Megève & Chamonix: A Tale of Two Ski Towns
Off-season in the French Alps
Neither Teresa nor I ski. So it sounds weird that my beloved spouse and I have this fantasy of buying a chalet or condo in a French ski town. But, it could be a plan for our retirement to rent the place out during ski season, then live it in during the warm summer months when the rest of France is hot as a sauna. Brilliant, right?
However, we had never actually visited a French-ski town. Late May 2024 was our first trip to the Haute Alps— a trial run, if you will. Mère de Dieu, it turns out we had a lot to learn about visiting ski-towns in the off season!
Teresa wanted to stay in the two most popular places near Mount Blanc (the highest mountain in the Alps). First, because a condo in these towns guarantees full bookings in ski season. Second, because they have the nicest restaurants and facilities. Megève was reputed to have the cutest village and best restaurants (top priority for her); Chamonix has the best views and hiking (top priority for me).
Here’s how that plan worked out:
Megève
We rented a chalet-condo in Megéve for four days (the building is designed like a chalet, but with several units in it). Teresa was excited because the place had a perfect five star rating on Air B&B —…
