Chamonix Travel Guide: Skiing, Hiking & Mont Blanc

Chamonix is where the sport of mountaineering was born, and you can still feel that history in the air. The town sits at 1,035 meters with Mont Blanc — at 4,808 meters, the highest mountain in the Alps — looming directly above. It’s a town that takes mountains seriously.

The Aiguille du Midi cable car climbs to 3,842 meters in under 20 minutes — a vertiginous ascent that deposits you on a needle-thin summit ridge with views of the Mont Blanc massif, Italy, and Switzerland. The ‘Step into the Void’ glass cube jutting over the edge is terrifying and irresistible. Book in advance; it sells out.

The Mer de Glace glacier is reached by the Montenvers rack railway — a beautiful old train that climbs to a glacier viewpoint. The glacier has receded dramatically in recent decades, making the visit both spectacular and sobering.

The Lac Blanc hike is our top recommendation — a high alpine lake with the full Mont Blanc massif reflected in its surface. Plan for a full day. In winter, the Vallée Blanche off-piste route — a 20km glacier descent — is bucket-list skiing.