Argentière
Argentière is a ski resort in the Northern Alps (Haute-Savoie), in the commune of Chamonix-Mont-Blanc. The village sits at 1,261 m and the ski area rises to 2,134 m.
The area offers 66 km of alpine pistes, 57 marked pistes (12 green, 18 blue, 17 red, 10 black), 23 ski lifts, plus a snowpark.
Argentière belongs to the linked Grands Montets area: one lift pass covers the neighbouring resorts.
Measured on the OpenStreetMap map: the longest piste runs 3 km (Pierre à Ric) and the highest lift tops out at 2,768 m.
The resort holds the Flocon Vert and Best of the Alps and Station classée de tourisme labels.
Access: 1 h 15 by road from Genève and 2 min from Argentière railway station.
1 official webcam shows the pistes live (on the French page).
Seven criteria rated from 1 to 5 stars, in half-stars, from this page's sourced data. A rating is a rank among the 322 French resorts we cover — 5 stars means “among the best in France on this point”, not “perfect”. Nobody types these in.
- SnowCan you count on the snow?4 / 5
Top of the ski area: 2,134 m · Bottom of the pistes: 2,134 m · Days above 30 cm per winter, measured: 111 days · Days above 30 cm, December to March, model: 71% · Glacier skiing
- Ski areaIs there enough to ski all week?4 / 5
Km of pistes at the resort: 66 km · Km of pistes across the linked area: 66 km · Lifts: 23 · Balance between piste levels: 98%
- ValueIs the lift pass reasonable for what you get?n/a
Not rated: “adult day pass” is missing from this page.
- Families and beginnersIs it right for children and beginners?2 / 5
Share of green and blue pistes: 53% · Magic carpets: 0 · Sledging runs: 1 · ESF ski school · Ice rink, pool, rail sledge…: 0
- AccessIs it easy to get to?3.5 / 5
Average drive time from 20 major cities: 4 hr 44 · Nearest railway station: 2 min · Nearest airport: 1 hr 40
- Atmosphere and après-skiIs there life in the evening and off the slopes?3 / 5
Bars and pubs: 2 · Nightclubs: 0 · Restaurants: 17 · Upcoming events: 1 · Collective tourist beds: 2,653 — index: what the map and the listings publish
- Luxury and comfortHow upmarket is the resort?2.5 / 5
5-star hotels: 0 · 4-star hotels: 1 · Share of hotel rooms in 4 and 5 stars: 59% · Spas and saunas: 0 · Jewellers, watchmakers, fashion boutiques: 0 — index: what the map and the listings publish
“Atmosphere” and “Luxury” are indexes: they count what OpenStreetMap and the event listings publish within 2.5 km (bars, nightclubs, rated hotels, spas, upcoming events), not what you experience there. A zero means “nothing mapped”, not “nothing there”. Sources per criterion: snow (altitudes (OpenStreetMap, Wikidata), snow depth observed at the Météo-France station, ERA5-Land model) ; ski area (OpenStreetMap pistes and lifts, linked area (Wikidata)) ; value (the resort’s official price list) ; families and beginners (OpenStreetMap pistes, price list, ESF ski school, Famille Plus label, OpenStreetMap leisure) ; access (OSRM drive times from 20 cities, SNCF stations, GTFS shuttles, airports) ; atmosphere and après-ski (bars, nightclubs and restaurants within 2.5 km (OpenStreetMap), upcoming events (OpenAgenda), collective tourist beds (INSEE)) ; luxury and comfort (rated hotels within 2.5 km (OpenStreetMap) and by category across the commune (INSEE), spas and boutiques (OpenStreetMap), day pass price).
Open pistes and lifts will appear here during the season, as published by the resort. Out of season we show nothing rather than a misleading zero.
Right now at the LE TOUR station (1,500 m)
Avalanche danger
7-day forecast
Village 1,261 m · top 2,134 m
Forecast corrected for altitude; fresh snow = forecast total at the top; UV = peak of the day. Beyond 3 days, check the resort’s own report. Source:Open-Meteo.
Average snow depth by month
Good snow from January to March.
☀️ Average daily sunshine : Nov 6.3 h · Dec 5.6 h · Jan 6 h · Feb 7.2 h · Mar 8.5 h · Apr 10.2 h — 26 bright days in April (Open-Meteo estimate, 2015-2025).
- November—no record
- December—no record
- January84 cmGood skiing · 97%
- February93 cmGood skiing · 100%
- March98 cmGood skiing · 85%
- April—no record
- May—no record
30 cm on the ground: the benchmark for groomed-piste skiing. Bar = monthly average depth; percentage = share of time above 30 cm.
- Good skiing: 30 cm on more than 8 days in 10
- Variable: 30 cm on 5 to 8 days in 10
- Insufficient: 30 cm less than one day in two
Snow actually measured, winter by winter
16 complete winters measured, from 2010-2011 to 2025-2026 — on average 111 days a winter with at least 30 cm on the ground.
- 1-15 Dec39 cmVariable · 50 %
- 16-31 Dec58 cmVariable · 71 %
- 1-15 Jan71 cmGood skiing · 90 %
- 16-31 Jan95 cmGood skiing · 100 %
- 1-15 Feb105 cmGood skiing · 100 %
- 16-29 Feb107 cmGood skiing · 100 %
- 1-15 Mar103 cmGood skiing · 96 %
- 16-31 Mar78 cmGood skiing · 81 %
- 1-15 Apr44 cmInsufficient · 47 %
- Best winter of the series
- 2025-2026 — 134 days at 30 cm or more
- Worst winter of the series
- 2016-2017 — 74 days at 30 cm or more
Snowfall: no long enough record of fresh snow at this station. Rather than an estimate, we show nothing.
The ski area
Compare with another resort →57 pistes, by level — 66 km
- Lifts
- 4 gondolas, 5 chairlifts, 13 drag lifts
- Cross-country skiing
- 3 named trails — 17 km of marked loops (9.1 km of distinct track: the loops overlap), right by the resortOpenStreetMap, lengths measured on the geometry, surveyed on 12 September 2026. A trail with no difficulty tag is shown as "n/a" — never guessed.
See the trails(3)
Trail Level Length La Moraine n/a 12 km Les Chosalets n/a 2.9 km Les Iles n/a 1.7 km - Snowpark
- Yes
- Glacier
- Some pistes run on a glacier (OpenStreetMap; summer opening to check on the official site)
- Without skis
- 4 km of snowshoe and walking trails · 1 sledging run
- Piste aspect
- N 45% · E 18% · S 19% · W 19% (descent direction of 47 OSM pistes, terrain model)
- Mountain restaurants
- Plan Joran (1912 m)
Pistes and lifts surveyed on OpenStreetMap within 4 km of the resort — for a resort in a linked area, the figure may include neighbouring pistes.
Lift passes detail →
The price list for this resort is being collected: most resorts publish winter prices between September and November.
The ski area in figures
Measured on 9 September 2026Measured on OpenStreetMap (altitudes: IGN RGE ALTI), not taken from the brochure. The vertical above is that of one piste, not of the whole ski area. Population: INSEE municipal population via geo.api.gouv.fr.
Staying and hiring gear in Argentière
We compare the partners that cover this resort. Some links earn us a commission — never at the expense of the price or of the data.
Stay & accommodation
Live webcams
All webcams (2) →Official players of the resort, live image.
Piste map
Open on OpenSnowMap ↗Pistes coloured by level, lifts as lines. The resort’s official map is the reference in season.
Base map © OpenTopoMap (CC-BY-SA) · pistes © OpenSnowMap (CC-BY-SA) · data ©OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Getting to Argentière
From Paris: 6 hr 42 (625 km) by road.
By road
- From Genève: 1 hr 15 · 91 km
- From Annecy: 1 hr 28 · 114 km
- From Chambéry: 1 hr 55 · 156 km
- From Grenoble: 2 hr 17 · 157 km
- From Lyon: 2 hr 50 · 234 km
From other major cities (15)
- From Besançon: 3 hr 13 · 226 km
- From Valence: 3 hr 21 · 250 km
- From Saint-Étienne: 3 hr 28 · 292 km
- From Dijon: 3 hr 50 · 346 km
- From Clermont-Ferrand: 4 hr 33 · 404 km
- From Strasbourg: 4 hr 39 · 400 km
- From Montpellier: 5 hr 28 · 455 km
- From Marseille: 5 hr 33 · 464 km
- From Nice: 5 hr 35 · 467 km
- From Nancy: 5 hr 48 · 474 km
- From Paris: 6 hr 42 · 625 km
- From Perpignan: 6 hr 49 · 602 km
- From Toulouse: 7 hr 45 · 689 km
- From Bordeaux: 8 hr 31 · 791 km
- From Pau: 9 hr 40 · 879 km
Excluding traffic and winter conditions; passes closed in winter are avoided.
By train
Argentière station
halt · then 2 min drive (1 km)
Nearest main station: Annecy, 1 hr 26 by road.
Shuttles and buses from the station: see the resort’s official website.
By plane
- Genève (GVA): 1 hr 40 by road · 99 km
- Chambéry-Savoie (CMF): 1 hr 59 by road · 155 km
Take me there
These links open the app with Argentière as the destination. Your starting point is never sent by us — the app asks you for it, if you agree.
Charging an electric car
No freely accessible charge point is declared within 2 km of the resort (checked on 9 September 2026). Covered car parks in the resort may offer chargers reserved for their customers: those are not listed here.
Freely accessible charge points read from the French national EV charging database (data.gouv.fr ↗, operators’ own declarations), checked on 9 September 2026. Check availability before you leave: the database says what is installed, not what is free tonight.
Road conditions
From 1 November to 31 March, snow chains or winter tyres are compulsory in most mountain areas (French “Loi Montagne II”).
Driving times computed on the OpenStreetMap road network (OSRM), SNCF stations (open data), airports (Wikidata). Indicative, not a timetable: allow extra time in snow.
Off-piste & ski touring
The resorts for off-piste skiing →Named itineraries: Pylônes Haut · Pylônes · Pylônes Bas · Combe des Amethystes · La Face · Point de vue
Itineraries surveyed on OpenStreetMap within a 4 km radius (7 September 2026): “marked” means an itinerary exists on the map, not that it is open or safe on the day.
Ski touring routes described
Resorts for ski touring →12 ski touring routes documented within 10 km of Argentière — up to 2,350 m of climb.
| Summit and route | Ski grade | Climb | Altitude | Aspect | From resort |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Refuge de Lognan · Depuis Argentière | 1.2 · E1 · F | 827 m | 1,252 → 2,079 m | E · SE | 0.1 km |
| Lognan · La Trapette | 2.1 · E1 · PD- | 733 m | 1,240 → 1,973 m | NE | 1.5 km |
| Brèche Martin / Encrenaz · Couloir S | 4.2 · E2 · D- | 943 m | 2,500 → 2,887 m | n/a | 2.2 km |
| Col de Beugeant · Par le col des Montets, traversée sur le col de l'Encrenaz | n/a · AD | 1,400 m | 1,431 → 2,807 m | n/a | 2.3 km |
| Bec de Lachat · Face W | 3.2 · E1 · AD | 700 m | 1,400 → 3,028 m | W | 2.3 km |
| Col de la Persévérance · Couloir S | 4.2 · E2 · D- | 1,100 m | 1,764 → 2,845 m | S | 2.5 km |
| Aiguille de Mesure · Brèche Ramier | 5.2 · E3 · TD | 1,065 m | 1,460 → 2,525 m | n/a | 2.5 km |
| Aiguille de la Tête Plate · Couloir SW | 4.1 · E2 · AD- | 1,950 m | 1,060 → 2,944 m | SW | 2.6 km |
| Aiguille de Praz Torrent · Traversée de la Brèche de Praz Torrent | 4.3 · E2 · AD | 1,040 m | 1,430 → 2,415 m | NW | 2.6 km |
| Aiguille du Belvédère · par les Cols de l'Encrenaz, du Belvédère et de Beugeant | 5.1 · TD- | 2,350 m | 1,430 → 2,965 m | NE | 2.7 km |
| Col de Beugeant · enchaînement col de l'Encrenaz et du Belvédère | n/a · AD+ | 1,750 m | 1,460 → 2,807 m | S | 2.7 km |
| Aiguille de l'Encrenaz · Couloir N | 5.2 · E3 · TD | 1,440 m | 1,461 → 2,887 m | N | 2.7 km |
Source: Camptocamp.org topo guide (CC BY-SA), routes starting within 10 km, read on 13 September 2026. Descriptions and photos are on Camptocamp; an empty cell is a field nobody has filled in. Camptocamp ski touring routes ↗
Beyond skiing at Argentière
Ice rink
- Patinoire R. Bozon · Chamonix-Mont-Blanc · 7.6 km away
Spa and thermal baths
- QC Terme Spas and Resorts · Chamonix-Mont-Blanc · 7.4 km away
Dog sledding
- Evasion Nordique - Chiens de traineaux · Chamonix-Mont-Blanc · 5.3 km away
- Huskydalen - Chiens de traineaux · Chamonix-Mont-Blanc · 8.2 km away
Paragliding
- Parapente Laurent Nivart · Chamonix-Mont-Blanc · 6.5 km away
- Chamonix Parapente · Chamonix-Mont-Blanc · 7.9 km away
- Summits Parapente · Chamonix-Mont-Blanc · 8 km away
- Mc Fly école de Parapente & speed riding · Chamonix-Mont-Blanc · 8.1 km away
Museum
- Musée la Maison de Barberine, musée vallorcin · Vallorcine · 7.4 km away
- Le Musée du Mont-Blanc · Chamonix-Mont-Blanc · 8 km away
- Musée des Cristaux - Espace Tairraz · Chamonix-Mont-Blanc · 8.1 km away
Cinema
- Cinéma Vox · Chamonix-Mont-Blanc · 8.2 km away
- Cinéma immersif 4D · Chamonix-Mont-Blanc · 8.6 km away
Source: DATAtourisme (open data), within 10 km of the resort; places in a large town of the valley are left out. Checked on 12 September 2026. Opening times and prices are the operator’s — check before you go.
Practical information
Collective accommodation
2,653 bed spaces in tourist residences, holiday villages and hostels
- 50 hotels · 2,197 rooms (3 × 5★, 14 × 4★, 18 × 3★, 8 × 2★, 1 × 1★)
- 5 holiday villages and family centres · 658 bed spaces
- 6 tourist residences and apartment hotels · 1,360 bed spaces
- 3 youth hostels and sports centres · 635 bed spaces
- 11 campsites · 907 pitches
Commune: Chamonix-Mont-Blanc · INSEE tourist accommodation survey, 2026, read on 12 September 2026. Collective accommodation only — privately let flats and second homes are not counted. INSEE dataset ↗
Tourist office
Office du Tourisme
Ski school
ESF Argentiere
73 instructors
🇬🇧 6 English-speaking instructors — lessons in English available
🗓️ This school sells its lessons online — book ↗
Source: esf.net
In case of accident
112 — the European emergency number, free of charge, triggers mountain rescue. On the pistes, the ski patrol number is printed on the piste map and at lift ticket offices. Piste rescue is charged: check your insurance or take the option sold with the lift pass.
What's on around Argentière
All events →-
17 October 2026 · 14:30
Du Chamonix Palace au musée du Mont-Blanc
Musée du Mont-Blanc · Chamonix-Mont-Blanc
D’hier à aujourd’hui, remontez le fil de l’histoire de l’ancien Chamonix Palace devenu musée Alpin jusqu’à sa rénovation en musée du Mont-Blanc en compagnie de l’architecte Guillaume Girod et de la…
Source: OpenAgenda, agenda “Plan Libre, la gazette” · View on OpenAgenda ↗
Also near: Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (0.3 km), Planpraz (2.3 km), La Flégère (4.3 km), Les Houches (6.8 km)
Events published on OpenAgenda by the agendas named above, kept when they take place within 10 km of the resort. We organise nothing: times, prices and cancellations are the organiser's.
Nearby resorts
Frequently asked questions
How high is Argentière?
Argentière sits at 1,261 m at village level, and its ski area rises to 2,134 m.
How many kilometres of pistes does Argentière have?
Argentière has 66 km of pistes served by 23 lifts, within the linked Grands Montets area (OpenStreetMap survey).
What is the longest piste in Argentière?
The longest piste is Pierre à Ric: 3 km (red run), for 727 m of vertical. Measured on the OpenStreetMap map, segments of the same name and level joined end to end, altitudes from the IGN RGE ALTI terrain model — a resort sometimes advertises a longer run by chaining several pistes.
How high do the lifts go in Argentière?
The highest lift, Bochard, tops out at 2,768 m (IGN RGE ALTI terrain model). The 11 lifts mapped on OpenStreetMap total 10 km.
How do I get to Argentière?
By road, Argentière is 1 hr 15 from Genève (91 km), excluding traffic and winter conditions. By train, the nearest station is Argentière, 2 min by road from the resort. The nearest airport is Genève, 1 hr 40 away.
How long is the drive from Paris to Argentière?
6 hr 42 for 625 km from central Paris, excluding traffic and winter conditions. Computed on the real road network (OpenStreetMap): allow more on a school-holiday Saturday.
Is the snow reliable in Argentière?
Yes: good snow through most of the winter according to twenty winters of Météo-France measurements; in season the daily report prevails.
Is Argentière good for beginners and families?
53% of the pistes are green or blue: a rather technical area.
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