Nestled in the foothills of Mont Blanc at an altitude of 1164 meters in the Mont-Blanc area, les Contamines-Montjoie has all the charm and personality of a mountain village resort. Magnificent scenery, well integrated architecture and modern equipment.
Les Contamines village has an appealingly authentic feel, and still has a reassuringly down-to-earth skyline. Chalet style still rules, with larger apartment developments only really in evidence (conveniently) closer to the Montjoie gondola. There’s also limited on-mountain hotel accommodation at Etape 1470. Shuttle-buses around the valley are free.
Two gondola lifts converge on Etape 1470, from which you either take an onward chairlift to ski a selection of tree-lined terrain (for competent skiers this means all the way down to the valley floor) or a gondola up to Signal 1900. Here you’ll find terrain for all abilities, novices included.
Lovers of Blue-graded cruising have a good selection of quite long runs, including a couple of scenic swoops over into the Hauteluce sector. It’s more competent skiers, though, who get to appreciate the full extent of just what Les Contamines offers. Red-grading tends to be more a reflection of gradient steepness than anything too daunting - and often you can change your mind along the way and switch to a Blue. For something altogether more testing, take the draglift up to Veleray 2450 for bracing drop down to 1577m on the Black-graded Rebans.
