10 Best Things to Do After Dinner in Chamonix

Laidback Bar’d Up is an easygoing Rue des Moulins venue popular among the seasonnaire (ski season workers) crowd. The casual, Australian-run spot has a lax dress code and a youthful clientele, plus reasonable drink prices to keep the booze flowing. Rock up during happy hour to snag some of the reasonably priced pints in town.

Live bands regularly take the stage, and the venue puts on an open-mic night several times per week. It’s also a popular spot to watch the latest Premiere League fixtures, which blare from numerous oversized TVs. Pool, darts, and foosball round out the onsite entertainment. 

La Folie Douce is the après-ski party palace in Chamonix. The well-known hotel franchise puts on wild events at its numerous branches throughout the Alps, and the Chamonix chapter is a local institution. Pumping live music, glamorous performances, and incessant champagne spraying make for one crazy knees-up.

The revelry abruptly stops around 8 pm, perhaps to restore peace and quiet to its exhausted hotel guests. But don’t worry. A sizeable chunk of the jubilant crowd simply skis onto another boozy venue – it’s a ski-in-ski-out spot, after all. The après-ski parties are held in winter only.

Kitsch Inn is an unpretentious après-ski beer hall running regular live music gigs near Chamonix. With genres spanning indie to folk and old-school rock, you’re bound to hear a few of your favourites blaring from the stage. Best of all, the exuberant crowd is known to join in with the music-making, transforming the bar into one giant singalong.

Reasonable prices, cosy decor, and top-notch nosh ensure the place packs out most nights. It’s located in the nearby village of Les Houches, but frequent shuttle buses can whisk you back and forth without much fuss.

Chambre Neuf is an elegant French restaurant by day and a raucous partying spot by night. Around 5 pm, the après-ski crowd packs the place out, ordering consecutive jugs of draught while waiting for the resident cover band, No Limits, to take the stage. When the Scandinavian musicians finally arrive, the whole house goes berserk.

Expect shoulder-to-shoulder revelry, ear-piercing tunes, and a solid drenching of sweat – it’s a quintessential ski crowd event. If crowd-surfing and table dancing aren’t on your agenda, we recommend trying somewhere more lowkey.

The Beckett & Wilde is your best bet when you’re craving a nice pint at a lowkey Irish pub while in Chamonix. This traditional wood-clad venue comes decked out with all the usual Irish-style decor and has an impressive selection of Guinness on tap. Drop in for cut-priced drinks during the après-ski happy hour (from 4 pm to 6 pm).

Live bands play most nights, but the music trends more downtempo than other Chamonix après-ski joints – think acoustic over rock. With all the vital matches on the big screen and more pool tables than you can poke a cue at, it’s a pleasant spot to while away an evening.

MBC Chamonix Microbrewery is the go-to venue for craft beer fans seeking tasty artisanal ale. The obsessively purist small-batch brewery doesn’t use preservatives or additives in their vats, instead sourcing top-quality malts, yeast, and hops for each delicious drop.

Despite residing outside the town centre, MBC pulls in the punters for its hearty Canadian/American food and frothy craft brews. Live bands and DJs put on a boisterous après-ski show during winter. Homesick North Americans will find solace in the decor and on-screen games – ice hockey is bigger than football here.

Cha Cha Cha is a charming bottle shop and pop-up tasting bar just south of downtown Chamonix. While high-quality French wine is the prime offering here, the venue has a solid selection of top-shelf spirits and craft beer. The knowledgeable staff can organise an impromptu tasting session on the outdoor patio with stunning Alps views.

An unpretentious atmosphere, reasonable prices, and top-notch tipples make it a hit among the sophisticated ski crowd. Found your new favourite drop? Feel free to order a bottle to take away.

La Maison des Artistes is a quirky, domed-shaped château in Chamonix serving as a live music venue and recording studio. Local and international artists live on-site, recording fresh new tunes throughout the day. Come night, and they belt out these newly created works to an appreciative après-ski crowd. Genres range from electro groove to salsa and jazz.

Performances take place on the luscious lawns surrounding the château, where you can admire jaw-dropping Mont Blanc views. Step inside the cosy, well-appointed lounge if you can’t handle the cold. The Chamonix-Mont-Blanc Town Hall helped found this chic concept venue to promote live music in the valley.

L’Amnesia is the biggest and most boisterous nightclub in Chamonix. The cavernous, neon-lit venue blasts banging EMD tunes until sunrise on weekends to an energetic crowd. Expect a healthy mix of British, Scandinavian, and local revellers – it’s a hit among holidaymakers and seasonnaires.

Scantily-clad dancers and internationally-renowned DJs take the stage to work the crowd into a fever pitch. However, high drink prices and strict bouncers mean it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. Nonetheless, it’s still your best (albeit only) option for all-night dancing in Chamonix.

Casino Le Royal is Chamonix’s premiere gaming house. Located in the heart of town, the iconic salmon pink edifice looks striking against a dramatic French Alps backdrop. While the service and ambience are generally quite pleasant, note there are no croupier-run games available here.

Inside, you’ll find all the usual electronic table games, from roulette to craps and blackjack. Sizable rooms come ram-packed with dinging poker machines, and there’s a pleasant (yet somewhat) expensive resto-bar to enjoy a quiet drink.