Chamonix in Summer

robin.tarr — Sun, 14 Jun 2020 15:56:19 +0000

One of the many attractions about Samoëns is it’s proximity to so many well-known places and landmarks, from the blue glacial hues of Lake Annecy to the snow covered peaks of the Mont Blanc range in Chamonix.

Over the coming weeks we’ll be exploring a few of our favourite places to give you a taste of some of the things you can do when staying in one of our properties in the summer.

The focus of this update is Chamonix, famed for it’s iconic mountain range and in particular Mont Blanc standing at 4,810m.

No matter what your level of ability or age there is something amazing for everyone in Chamonix.

For the active there is an abundance of hikes in the valley with spectacular views in every direction, some with the option to stop for a well-earned break at a mountain refuge. You can even take one of the many ski lifts up to reach greater heights!

For the kids then there is the fun park, Domaine des Planards, with it’s summer luge or the animal park of Merlet, a magnificent 50 acre park facing the Mont Blanc range and sheltering more than 80 wild animals most of which are native to this area.

Thanks to the various transportation options in the valley you can reach a high altitude without much effort. Take a ride on the fabulous Tramway de Mont Blanc, the highest railway in France, opened in 1909, up to the start of the classical ascent of Mont Blanc, or take the Montenvers rack and pinion railway up to the Mer de Glace and take a tour of the ice cave carved into the very heart of the glacier. The Aiguille du Midi cable car takes you up to an altitude of 3,777m from where you have a 360 degree view of the French, Swiss and Italian Alps. Here you can embark on the Panoramic Mont Blanc cable car for a 50 minute trip above the glaciers and into Italy.

A trip to Chamonix wouldn’t be complete without a stop at one of it’s many fabulous restaurants. A personal favourite of ours is La Cabane des Praz. You can’t beat the views from their terrace on a sunny day overlooking the golf course of Chamonix with the Mont Blanc massif in the background!

A ride on the Tramway du Mont-Blanc!

robin.tarr — Sun, 06 Jul 2014 09:22:50 +0000

Wow! What an incredible train ride that has to rate amongst the best in the world!

Having been on the Rocky Mountaineer through the Rockies in Canada we all agreed that this has to surpass even that! The views were absolutely phenomenal.

The Tramway du Mont Blanc, which celebrated its 100^thanniversary last summer, is a miracle of alpine engineering and is the highest rack railway in France. It’s creators’ dreamt that one day it would reach the top of Mont-Blanc!

We caught the train from Le Fayet, just outside of St-Gervais, from where it climbs steeply to the open pastures of the Bellevue plateau passing villages hidden in dense pine forest before eventually terminating at the Nid d’Aigle at 2,380m. The Nid d’Aigle (or Eagle’s Nest) is the starting point for the classical ascent of Mont Blanc hence the rugged and heavily laden climbers on the train! From here you have the option of a 1 hour return walk taking you to the Glacier de Bionnassay, or the shorter 10 minutes ‘hike’ to the well equipped Refuge du Nid d’Aigle, which must make for one of the most panoramic lunch stops in the Alps.

Aside from the walks from the Nid d’Aigle there are a number of hikes commencing at the different stations along the line ranging from around half an hour to 4 hours. There are also a couple of restaurant options where you can disembark from the train and have a drink or a spot of lunch – we tried the Le Courant d’Air at the Col de Voza and enjoyed some traditional Savoyard cuisine, Croutes and Tartiflettes.

As a day-out the Tramway du Mont Blanc definitely rates as a must see when you next come to Samoens!

Chamonix – APASSION

Chamonix in Summer

A ride on the Tramway du Mont-Blanc!