Les Houches sits at 1,000 m at the lower end of the Chamonix valley, and it is the part of that valley that works when the weather does not: the runs drop through forest rather than across open glacier terrain, so they stay skiable in flat light. The village has around 3,500 inhabitants.
How to get there: Geneva is the nearest airport. Les Houches has its own station on the Mont-Blanc Express line, and the free Chamonix valley bus stops here.
Slopes and lifts: 55 km of pistes winding through the forest, reached by the Bellevue cable car or the Prarion gondola from the village. The Prarion summit stands at 1,850 m; the Dôme du Goûter above the valley is 4,304 m. The pass is shared with Saint-Gervais.
The Kandahar: the World Cup downhill piste runs here, and the race is held at the end of January.
What else there is: the Tramway du Mont-Blanc, the highest rack railway in France, climbs from Saint-Gervais past Bellevue to around 2,400 m.
Where you stay: Les Houches is a real village strung along the valley road rather than a built resort, so accommodation is chalets, small hotels and apartments, with the lifts a shuttle ride away.
Season 2026/27: the Les Houches – Saint-Gervais ski area is due to open on 19 December 2026, snow permitting.
