Holiday in Mont Blanc / Chamonix

About Mont Blanc / Chamonix

Chamonix-Mont-Blanc is the cradle of alpinism and home to the highest mountain in Europe — a town where extreme mountain sports, French lifestyle, and one of the most dramatic alpine backdrops in the world converge. Mont Blanc rises 4,808 meters above sea level and dominates the Chamonix valley like a white throne. Since its first ascent in 1786 by Jacques Balmat and Michel-Gabriel Paccard, the mountain has attracted climbers, skiers, and nature lovers from all over the world. The Aiguille du Midi (3,842 m) can be reached by cable car in just 20 minutes from Chamonix and offers perhaps the most spectacular mountain panorama in the Alps: a glass skywalk (Step into the Void) juts out over a 1,000-meter abyss, and the view extends over the peaks of the Mont-Blanc massif, the Matterhorn silhouette, and on clear days as far as the Jura. From here, the Vallee Blanche starts — a 20 km glacier descent through the sea of ice, the most challenging and beautiful off-piste descent in the Alps. The Mer de Glace (Sea of Ice) is the largest glacier in France at 7 km long: the historic Montenvers cogwheel train (since 1909) takes visitors to an altitude of 1,913 m, from where a gondola and stairs lead to the ice cave inside the glacier. The dramatic glacier retreat — over 2 km since 1850 — makes climate change visibly tangible here. The Tour du Mont Blanc (TMB), one of the most famous long-distance hiking trails in the world, circumnavigates the entire Mont-Blanc massif in 170 km through three countries (France, Italy, Switzerland) and crosses seven passes over 2,000 m. The 10-12 daily stages lead through alpine meadows, glacier moraines, and picturesque mountain villages with overnight stays in mountain huts and refuges. Chamonix itself is a vibrant alpine town with a French flair: bakeries with fresh croissants, fromageries with Reblochon and Beaufort, craft beer bars, and an international extreme sports community. In winter, the four ski areas (Les Grands Montets, Brévent-Flégère, Les Houches, Balme) offer over 150 km of slopes, along with world-class freeride terrain.