Churches & Chapels around Chamonix
The Chamonix Valley and the regions around it, feature a lot of beautiful churches and chapels. Many of these have an absolutely fascinating history and go back hundreds of years. Often these churches and chapels have their origin in a small chapel or an oratory and then over time they are expanded. Many of these religious structures had to be rebuilt due to political events, fires and in many cases natural disasters like avalanches and even glacier damage. It is always nice when a trail has a bit of a mixture of natural and man-made marvels and knowing the history of these churches and chapels will make you appreciate them more if you end up visiting them during one of your hiking or trail running adventures.
Some of the churches and chapels that stand out in our opinion are the Chapelle Notre Dame du Lac in Servoz which we like a lot for its positioning on top of a big rock formation. The Eglise Notre Dame in Vallorcine is a special because it has been hit so many times by avalanches that they build a thick rockwall on one side of the church in protection. The main church of Chamonix, the Eglise Saint-Michel is an icon of Chamonix dating back to 1119 and it should not be missed.
