Mont Blanc is the highest peak in the Alps at a whopping 4808 meters, making it a popular tourist destination. It’s busiest during skiing season, but spring is also a beautiful season to visit in. We traveled in April, when the peaks were still covered in snow as far as the eye could see. This was a last minute decision for us and we were not well equipped from a clothing standpoint. Definitely pack warm if you’re traveling anytime other than summer! Despite this, we highly recommend doing a day trip to Mont Blanc if you can at all squeeze it in to your itinerary!
How to Get There
There are multiple ways to visit Mont Blanc. It is located in the French Alps, but is very close to Switzerland and Italy as well. We actually stayed in Geneva as we were visiting for other reasons. It’s really easy to arrange transport to Chamonix through Viator. This is the trip we booked.
There are also transportation options from other cities in the area . You could attempt to drive yourself but be warned you will be driving up twisty mountain roads. We were more comfortable having someone else drive, and the bus had huge windows so we could enjoy the view.
We opted for the cheaper option which included transport in a large air conditioned bus from Geneva to Chamonix. This allowed us a lot more flexibility to explore and enjoy at our own pace. When we arrived in Chamonix we easily made our way to cable car station and purchased our tickets. There is an option for either a round trip ticket or the Mont Blanc multi pass which involves access to various attractions (see below!).
What to Do
The Aiguille du Midi cable car has the world’s highest vertical ascent record and offers absolutely amazing views of the landscape below. You’ll arrive at the top and have access to multiple viewing platforms giving you pristine views of snow capped peaks. We found that when we were outside for too long, our iPhones kept turning off due to low temperature so we kept popping inside the snack bar to warm them up. There is also a restaurant available in case you are so inclined.
One must-do experience is “Step Into The Void”. This allows you to wear soft booties and walk out into a glass box to take in the views all around you. Don’t do this if you’re afraid of heights!
Optional Add-Ons
We really enjoyed riding the Montenvers train which is an iconic red funicular up the mountainside. It was a relaxing and relatively smooth ride that allowed for stunning views from either side of the train. The train takes you to an excellent viewing point of the Mer de Glace glacier. Mer de Glace directly translates into Sea of Ice and it basically a massive (over four miles long) glacier that moves slightly each year.
The Montenvers train will take you to a cable car station that you can take down to access the glacier and the ice cave. We highly recommend doing this, but make sure you’ve got some sturdy boots on because it’s over 400 steps down to the ice cave, or Grotte de glace. Don’t forget you’ll have to hike these stairs on the way up as well. It’s well worth seeing though and there are lots of interesting ice sculptures on display as well.
Chamonix
Chamonix is an idyllic mountainside town in France and is at the base of Mont Blanc. It is a beautiful ski resort town with lots of accommodation available, in case you want to stay for longer than a day. We recommend wandering around this quaint village and grabbing a bite to eat. We stopped at L’Alt and enjoyed some burgers, and wandered into a couple of shops before heading back to Geneva.
And that’s all on the day trip to Mont Blanc! Definitely a worthy addition to any Geneva itinerary. Check out more to do in France here.
