Argentière is a small village 8 kilometres up the valley from Chamonix, quieter and cheaper than the main town, with a good selection of bars and restaurants catering to a younger, more freeriding-oriented crowd. The glacier that takes its name pours visibly down from the peaks above the village — one of the few places in the Alps where a major glacier is this close to an inhabited settlement.
The Grands Montets cable car above Argentière serves the valley's most serious ski terrain: long, steep runs at high altitude with reliable north-facing snow. In summer the same lift provides access to high-altitude hiking and close-up views of the glacier. The village has a pretty 17th-century church and a cluster of traditional Savoyard chalets that predate the ski industry, giving it a more genuinely alpine character than much of Chamonix's own centre.