one hour tour, Jean Pierre and Renée Dumont will tell you about this breed of dogs, which were first bred as guard dogs and then trained to find lost travellers by the monks of Grand St Bernard. Kennels can also mind your dogs during your leisure activities.

Mon-Sat 2pm-5.30pm (closed Sun excp. School holidays).

€4.50 per adult and €3.20 for 5-12yrs.

La Ferme a Payot (Payot Goat Farm)

Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat & Sun.

25/12/10 – 15/05/2011

Walking with donkeys

Donkeys love children and with their pace, they easily discover the nature around them: different walks are available.

Throughout the year depending on snow. Reservation only.

Stroll - €6

1hr - €11

Half day - €34

Day - €56.

Vaudagne
74310 Les Houches

Tel: +33 (0) 4 50 47 26 18

Skijoring

Ski joering Mont-Blanc

Skijoring Les Houches +33(0)6 13 08 33 58 www.skijoeringmontblanc.com

Eating Out and Après-Ski in Les Houches

Bars-restaurants in the village and others in the mountains.

The lively town of Chamonix is only 4 kilometres from Les Houches, offering a wide range of bars, restaurants, nightclubs and shops.

http://www.chamonix.com/

Other amenities in Les Houches

Bank, Doctor, Hospital, Chemist, Dentist, Post Office, sports equipment shops

All the above information is for information only. For the most up-to-date information please visit the resort tourist office website

Les Houches Tourist Office

BP9 74310 - Les Houches

From Monday 19 December 2011 to Sunday 15 April 2012

Daily from 8.30am to 12pm and 2.15pm to 6.30pm

Other periods: 9am to 12pm and 2pm to 6pm

Closed on Sundays and public holidays

English spoken

Tourist Office Tel. 00 33 450 555 062, Fax. 00 33 4 50 55 53 16

www.leshouches.com

Accessto Les Houches                      

By Road: Driving distance from Calais to Les Houches: 552 miles or 7hrs30.  Arrival directly from the A40

By Rail: The TGV station at St Gervais/Le Fayet is 17km from Les Houches

Train station of Les Houches +33 450 55 50 07

Airports:

Geneva Airport is 93km from Les Houches (1 hour)

+41 21 22 717 71 05 (daily bus transfers)

www.gva.ch/en

Chambery Airport is 125km from Les Houches (1 ½ hours)

www.chambery-airport.com

Turin Airport is 176km from Les Houches (2 hours)

www.aeroportoditorino.it

Grenoble Airport is 212km from Les Houches (2 hours)

www.grenoble-airport.com

Lyon Saint-Exupery is 213km from Les Houches (2 hours)

www.lyonairport.com

Bus transfers from Geneva Airport – see timetable/prices/info.

Runs from 18/12/10-17/04/11, service 51 & 54 only on 25/12.

Leaves GVA airport at 08.00, 11.45, 14.15, 16.30, 19.30

Departs Les Houches at 07.10, 10.40, 12.10, 14.25, 17.00

Tickets must be reserved (not pre-bookable with Peak Retreats).

Transfer time 1hr 50. Cost when pre-booking online is €50 per adult return (cheaper prices for groups of 4 adults). Child is half adult rate (4-12yrs).

Getting around the Chamonix Valley area

(Argentiere, Le Tour, Chamonix, Les Houches, Vallorcine etc

The Chamonix Valley has very good shuttle bus links throughout all its resorts so it’s easy to hop on the resort shuttle to whatever ski area you desire. For a full timetable for all resorts in Chamonix Valley, including the night bus, download the PDF document here. Link up to Chamonix town, Les Houches, Vallorcine; buses run from early in the morning to late afternoon and the night bus runs between 10pm-12pm, returning latest 12.30am.

Les Houches – see lines 1, 15 & 15s.

The Mont Blanc Express train also provides access between the Chamonix Valley resorts. See full PDF train timetable here.

There are a number of ski lockers underneath the Prarion lift station in Les Houches .

Airport Transfer

Pre-book your taxi transfer with Peak Retreats

From Geneva Airport to Les Houches - from £75 per person return based on 4 people sharing. 

For all other transfer prices please click here

Access Plan

Les Houches France

Click on maps to enlarge

Resort Map

Les Houches France

SKI AREA

The 70 kilometres of almost entirely wooded slopes form the biggest single area of prepared runs in the Chamonix valley. Les Houches ski runs are normally quiet and the views superb from the several attractive mountain restaurants. Les Houches (6km from Chamonix) has some of the best tree-lined skiing in the Mont Blanc. This offers shelter when the winds are high elsewhere and also you don’t experience so much those white out conditions with the trees providing cover.

Les Houches is a great area for mixed ability groups, as the slopes at the top of the mountain range from green nursery slopes right through to the famous “Verte” black run used in the Kandahar World Cup skiing where Les Houches is the regular home to the Kandahar World Downhill Ski Championships.

LIFT SYSTEM

There are two main lifts taking you to Les Houches ski area. A gondola (Bellevue) takes you from the centre of the ski village up to the far left of the ski area, at 1800 metres. Once at the top, the immediate area is pretty flat – perfect for beginners, but not so great for snowboarders looking to get to the snowpark (but Bellevue is still the lift you should take if you want to go straight to the park).

The other gondola is the Prarion gondola, where the new and efficient gondola whisks you up to the centre of the ski area at Les Houches. The top of the ski area at Les Houches gives you a panoramic view of the surrounding mountains, and is plentiful in sunshine!

BEGINNERS

Although Les Houches centres around some tough terrain, the ski resort of Les Houches is also an ideal terrain for beginners. There are two nursery areas for beginners. The first one is in the village. The Tourchet nursery area in the village is found by the main church, about 1km up the road from the Bellevue lift. There are two draglifts and two pistes on which to practice. If you have mixed abilities in your group you may want to accompany your fellow skiers up to the main ski area. At the top of the main ski area there are two nursery slopes– the Mont Blanc which is at the top of the Bellevue lift, and the Ecole piste, at the top of the Prarion lift. Both pistes are served by a draglift.

INTERMEDIATES
Forintermediates, down the front of Les Houches the Table D’Orientation which leads on to the Maison Neuve, and the Mur des Epines are long runs back down to the village. These front runs are sheltered by the trees. The Col de Voza is a lovely red run for intermediates and for advanced riders to start their day. Fontaines red run takes you around the back and through the trees. There are two other red runs down the back towards Saint Gervais that also take you through the trees.

ADVANCED

For the advanced skier, skiing in Les Houches wouldnt be complete without a ride down the Verte des Houches, or as it’s more famously known, the Kandahar. This World Cup black run is accessed from the top of the Voza-Prarion or Kandahar chairlifts, and takes you straight back down to the village.

For the more daring ski Les Houches’ 3 ski jumps or complete the famous Vallee Blanche in Chamonix. This legendary off-piste trail (guide essential) offers a unique spectacle of snowy waves and mountain ridges. After a 20-minute ascent by cable car, you setout from the peak of the Aiguille du Midi for a nearly 3000 m descent, ending in the centre ofChamonix. It is one of the longest glacier trails in Europe (22 km), open until open until May, conditions permitting and accessible to competent skiers in the company of a guide.

Les Houches snowpark (for freestyle enthusiasts) - Airpark Bellevue: http://www.airparkbellevue.com/ 

LES HOUCHES SNOW REPORTS

To see Les Houches Chamonix snow reports please see the resort guide panel on the top right hand side of the current page.

LES HOUCHES PISTE MAP

To see the Les Houches piste map for 11/12 please see the resort guide panel on the top right hand side of the current page.

What’s new for winter in Les Houches 11/12?

See LES HOUCHES RESORT NEWS

Les Houches Lift Passes

Save Time in resort and budget ahead by pre-booking your Les Houches ski passes. See below for prices.

PRE-BOOK* your LES HOUCHES LIFT PASS with PR

FREE PASSES!

Children under 5 receive a FREE lift pass.

Note: Proof of age will be required for reduced price passes.

Family pass – 2 adults and 1 child (4-15yrs), extra children free (people living at same address)

Other lift pass on offer (to buy locally in resort in Euros):

Les Houches ski pass – ½ day and daily rates:

½ day - €23 children, €31 adults

Day - €25 children, €34 adults

Les Houches Ski Schools              

PRE-BOOK* your Les Houches Group Ski/Board Lessons

Please note that a booking fee of £9 per party will be charged

PRE-BOOK* your 6 Half-Day GROUP SKI/BOARD LESSONS

* lunch not included

Times and Schedules (ALL TIMES TO BE CONFIRMED, SUBJECT TO CHANGES).

All lessons are SUNDAY-FRIDAY.

¹ SKI/SNOWBOARD: Adults, Children (3-12):

Please note that lesson times are subject to change right until the last minute. Outside French school holidays the ski school reserves the right to cancel group lessons should numbers be insufficient. For peak periods (18/12-2/1, 13/2-13/3 & 9/4-24/4) we strongly recommend that you book as early as possible and in any case at least 6 weeks prior to the required dates. Morning lessons tend to get booked up first and therefore we may only be able to offer afternoon classes within 6 weeks of departure. In some resorts English speaking instructors may not always be available, particularly at peak times.

Individual tuitions in Les Houches

(2011/2012) – not pre-bookable

Between in 12pm-14.30pm.

Individual tuitions can only be purchased directly from the ski school. Peak Retreats cannot pre-book these.

Please note that prices are only an indication and are subject to change

Ski school Les Houches contact numbers:

ESF Les Houches Tel. +33 (0)4 50 54 48 79

Les Houches Ski Hire

Ski hire Les Houches prices start from £37 for children (skis and boots) & £54 for adults (skis and boots) for 7 days. View here for Les Houches ski hire prices.

Mountain restaurants

7 mountain restaurants

Cross-country in Les Houches

There are 10km of cross country skiing in Les Houches.
Skiing tracks by the lake of Chavants offers free access (2.8km)

The 4.2km track up at the Prarion plateau at 1800 meters will need a return gondola ticket.
Group and private lessons can be provided by ESF Les Houches.

Other Winter Activities in Chamonix Valley

Run by LA COMPAGNIE DES GUIDES DE CHAMONIX

Tel. +33 (0)4 50 54 50 76

VALLÉE BLANCHE

Group outing ....................73 €/person

Private hire ......................from 278 €

SKI MOUNTAINEERING

Half-day ..........................175 €

Ful day ........................... 305 €

Group outing .....................80 €

SKI TOURING

Group outing .....................95 €

ICE CLIMBING

Full day group outing ...........112 €

Half day ............................78 €

2 day ice-climbing course

Introduction ......................360 €

Three day advanced course ...570 €

Snowshoeing in Les Houches

A way-marked route follows the cross country ski trail from the top of Prarion gondola lift. In the village, above Les Houches railway station, you can explore the Route des Crêts – also known as the “deer path”.

Walks – there is a footpath at high altitude leads from the Bellevue

cable car, along the Mont Blanc tramway line and back to the Col de

Voza.

Ski Jumping in Les Houches

The resort possesses 3 ski jumps :

15, 30 et 50 m.
Ski jumping was the first sport practised by the Ski Club of Les Houches when it was founded in 1930.
Introduction, examinations and competitions...

Snowparks

Airpark at Bellevue and Snowpark DS Shoes Area 43 at Le Prarion.

*ALL PRE-BOOKABLE EXTRAS ARE PAYABLE TO PEAK RETREATS IN STERLING PRIOR TO DEPARTURE. PRICES ARE IN £.

ANYTHING IN EUROS (€) WE ARE UNABLE TO PRE-BOOK AND

WILL BE PAYABLE LOCALLY.