Playing chess on holiday in the Alps: resorts, festivals and Aix-les-Bains

Updated 18 October 2026 · Échecs en Savoie, independent guide

What is there to do in Aix-les-Bains or in the Alps if you love chess? In summer, two international festivals follow one another in the Tarentaise, at La Plagne and then Les Menuires, and welcome all levels. All year round, the clubs of Aix-les-Bains, Chambéry or Annecy often welcome visiting players. And the resorts of Courchevel, Méribel, Val Thorens, Val-d'Isère and Alpe d'Huez have all hosted a French Championship.

Aix-les-Bains: what to do when you play chess

A spa town on the shores of Lac du Bourget, Aix-les-Bains receives spa visitors and holidaymakers every year. For a chess player, a stay can make room for the game in three ways:

• Visit the local club. The town has an FFE-affiliated club, the Académie d'Échecs d'Aix-les-Bains, whose federation page declares seven-day-a-week opening. The terms on which a visiting player is welcomed should be asked of the club, through its official website. This guide has no connection with it. More details on our page on where to play chess in Aix-les-Bains.
• Play a tournament. Depending on the time of year, a one-day rapid event or a round of the Savoie championship may fall during your stay. See our tournament calendar.
• Follow in the champions' footsteps. Aix-les-Bains hosted the French Championship in 2003 and 2007, then the European Championship in 2011. Their story is told on our pages French Championships in Aix and Europe 2011.

And for impromptu games by the lake or on the holiday-let terrace, a compact set is enough: folding chess sets store the pieces inside the board and slip into a suitcase.

Summer festivals in the resorts

The two festivals follow each other: you can string together two weeks of competition in the Tarentaise. Details, rolls of honour and entry advice are on our pages on the La Plagne festival and the Les Menuires open.

The resorts that have hosted a French Championship

If you spend your holidays in one of these resorts, you are treading a place of chess history:

The story of the Alpe d'Huez editions, with their knockout format, is on our page on the French Championships at Alpe d'Huez.

Planning a chess break in the mountains

1. Choose the time of year: July for the Tarentaise festivals; the rest of the year, club tournaments and the weekends of the Savoie championship.
2. Check your licence: it is required for rated tournaments. See our page on the chess licence.
3. Book early: in July, resort accommodation fills up fast, all the more so as the festivals attract players from many countries.
4. Bring your equipment: a travel set for analysis, a clock if you want to practise.
5. Keep your energy up: altitude and long hikes are tiring; a four-hour classical game requires you to be rested.

Chess in the open air

Some towns and resorts set up giant chessboards in summer on their squares or beside lakes, and mountain terraces lend themselves to quiet games. Large outdoor sets have become a prized feature of holiday accommodation, campsites and gardens: the Palais des Échecs has devoted an article to giant outdoor chessboards, useful if you are thinking of installing one in a chalet or gîte.

Clubs to play at during a stay

Outside the festivals, the simplest way to find opponents is to contact a local club before you arrive. The region's clubs are presented on our pages on Savoie, Haute-Savoie and Isère and Hautes-Alpes, with their venues and websites. In the Tarentaise, Le Bois Tarentaise Échecs and Albertville Savoie Échecs are the closest to the big resorts; in the Mont-Blanc area, it is Mont Blanc Échecs, in Sallanches.