Chamonix

From Annecy we traveled to Chamonix, which is located a little over an hour down the road. Chamonix shares the summit Mont Blanc, which is the highest mountain in the Alps, with its neighboring commune of Courmayeur in Italy, and has the appearance of a beautiful ski town like Aspen or Park City, Utah.

As we drove into the valley of Chamonix we were able to see several waterfalls coming down the mountains. Unlike Annecy, Chamonix was very easy to navigate and we were able to easily find our hotel. We ended up staying at the Hotel La Vallee Blanche. We decided on this hotel for its location, which was within walking distance of the Tourist's Welcome Center and the main streets of Chamonix for food. As for all our trips, we find Trip Advisor to be the best website to refer to for rates, reviews and recommendations. I have yet to find a hostel or hotel off this website we weren't completely satisfied with. As promised on Trip Advisor, the rooms weren't amazing, but the hotel is located next to a river, and while we slept, we were able to hear the river rustle by.

After quickly dropping our bags down, we headed over to the Tourist Welcome Center. I really enjoy starting a city this way because we find the best maps there and always get great recommendations on how best to see the city. (That's how we found out about hikes and bike rentals in Annecy.) After, learning a little about the city, we decided the best attraction in Chamonix, when there's no snow of course, is to take a cable car up to the top of Mont Blanc.

So, the following day we took the Aiguille du Midi cable car and traveled 12604 ft up into the clouds. It cost about 12,70 € per person, and it was completely worth the money. At the summit, are man made terraces that allow you a 360° view of the French, Swiss and Italian Alps. While we were traveling up the cable car a cloud cover began to hide our view, but once we made it to the top the skies opened up and we were able to see everything.

At the top.
The terraces built on top of the mountain.
Separating each terrace and level were man made ice tunnels.
At the top an additional gondola ride can take you over Glacier du Géant to the Pointe Helbronner in Italy. We decided not to take this additional trip because of the cost, and we felt we had seen everything.
From the top people were taking off to hike down. They were equipped with ice cleats, tents and skis.

The cable car ride between Chamonix and Aiguille du Midi is broken into two stages. At the intermediate stop, at a height of 7, 578 feet, the Plan de l'Aiguille offers a departure point for individuals, who aren't equipped with ice gear, to hike the rest of the way down. We decided to get off at this point and walk the rest of the way down. The hike was long, but offered some amazing pockets of water left from glaciers, great views of Chamonix and different types of scenery from large boulders to forests.