Saint-Gervais-les-Bains is a town located west from Chamonix at the start of the Montjoie valley. It has a population of roughly 5,000 inhabitants. It is a popular tourist destination for both summer and winter mountain activities but it does not draw in the same crowds as the main towns in the Chamonix valley. It has fantastic tourist infrastructure with plenty of hotels, restaurants, bakeries and attractions to accommodate and entertain guests. The beautiful Église Saint-Gervais-et-Saint-Protais is the main church in the center of town and it is worth a visit. The Pont du Diable is a big bridge over a deep gorge through which the Bonnant river flows. There are flags of many nations mounted on the bridge and the views from the bridge are pretty nice.

Saint-Gervais is easily reached by public transport with the Saint-Gervais-les-Bains-le-Fayet train station being the starting point for the train that runs passed Servoz, across the entire Chamonix Valley and ends in Vallorcine. The very popular Tramway du Mont Blanc mountain train also starts near the Le Fayet train station and ends up at the Nid d'Aigle at more than 2400 meters. Another popular attraction in Saint-Gervais, is the Parc Thermal du Fayet which has a rock climbing wall, accro park, playgrounds and a thermal bath and treatment center.

The westward ski runs of Les Houches end right above Saint Gervais but the town has no lifts servicing that ski area. Instead Saint Gervais has lifts that connect it to the very large ski area of Megeve. The Betex lift is open in summer and a great way of exploring Mont Joly