The small village of Argentière in the Chamonix Valley is home to an awesome snowboard paradise at Les Grands Montets, especially for on and off piste freeriding. Often referred to as a mecca due to its challenging couloirs and steep gullies, riding at les grands montets is varied and is spread over three slopes; the Argentière glacier, Lognan and La Pendant. This is the largest pisted area in the valley. Facilities for beginners are limited here though and riding is more suited to intermediate and advanced boarders on blues, reds and blacks and backcountry.

The village itself is charming, but small. Nightlife is restricted mostly to pubs - and bushwhackers the club which is open until 4. The Office is an institution amongst visitors to Argentière and features free pool downstairs and UK home comforts like pints of Stella and Guinness. I found it a bit too British for my liking, but hey. The savoy bar is good for a quiet and more authentic biere and I've heard good things about La Rusticana. I was told that the village is more than 50% owned by Brits which is a pity as it has driven prices up and makes it impossible for local first time buyers to remain in their own village. There is a supermarket which stocks most things at the top end of town, near the Office bar and the tourist information centre. The 78 year old taxi driver recently gave up for health reasons and Argentiere now has no taxi service of its own. You can get cabs from nearby Chamonix however or can get around the valley using the free bus.