Les-Praz-de-Chamonix is a mountain village in the French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 Alps

Alps

The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....

, part of the commune of Chamonix

Chamonix

Chamonix-Mont-Blanc or, more commonly, Chamonix is a commune in the Haute-Savoie département in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. It was the site of the 1924 Winter Olympics, the first Winter Olympics...

. Altitude: 1060m (3477 ft.).

Geography

Les Praz is located in the middle of the valley of Chamonix

Chamonix

Chamonix-Mont-Blanc or, more commonly, Chamonix is a commune in the Haute-Savoie département in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. It was the site of the 1924 Winter Olympics, the first Winter Olympics...

. It is connected to Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

 by the pass over the Col des Montets

Col des Montets

Col des Montets is a mountain pass in the French Alps in the Haute-Savoie department of France. It is on the road between Chamonix and Martigny in the canton of Valais, Switzerland.It lies between the Swiss Col de la Forclaz and Chamonix....

, and the Col de la Forclaz

Col de la Forclaz

Col de la Forclaz is a mountain pass in the Alps in the Canton of Valais in Switzerland. It connects Martigny at and Le Châtelard . The road from Martigny to the Col has an average gradient of 6% but in parts is more like 8%...

 to Martigny

Martigny, Switzerland

Martigny is the capital of the French-speaking district of Martigny in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It lies at an elevation of , and its population is approximately 15000 inhabitants . It is a junction of roads joining Italy, France and Switzerland...

 in the Rhône

Rhône River

The Rhone is one of the major rivers of Europe, rising in Switzerland and running from there through southeastern France. At Arles, near its mouth on the Mediterranean Sea, the river divides into two branches, known as the Great Rhone and the Little Rhone...

 valley. Les Praz is the starting point for the cable car up to La Flégère, which is well known for skiing and snowboarding in winter or hiking and mountain biking in summer. Peaks on the west side of the village include the Aiguilles Rouges

Aiguilles Rouges

The Aiguilles Rouges are a crystalline mountainous massif of the French Prealps, opposite the Mont Blanc massif. The color of the iron rich gneiss mountains gives the range its name. The highest summit is the Aiguille du Belvédère at...

, much of which are a nature reserve. On the east side, the sky is dominated by the Aiguille du Dru

Aiguille du Dru

The Aiguille du Dru is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif in the French Alps, lying to the east of the village of Les Praz in the Chamonix valley.The mountain has two summits:...

 and to the south by Mont Blanc

Mont Blanc

Mont Blanc or Monte Bianco , meaning "White Mountain", is the highest mountain in the Alps, Western Europe and the European Union. It rises above sea level and is ranked 11th in the world in topographic prominence...

.