While in Geneva last summer, my sister and I took a day out to venture further afield. She booked the day trip through Trip Advisor, and I couldn’t recommend it enough. Scroll down to read more about what we got up to.
Located at the meeting point of France, Italy and Switzerland. Chamonix is a ski village at the base of Mont Blanc – the highest summit in the Alps.
Two cable cars (not for the faint-hearted) transported us to the Aiguille du Midi, with an elevator taking us further up to the summit terrace at an elevation of 3,842m. The panoramic views of the surroundings peaks are breathtaking. Needless to say I took far too many photos. It was a stunning day with clear skies and a cool temperature of 5 degrees. A whole 30 degrees lower than the temperature down in Chamonix. We did momentarily regret our choice of wearing shorts, although the scenery was worth freezing our legs off for.
When we descended to the base, we strolled through the town and grabbed lunch and pastries at Aux Petits Gourmands. Followed by gelato, of course.
We reconvened with our tour group and hopped on the red Montenvers Train for the picturesque journey to the Mer de Glace glacier. A small Gondola took us part-way to the Grotte de Glace and the rest of the journey down involved almost 500 steps. The ice-caves were a welcome relief from the heat after the long descent. The glacier is 7.5 km long, and according to Wikipedia, it moves a considerable 90 m per year in that region.
After ascending back up to the railway line, we took the train back to Chamonix to get the return coach to Geneva.
1 comment
those mountain shots are incredible! Wow the views! – x
Lavinya Royes – Fashion & Lifestyle Blog