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Chamonix Activity Report: 22nd June 2012

Fete de la Musique - biggest party of the year!

featured in Activity reviews Author Alison Shayler, Chamonix Reporter Updated

This report nearly didn't happen; it might yet not happen, this report could very well end up in the abyss that is the day after the Fête de la Musique...

Every Midsummer's Eve in France a music festival takes place in which bars and clubs are allowed to make as much noise as they like and stay open all night. As you can probably imagine, Chamonix embraces this festival wholeheartedly and makes the very most of this one night of madness, I have never yet made it home before daybreak and the 22nd June is usually a write-off. I have well and truly impressed myself by making it out of bed today in the name of duty, diligent reporter that I am.

All the action takes place down the Rue des Moulins, but this year there was a nice little warm-up party in Cham Sud. Tucked away at the foot of the Aiguille du Midi, Chamonix Sud (South Chamonix) is just 5 minutes walk from the centre of town and has a chilled out sun-trap of a square surrounded by three bars. By 5pm there were DJs playing al fresco beats from their mini-marquee that had been set up for the occasion outside South Bar and Monkey, so we settled ourselves on the terrace with a chilled bottle of rosé to enjoy the afternoon sunshine. This being Chamonix of course it was interspersed with torrential rain and the odd rumble of thunder, but we soldiered on until around midnight when we joined the masses on Rue des Moulins.

The narrow cobbled street lined with traditional stone buildings doesn't seem the most obvious focal point for an all-night party but every year this is where everyone ends up and the atmosphere is fantastic. All the bars have bands and DJs playing indoors and on make-shift stages outside; people mill about, dance wherever they feel like it and flow from one bar to the next, you are guaranteed to lose whoever you turned up with but you will also bump into everyone you've ever met in Chamonix. Playing over at Bar'd Up was Angels & Sailors, who were back for one night only due to popular demand and have recently featured in a Nokia advert. They are a regular feature in the winter and it was great to see them back again, belting out their own rocking bluesy tunes as well as a few covers.

The rest of the night/morning was spent in a bit of a blur at Mix Bar – I recall music, dancing, probably more drinking... Fete de la Musique is one of those nights, if you can remember it then you weren't doing it properly.

I'll be taking it easy tonight but those of you who have enough stamina to head back into the fray should go to Chambre 9; No Limits are back in town! The night will kick off with a BBQ and then they'll be rocking all the classic apres tunes from 9:30pm, if you can't make it tonight they're back tomorrow at 6pm. If you've never seen them in action you should definitely go and check them out, they don't have a legion of adoring fans for nothing!

Alternatively, make the most of the sunshine and head to one of the lakes in the area. Nearby the obvious option is Lac des Gaillands – 20 minutes walk from Chamonix centre, great views, grassy areas for sunbathing, bolted routes for rock climbing and lots of local walking trails. If you have a car then Lac du Passy is only a 20 minute drive and is great for swimming, sunbathing and general laziness; you can take a BBQ, or they have a lovely lakeside café. A few days ago I drove up above Servoz to Lac Vert where you can stop en-route at Plateau d'Assy to watch the parapenters taking off, or have a go yourself! You are really high up here and you get great views of further down the valley towards Geneva. Lac Vert itself is aptly named for it's bright green waters, it is very picturesque and is a lovely peaceful place for a picnic, see the map at the top of this page for directions.

This weekend I'll be trying out white water rafting with Evolution 2, so fingers crossed for hot weather... check back in on Monday to find out how I got on.

Location

Map of the surrounding area