The Best Trails with Restaurants around Chamonix

The short trail from Le Lavancher to Le Chapeau and back is our favorite little short trail if you are looking to combine a meal with a short family friendly walk. Le Lavancher has two nice restaurants. The first is Les Tables de Philippe which is part of the hotel called the Chalets de Philippe. This is a fine dining restaurant offering a chef's table a number of private dining options including a private little chalet and a clear bubble tent. We have eaten here a couple of times and its pricey but the food has always been of really good quality. The second is the gastronomic restaurant Le Rosebud which is located within the Jeu de Paume Hotel. This has also always been excellent. Lastly, the end goal of the trail is the Buvette de Chapeau. This is a typical Savoyard buvette serving croutes, omelettes and salads. What really stands out are their tarts and cakes. It has a fantastic outdoor deck with great views and will be much more casual option is you are bringing younger kids.

One of our favorite short-and-easy family outings is to take the Les Bossons chairlift and have a meal at the Chalet du Glacier des Bossons. Some times we then walk down but more often than not we just take the chair lift back down too. It is hard to explain but somehow that old 2-seater chair lift is one of our favorites in the valley. The Chalet itself is a nice little restaurant serving the typical Savoyard cheese dishes, salads and omelets. The food is generally of good quality but the thing that makes it really stand out is just the incredible setting of the restaurant right below the terminus of the Les Bossons glacier. Around the chalet there is a little path you can take to a view point and some information signs. If you want to turn this into a full trail adventure then you can do the climb up La Jonction. That is the trail we are presenting here. On the way you will pass by the excellent Chalet de Pyramides snack bar. Since this is an out-and-back trail you can then visit either chalet on the way up or down.

This trail takes place on the Montagne de Lognan above Argentiere. In winter this is the Grand Montets ski area. The trail used the Plan Joran lift go gain a good amount of altitude and it traverse to the beautiful Argentiere Glacier. We take a trail that runs parallel to the glacier up to a nice view point. We then descend to the Refuge de Lognan and that is where you can enjoy a really nice croute. In case you are not familiar, a Croute is traditional Savoyard over dish with old bread, white wine, cheese and cream. The Refuge does a number of variations on the classic dish with different added ingredients. We found it very, very tasty. The location and views from the refuge are great too. Overall, a fantastic little loop trail in a spectacular location with excellent croute!

This trail does a nice loop on the valley floor between the hamlets of Les Tines and Les Praz, a little north from Chamonix. There are a couple of places you can eat along the way. The most family friendly option is at the Paradis des Praz. This is a very popular playground in the forest behind the Chamonix Golf Course. This is mostly a snack bar serving ice creams, pancakes and drinks. Its a great place for the kids though. Later on in the trail after passing through Les Tines, you will end up in Les Bois where there is a lovely garden at the Hotel La Prairie where you can also enjoy a snack or light meal. In Les Praz is where you can find the real restaurant options and the Hotel-Restaurant Le Castel is a great option. Its a big place with a nice outdoor terrace. The La Cabane restaurant is located on the junction of the main road and the golf course and it also has an excellent menu and a large indoor and outdoor dining area.