The buvette de la Vormaine is a little hidden gem of the Chamonix valley. Sure, it's only cans of drinks, coffees and the usual hot dogs and trays of chips, but it has a nice atmosphere with a large terrace area looking back up to the Balme ski area and across the adjacent pistes of La Vormaine beginner area.

If you've kids or friends in lessons at La Vormaine, this is a great place to have a chill and watch their progression. The prices are really reasonably for Chamonix, but then it is just a snack bar and doesn't pretend to be a full on mountain restaurant - and that's part of its charm.

Only open in the winter, the buvette takes two minutes to walk to from the bottom of the home run at Balme, just head for the bottom of the drag lifts and you'll see it.