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Food shopping in Albiez-Montrond: village shops and the stop in Saint-Jean
The Sherpa by the slopes, the Sambuis Dufreney grocery and the bakery in the village, Carrefour Market and Lidl in Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne: where to shop, and in which order.
Albiez-Montrond has everything you need without going back down: a supermarket on the snow front, a grocery and a bakery in the village. But to reach Albiez you have to pass through Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne — and that is where the big shop belongs.
The sensible routine: the big shop in Saint-Jean, the rest in the village
Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne is on the way, roughly 30 km and 20 minutes from Albiez. It has a Carrefour Market (with a click-and-collect service, so you can order from home and load up in ten minutes) and a Lidl.
Worth knowing: there is a petrol station and a laundrette at the Carrefour Market. Over a week with ski gear, the laundrette is not a detail.
Once you are up there, the village shops cover everything else: bread, the things you forgot, cheese, aperitif supplies.
On the Mollard snow front — the Sherpa
This is the closest shop to the apartment, 250 m away, and it sits right on the snow front. That changes what it is for entirely: not a shop you plan a trip to, but a two-minute stop on your way back from the slopes, skis in hand, for tomorrow's bread or whatever dinner is missing.
Groceries and household goods, with delivery available. On site: a bread counter, a butcher and charcuterie counter, cut-to-order cheese and regional produce.
Opening hours — they vary by season and are kept up to date on the shop's own page: sherpa.net — Albiez-Montrond
It is also the best address for taking home something you will not find in a supermarket:
- Sandrine's home-made dried beef sausages, made on the premises — the shop's speciality, and lethal with an aperitif.
- Buckwheat from Saint-Jean.
- Honey from an Albiez beekeeper.
- Beers from Modane and Valloire.
- Génépi from a small local distillery.
In the village — the Sambuis Dufreney grocery
A small grocery-cum-general store in the heart of the village, housed in what was once a farm, later converted into a traditional shop. This family business is open every day of the year — a sentence that means something in the mountains.
You will find general groceries, cut charcuterie and cheese, regional produce, gas, hardware and first-aid supplies. Fresh bread from the Moulin Valentin is delivered daily.
Opening hours (subject to change): every day 7.30 am to 12.30 pm, then 5 pm to 7 pm — and 4 pm to 7 pm from 3 July to 3 September.
In the village — the bakery
Le Moulin Valentin sells bread, pastries, sweet tarts, hot and cold drinks, open sandwiches, quiches and sandwiches. Its history deserves an article of its own.
Taking cheese home: the cooperative
To leave with something that extends the holiday, the stop is the Arves valley cooperative dairy, which has a shop in Albiez-Montrond. Their Beaufort AOP is excellent, and the range goes well beyond it: cheeses, charcuterie, jams, honey.
What to bring with you
A few consumables are not provided in the apartment and cost much less down in the valley: dishwasher tablets, 50 L bin bags, toilet paper and Nespresso capsules. Worth putting in the boot before driving up — the full list is on the apartment page.
Read next
- Six waymarked walks starting from Albiez-MontrondFrom 40 minutes to 3½ hours, six waymarked routes leaving from the village or the Mollard — junction by junction.
- Le Moulin Valentin, the bakery of Albiez-MontrondA bakery whose story starts in 1694 — and a bacon-and-cheese 'pain yéti' that settles the picnic question.
- Beaufort des Arves: the cooperative dairy to stock up on cheeseSummer or winter Beaufort is not the same cheese. A shop in Albiez-Montrond, and a raclette grill waiting in the apartment.