Le Chapeau snack bar

A chalet serving light refreshments located right by the gorges de l'Arveyron (canyon), offering a view of Les Drus and the Chamonix valley.

The Buvette du Chapeau as we see it today is not the first of its kind...

In 1855, a refuge was created to accommodate the many tourists and guides crossing the Mer de Glace from Montenvers. Over the course of almost a century, the Chapeau refuge became an almost unmissable excursion, as travelers flocked to the Mauvais Pas trail. Le Chapeau is like a reward, thanks to its well-served table and its breathtaking view over the Chamonix valley.

Following a landslide in the winter of 1953, it was decided that the Chapeau refuge was too exposed to rockfalls and other hazards.

In 1954, Gilberte and Luc Couttet took over the concession for the buvette du Chapeau for the next twenty years, with the aim of redeveloping it close to the old chalet, but sheltered from rockfalls.

Luc and his sons Freddy and Michel set to work, building the buvette du Chapeau you know today, against the rock.

Le Chapeau has always been a family-run bar, and since 2011 has been run by Thierry Couttet, one of Michel's sons.