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Chamonix Ski Chalet, Self Catering Apartment Accommodation

Welcome Kids to Chamonix!    

Chamonix is great for kids. In the winter they ski till they drop & then they ski some more! There are plenty of ski schools and clubs where the children can be abandoned for the morning or afternoon when the Mums & Dads need a rest. Children can even mix ski llessons with other play activities. In the evenings they are welcomed into the restaurants and après ski establishments & not treated like some second class citizen the way they are in the U.K.

Both the Argentière & Chamonix ski schools have made particular efforts to ensure the quality of service on offer to 4-12 year olds.  Naturally, they take their first winter sports steps on skis but they can also try new disciplines with off-piste courses & race training available daily, from 8.30am to 7.30pm (except Saturdays outside of French school holidays).

Children enjoy reduced tariffs for lift passes and the ski hire shops hire equipment to children at about 50% of the normal rate.

French Ski School

More Fun - sledging, reading, games & skiing.....
	Panda Club (6 months to 3 years)	(  (0)4 50 55 86 12
	Panda Ski (3 - 12 years)	(  (0)4 50 54 04 76
	Crèche (1.5 - 6 years)	(  (0)4 50 53 36 68

Swimming

There is a public indoor & outdoor pool in Chamonix town centre complete with diving pool and water chutes.  Be warned that they insist on swimming trunks & do not allow shorts to be worn by swimmers, adults or children.

There are 3 lakes at Passey, en-route and close to Sallanches.   The water is cool, good quality and parts of the surrounding area has been landscaped and laid to grass with great mountain backdrops.  These are great places for bar-b-cues, swimming, various water sports & fishing. Different parts of the lakes are designated for particular activities so don't launch your windsurfer in the fishing area and as friends of ours found out, don't launch sailing boats as the locals get a little upset and call the police!  The lakes are supervised and there is a car parking access charge.  Whilst these lake are some 12 miles from Chamonix a trip here can be conveniently combine with a visit to the Carrefour hypermarket and Decathlon sports super-store in Sallanches making it a worthwhile trip.

Fishing

One of the highlights of our summer holidays is when we go fishing in the small lake at Les Houches, about 4 miles from our apartment.  The lake is well stocked with trout & they queue up to get hooked!  Tackle and fresh bait (worms) can be bought from the tobacco shop adjacent to the car parking area.  On the far side of the lake is a small wooden kiosk where you can buy a license for the amount of fish you want to catch either 3, 5 or 7.   Fishing only takes place when the kiosk and lake is supervised & this is only between about 0900-1200 & 1500-1800.  The lake is not open on Mondays or during the winter months.  On our last visit the kiosk also stocked bait.

Our first soirees to fish at Les Houches met with spectacular results, Ted landed his first trout in less than a minute and between them Ted and Mickey-Lee had caught 5 trout in 1.5 hours!  A few days later, and in preparation for a BBQ with friends, Ted and Mick returned to the lake to catch 'trout to order' landing 7 in under an hour!

Fishing rods and reels are relatively in-expensive in France with many 'super-stores' stocking bait and a good selection of fishing tackle.  We recommend Carrefour, the hypermarket in Sallanches, but best of all, Decathlon which sells equipment for ALL outdoor pursuits, some at spectacular prices.  Decathlon is especially good for, ski and mountaineering equipment, boots and sports equipment.  The store is situated on the road to Sallanches, 1-2Km before you reach the town on the right hand side if arriving from the direction of Chamonix.   Unfortunately this particular branch does not stock mountain bikes though the branch in Annemasse, near Geneva does. 

Mountain Biking

For details and route guides in and around Chamonix please look at the mountain biking page.