36 Hours in Chamonix

Skiers, climbers, foodies and night-life lovers: This French town at the base of a lofty Alps peak welcomes you at its most magical time, the winter.

'In 1920, the town council of Chamonix, then a quiet French community of 3,000 people, decided to change the municipality’s name to Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, thus forging an official link to the mountain, the highest in Western Europe, with a summit that soars 12,000 feet above the town center. The council’s goal was to prevent their Swiss neighbors from claiming the mountain’s glory, but there was really no need: It’s impossible when you’re in Chamonix to ignore the gargantuan, icy beauty that looms overhead. And, as in any good mountain resort town, the adrenaline rush promised by the surrounding slopes fuels a sense of revelry and indulgence in the valley below. Perhaps nowhere else is this dynamic so evident as in Chamonix, where you can wander through a landscape that feels as wild and harsh as the moon, then, half an hour later, soak in a Jacuzzi under the stars. Chamonix is a glorious place for visitors, especially in winter, when the town and its mountains are cloaked in snow. Professional climbers, weekend skiers, gourmands, night-life lovers, devoted adrenaline seekers — Chamonix welcomes them all with the classic French double kiss.'>>>

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/13/travel/what-to-do-in-chamonix.html?

(Nostalgic for me, years ago stopped here on the way to Aosta, Italy, a city for me near a skiing venue for my husband. I remember the fondue in Chamonix!)