Tour de Mont Blanc

2025-08-23 · France, Italy, Switzerland

Tour de Mont Blanc

Overview

Map

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Trip retro

We planned and did this Tour de Mont Blanc with several goals in mind: - Fit it in one week + weekends = 9 days so we need to take only 5 days of vacation to finish it - Not to be purist and leverage bus/cable cars when it make sense. We would rather spend the time hiking beautiful parts and skip the less exciting ones than to get too tired to enjoy the beautiful parts. - ±15-20 kms per day with some reasonable climbing ±1000m. This itinerary fit those perfectly. If you want speed run/no buses/camping, look for a diferent one however. I was booking the mountain huts at the beginning of January and the first availability with start in Saturday I was able to secure was in end of August. It's really important to book the huts early as TMB is extremely popular and places fill super quickly. Ideally mark your calendar with dates when huts start to accept reservations to make sure you get your spots. I think we got lucky.

Weather overview

9 days · Typical conditions

A few wet days

Pack a light rain layer

Rain on 4 of 9 days · ~57h total

dry
light rain
moderate rain
heavy rain

Temp range9° – 24°C

Avg day / night17° / 7°C

By place

Chamonix-Mont-Blanc1 dayDay 19° / Night 9°C10° swingrain 0/1
Gîte les Mélèzes1 dayDay 21° / Night 7°C14° swingrain 0/1
Refuge de la Croix du Bonhomme1 dayDay 9° / Night 2°C7° swingrain 0/1
Refuge Elisabetta1 dayDay 13° / Night 4°C9° swingrain 0/1

Weather overview

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Cost breakdown

Currency: EUR

Accommodation

Chamonix-Mont-Blanc1n × 87 EUR	52 EUR
Gîte les Mélèzes1n × 60 EUR	85 EUR
Refuge de la Croix du Bonhomme	61 EUR
Refuge Elisabetta	62 EUR
Courmayeur1n × 208 EUR	60 EUR
La Peule	92 EUR
Relais d'Arpette1n × 289 EUR	90 EUR
Hôtel La Grande Ourse1n × 128 EUR	100 EUR
Subtotal	602 EUR

Transit

🚆 Train - Take a train to Le Fayet → Take Mont Blanc tramway to Bellevue	23 EUR
🚆 Train - Chamonix-Mont-Blanc → Take a train to Le Fayet	5 EUR
🚌 Bus - Courmayeur → Take the bus to Arp Nouvaz	0 EUR
🚌 Bus - Catch bus at La Fouly to skip the "boring" part of the valley → Take bus to Issert	4 EUR
Subtotal	32 EUR

Food

9 days20 EUR

Other

Dolonne cable car CourmaryeurEstimate	11 EUR
Laundry in CourmayeurEstimate	10 EUR

Estimated total≈ 674 EUR

Cost breakdown

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Itinerary

Day 1 · 2025-08-23

Chamonix-Mont-Blanc

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Activities

· Park the car at Col des Montets
· Take the cable car from Planpraz to Chamonix

Park the car at Col des Montets

COL DES MONTETS

We decided to park the car north of Chamonix and hike our first stage there. It was a good choice looking back. The parking lot on Col des Montets is great. It's pretty large and free so you can leave the car there for the whole week without any problems. At least we didn't face any. We arrived in the morning, around 10. There were not that many places left. Hard to say if we were lucky or if it was a normal situation. But we left the car there and start the hike.

Walk - Park the car at Col des Montets → Take the cable car from Planpraz to Chamonix

Walk · 13 km · 5h 37m · ↑ 900 m ↓ 310 m

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↑ 900 m ↓ 310 m

2157 m1442 m

The hike from the parking lot to the Panpraz cable car is such a beautiful section. We started with such a great stage, There are couple of ladders and cable sections but it's nothing too scary or exposed. Reward is a beautiful view over Mont Blanc massif and Chamonix down in the valley.

Take the cable car from Planpraz to Chamonix

Planpraz

We took the cable car down to go easy on our knees and keep them fresh for future stages :)

Chamonix-Mont-Blanc

There are many many hotels available in Chamonix. It's a very nice city. When we did the TMB, UTMB ultra marathon was happening in the area. Chamonix was just preparing for the start of the race. It didn't limit us anyhow and it was interesting to see.

Day 2 · 2025-08-24

Gîte les Mélèzes

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Activities

· Take a train to Le Fayet
· Take Mont Blanc tramway to Bellevue
· Grab a lunch at Refuge de Miage

Train - Chamonix-Mont-Blanc → Take a train to Le Fayet

Train

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Take a train to Le Fayet

Saint-Gervais-les-Bains-Le Fayet railway station

We read that the section after Chamonix is not that exciting. To be able to fit the whole TMB into 9 days we decided to shorten the stage/day by taking a train to La Fayet and then Mont Blanc Tramway to Bellevue.

Train - Take a train to Le Fayet → Take Mont Blanc tramway to Bellevue

Train · 17 km

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Take Mont Blanc tramway to Bellevue

Gare de Bellevue Hiver

Mont Blanc Tramway is a very cool train/funicular which take you up from Le Fayet up to Bellevue mountain. You could also take a reguler cable car there but we wanted to experience this unique and signature train. We bought train tickets in the station but looking back it would be smart to book the tickets in advance online.

Walk - Take Mont Blanc tramway to Bellevue → Grab a lunch at Refuge de Miage

Walk · 7 km · 3h 25m · ↑ 410 m ↓ 580 m

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↑ 410 m ↓ 580 m

2139 m1559 m

Grab a lunch at Refuge de Miage

· food

Refuge de Miage

We had a lunch at Refuge de Miage. Lovely place, I had a "full" lunch deal with salad, omelette and an ice cream as desert.

Walk - Grab a lunch at Refuge de Miage → Gîte les Mélèzes

Walk · 6 km · 2h 20m · ↑ 180 m ↓ 590 m

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↑ 180 m ↓ 590 m

1747 m1142 m

Gîte les Mélèzes

Gîte les Mélèzes was such a gem on the Tour de Mont Blanc. It's a "regular" house where local couple host people hiking TMB. You have a dinner with the rest of the people staing there. Owners prepare it and you eat it together. Before the dinner, they prepared a tasting of local hams and chesse. Before the dinner, you can get wine or beer there and just chill in the garden. It was a small paradise and the dinner was definitely one of the peaks of the whole week.

Day 3 · 2025-08-25

Refuge de la Croix du Bonhomme

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Walk - Gîte les Mélèzes → Refuge de la Croix du Bonhomme

Walk · 13 km · 5h 52m

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Refuge de la Croix du Bonhomme

We were a little afraid when staying in Refuge de la Croix du Bonhomme as the reviews are definitely mixed. I must say it was definitely better than expected. Yes, there was lot of flies because they get all the supplies to the hut with donkeys but then the rest was either "ok" or great. The best part is the view which is stunning. Dinner was good, showers ok, sleeping fine. We had a bedroom for 4 which was great. The dormitory looked scary big so I was happy for a smaller bedroom we were able to book. Important update: As of eummer 2026, Refuge de la Croix du Bonhomme is closed for renovations

Day 4 · 2025-08-26

Refuge Elisabetta

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Activities

· Lunch at Refuge des Mottets

Walk - Refuge de la Croix du Bonhomme → Lunch at Refuge des Mottets

Walk · 8 km · 3h 19m · ↑ 260 m ↓ 830 m

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↑ 260 m ↓ 830 m

2666 m1777 m

There is a farm selling local products like cheese and sausages in La Ville des Glaciers. We got some tasty snack there.

Lunch at Refuge des Mottets

· food

Refuge des Mottets

Walk - Lunch at Refuge des Mottets → Refuge Elisabetta

Walk · 8 km · 3h 30m · ↑ 650 m ↓ 340 m

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↑ 650 m ↓ 340 m

2515 m1856 m

Refuge Elisabetta

Refuge Elisabetta needs to be booked via email, they speak english just fine. Dinner was great, 3 courses, typical italian dinner with pasta as the first, meat as the second course.

Day 5 · 2025-08-27

Courmayeur

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Activities

· Take Courmayeur cable car down to the town
· Take Dollone cable car down to the town

Take Courmayeur cable car down to the town

Courmayeur

Walk - Take Courmayeur cable car down to the town → Take Dollone cable car down to the town

Walk · 12 km · 4h 33m · ↑ 420 m ↓ 900 m

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↑ 420 m ↓ 900 m

2416 m1710 m

You could technically go through the valley and not use any cable car whatsoever. We wanted to see the Mont Blanc massive from the other side though. The weather didn't cooperate with us that day but it was still really nice.

Take Dollone cable car down to the town

Dolonne

It was 10,50 EUR per person one way. Not bad

Courmayeur

We stayed in one of many hotels in Courmayeur. We leveraged the stay in the city to do a laundry. There are two in the city, we used Lava Piu near our hotel

Day 6 · 2025-08-28

La Peule

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Activities

· Take the bus to Arp Nouvaz

Bus - Courmayeur → Take the bus to Arp Nouvaz

Bus · 14 km · 23m

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The bus in the valley is free of charge and comes regularly. We wanted hike from an earlier bus stop but it was raining in the morning so we took the bus all the way to the end station in Arp Nouvaz. To get to the bus just go to the main bus station in Courmayeur.

Take the bus to Arp Nouvaz

Arp Nouvaz

Walk - Take the bus to Arp Nouvaz → La Peule

Walk · 8 km · 3h 51m · ↑ 750 m ↓ 430 m

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↑ 750 m ↓ 430 m

2536 m1767 m

From Arp Nouvaz you climb up to Grand Col Ferret from where you have a beautiful view over the valley and also onto the glaciers on the other side. By the way it’s also a border between Italy and Switzerland.

La Peule

La Peule is a great small cottage/farm. There is one large dormitory with bunk beds. The whole space is nicely separated though so you don’t feel bad about it. The dinner was amazing. Lot of local cheese and super tasty.

Day 7 · 2025-08-29

Relais d'Arpette

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Activities

· Catch bus at La Fouly to skip the "boring" part of the valley
· Catch bus at La Fouly to skip the "boring" part of the valley
· Take bus to Issert
· Optional side quest: Take the cable car to La Breya and walk along the ridge

Catch bus at La Fouly to skip the "boring" part of the valley

La Seiloz, L'Amônaz

Walk - Catch bus at La Fouly to skip the "boring" part of the valley → Catch bus at La Fouly to skip the "boring" part of the valley

Walk · 7 km · 2h 14m · ↑ 70 m ↓ 590 m

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↑ 70 m ↓ 590 m

2086 m1522 m

In the morning you continue down to the valley on the Swiss side. There are beautiful views - again :) - and the path pleasantly descends. We are taking a bus to skip the valley as the TMB goes by the bottom of the valley parallel to the road.

Catch bus at La Fouly to skip the "boring" part of the valley

La Seiloz, L'Amônaz

Bus - Catch bus at La Fouly to skip the "boring" part of the valley → Take bus to Issert

Bus · 8 km · 10m

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Take bus to Issert

Issert

Walk - Take bus to Issert → Optional side quest: Take the cable car to La Breya and walk along the ridge

Walk · 6 km · 2h 18m · ↑ 420 m ↓ 0 m

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↑ 420 m ↓ 0 m

1511 m1054 m

Optional side quest: Take the cable car to La Breya and walk along the ridge

La Breya

This one is a true side quest. It has nothing to do with TMB but I was really happy with did it. You can take cable car to La Breya where you can have a walk along the mountain ridge with beautiful views over the surrounding peaks. You can walk as far as you time allows to catch the last cable car back or just stay near it, have a beer and chill. We hiked like 2kms further and back. These photos we took from the cable car and from the walk up there.

Walk - Optional side quest: Take the cable car to La Breya and walk along the ridge → Relais d'Arpette

Walk · 1 km · 37m · ↑ 120 m ↓ 0 m

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↑ 120 m ↓ 0 m

1631 m1497 m

From the La Breya cable car botoom station, regardless of if you go up or not, it’s just a short walk uphill to the hutt.

Relais d'Arpette

We booked a regular apartment in Relais d’Arpette. I don’t remember exactly anymore but I think the price was very close to the other options and it was nice to have a room just for 4. Dinner was ok. It was buffet with two main meals, not great but not terrible. Decent.

Day 8 · 2025-08-30

Hôtel La Grande Ourse

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Walk - Relais d'Arpette → Hôtel La Grande Ourse

Walk · 13 km · 6h 32m · ↑ 1090 m ↓ 1430 m

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↑ 1090 m ↓ 1430 m

2663 m1295 m

There are two variants how to get to Trient, one through the valley and one over the Fenêtre d'Arpette. That's what we did. It's a more difficult climb to 2665 m but the view from there is amazing again. We had a bit of a bad luck with weather in the first half of the day but then it got better in the afternoon for the descent to Trient.

Hôtel La Grande Ourse

Trient is a lovely small village. When we were there there was the famous UTMB just happening there so we got lucky to feel the incredible atmosphere of this super famous ultra marathon.

Day 9 · 2025-08-31

Hôtel La Grande Ourse → Side quest to climb to Croix de Fer

Activities

· Side quest to climb to Croix de Fer
· Lunch at Refuge du Col de Balme
· Pick up the car

Walk - Hôtel La Grande Ourse → Side quest to climb to Croix de Fer

Walk · 7 km · 3h 56m · ↑ 950 m ↓ 0 m

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↑ 950 m ↓ 0 m

2286 m1295 m

Again, two ways how to climb to Refuge du Col de Balme. We actually did the other one which is not highlighted in this map looking into Chamonix valley, both options seems lovely.

Side quest to climb to Croix de Fer

Croix de Fer (2343 m)

This is a side quest we decided on the spot, we didn't know about it before. It's roughly 300m from the regular trail to Refuge du Col de Balme. You follow the mountain ridge, it's fairly exposed and I would do it only in good weather and if you are not scared of heights. If not, it felt safe enough though. View was simply amazing from there. Great photos of Mont Blanc, Refuge du Col de Balme as well as to the other side.

Lunch at Refuge du Col de Balme

Refuge du Col de Balme

Final beers, possible lunch and then going back to the car.

Walk - Lunch at Refuge du Col de Balme → Pick up the car

Walk · 7 km · 2h 32m · ↑ 140 m ↓ 880 m

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↑ 140 m ↓ 880 m

2203 m1365 m

Pick up the car

COL DES MONTETS

That's the end of the journey

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