Whiteout Day, Chill, Culture

1,800 treasures from five continents, and just as many anecdotes to sparkle at aperitifs.

• Mountaineering in the Chamonix-Mont-Blanc Valley and the quest for precious minerals are inextricable.
• Many gemstones are crystals, but not all crystals are gemstones.
• The largest gold nugget ever found weighed 72 kg, and the Crystal Museum has one of only three replicas in the world.
• The smoky hue of quartz from the Mont-Blanc massif comes from the radioactivity it contains.
• Opal is an amorphous mineral, which doesn't mean it's completely soft, but rather that its atoms don't follow any order.

Bonus! Thursdays during school holidays, 2:15-4:15 pm on reservation: guided tours by a crystal expert from the Chamonix Mineralogy Club (scientific explanations, field anecdotes, discovery stories, and rare insights into crystal research techniques).

Tues-Sun / 2-6 pm

Have you found your studio cabin for two cramped?

Wait until you visit the reconstructed traditional three-room family apartment at the Montagnard Museum.

• The entrance was shared by both people... and their pets.
• A single window faces the valley to lose as little heat as possible – high energy efficiency ahead of its time.
• A parents' bed with a drawer to store their belongings and put their children to sleep.
• Because a lame cow is a mountain of worries, each one had its own "hoof bag."
• A wooden bucket with a metal handle, as practical for carrying milk as it is for the monthly shower.

Bonus! Temporary exhibition until May 16, 2026: "Cable Car and Company" (photos, documents, and previously unpublished accounts of the 90-year history of the Bellevue cable car in Les Houches).

School holidays only: Tuesday-Sunday / 2-6 pm

History as if you were there... in 1924.

The exhibition "Chamonix 1924 – The Invention of the Winter Olympics" retraces the crazy week when the valley became the centre of the world.

• The very first Winter Olympics didn't yet bear the name: it was called "International Winter Sports Week."
• In 1924, Chamonix built a 36,000 m² ice rink, a bobsleigh run in the Pèlerins Forest, and a ski jump in Les Bossons, all in just a few months!
• Chamonix photographer Auguste Couttet immortalised these Games with incredible photos, now preserved in the Gay-Couttet collection (12,000 mountain photos spanning a century).
• Fun fact: the first Winter Olympic gold medal was won by an American athlete in... speed skating! The centenary will be celebrated until March 15, 2026, allowing you to relive the week of 1924 through photos, videos, testimonials, and anecdotes from athletes.

Thursday-Sunday / 2–6 p.m. (hours vary depending on the season)