City Guide: Chamonix

CHAMONIX is a no-nonsense mountain city, located in the Rhone-Alpes region of eastern France. Looming high above is the daunting, yet spectacularly majestic sight of Mont Blanc. The site of the very first winter Olympics back in 1924, the city is now a firm favourite with mountain athletes and the adrenaline-junkies' playground attracts extreme sports people and fans from all over the globe who flock there to be challenged by the elements and forces of nature.

Best for base-jumping

Base-jumping is a fringe extreme sport and involves parachuting off a fixed object and is for experts only, professionals who know what they are doing and have trained for years. There's no room for mistakes. BASE stands for 'buildings, antennae, spans and earth', the four categories that provide a jumping platform and the high vertical cliffs around Chamonix offer some of the best locations in the world. The best place to watch base-jumpers in the valley is at Megallan, a 20-minute drive from the town centre.

Best for games

The annual Nissan Outdoor Games takes place around the Chamonix Valley, bringing together athletic performances and a creative and artistic dimension to a film and photography festival. The concept is to create a five-minute film uniting five outdoors activities shot in five days: mountain biking, paragliding, base-jumping, rock climbing and kayaking (www.outdoorgames.org). Then there's the Freeride de Chamonix Competition 2011, when the crme de la crme of skiing and snowboarding take part in a one-day competition, to take place in the Chamonix Valley on 22 January 2011 (www.freeridechamonix.com).

Best for paragliding

During the summer, paragliders head to Plan-Praz at the Brevant Resort, right above Chamonix, and one of the best places to watch paragliding is from a caf terrace, as they soar above the city centre. During the winter, they head to Les Grands Routets, and Les Aiguille du Midi is also a good place to paraglide. Experienced paragliders can rent equipment from one of the many schools in Chamonix, while beginners can take a five-day course or try a one-off tandem jump. One of the best companies for tandem jumps, lessons and rentals is Les Ailes du Mount-Blanc, run by World and European champion paraglider Sandie Cochepain (www.lesailesdumontblanc.com).

Best for speedriding

Speedriding is a new extreme sport and derives from acrobatic paragliding and freeride skiing. With the aid of a pair of skis, harness, helmet and a small chute, speed riders take off from ski slopes, staying low so they can mix gliding in the air with skiing, reaching places they cannot usually access by skiing alone. The best place to see this is at Le Tour, a 20-minute drive from Chamonix (or take a train), where the terrain makes it easier to learn. Les Ailes du Mount-Blanc runs beginner courses (www.lesailesdumontblanc.com).

Best for climbing

Chamonix-Mont-Blanc is simply the best place to be for climbing and is a Mecca for rock and ice climbing, as well as ski touring. There are thousands of easy-to-extreme routes throughout the area and large boulders strewn around for climbers to work on technical moves. One popular place is Bois du Boudret, while the Aiguille du Midi is a good spot to watch experienced climbers (www.chamonix-guides.com).

How to get there

Swiss airline, with BMI, operates daily flights to Geneva from London City and Heathrow. A one-way ticket starts at 100 (www.swiss.com). Check Chamonix Tourist Board site for local information, (www.chamonet.com).

Best place to stay

Hotel Gustavia is not the quietest place but it's very convenient. Opposite the railway station, so there's no long trek back at the end of the day carrying heavy gear, it's inexpensive, has a good restaurant and lively, fun bar on street level. It's a favourite place for locals and visitors with tourists, extreme skiers and alpinists meeting to chat about their extreme day on the mountain and enjoy hearty portions of rustic food served in the restaurant or on the shady terrace (www.hotelgustavia.eu).

Best place to eat

The Micro Brasserie de Chamonix (www.mbchx.com/eng%20mbc%20home.htm) is a good place to hang out in the evenings and popular with locals. Famous skiers often show up too. Chambre 9 opposite Chamonix station, is a busy bar with lots of atmosphere.

• This article was first published in the Scotland on Sunday on November 7, 2010