Mont Blanc Tour Guide

Mont Blanc tourism runs on three lifts and one town. Chamonix, at 1,035 m on the French side, is where the day tours from Geneva stop, where the Aiguille du Midi cable car and the Montenvers train leave, and where the Tour du Mont Blanc passes on its last two stages. Courmayeur, through the 11.6 km Mont Blanc tunnel opened in 1965, is the Italian base and the start of the Skyway Monte Bianco. Everything a visitor books around the massif is some mix of these.

The mountain itself

Mont Blanc measured 4,807 m in the 2025 survey; the height moves with the ice cap, and in 2023 it was 4,805.59 m. It was first climbed on 8 August 1786 by Jacques Balmat and Michel-Gabriel Paccard. The summit sits on the border of France and Italy, and where exactly the line runs is still disputed. A day visitor does not stand on it: the highest ticket you can buy is the Aiguille du Midi terrace at 3,842 m, which looks straight across at the dome.

Three rides above the valley

The Aiguille du Midi cable car opened in 1955 and climbs in two sections, via Plan de l'Aiguille at 2,317 m. An adult return costs €60.20–83.00 in 2026, the price moving with demand, and the time-slot reservation is free and mandatory. At the top, the Step into the Void is a glass box with a 1,035 m drop below it, free to enter when crowds, frost and wind allow.

The Montenvers rack railway runs from Chamonix to 1,913 m above the Mer de Glace; the adult return is €31.50. A gondola and steps lead down to the ice cave, which closed for the autumn on 28 September. On the Italian side the Skyway Monte Bianco, opened on 23 June 2015, turns its 80-person cabins through 360° on the way from 1,300 m to Punta Helbronner at 3,466 m.

Seasons and closures

Summer, from late June to early September, is the only time everything is open at once and the time the Tour du Mont Blanc huts are staffed. The lifts close for maintenance every autumn: in 2026 the Aiguille du Midi stops from 2 November to 18 December according to Compagnie du Mont-Blanc, and the tour operators list the widest window, to 19 December; the Montenvers train closes 2 November – 4 December. Winter brings the snowshoe walks and the ski day from Geneva; spring brings the cable car back before the summer crowds.

On your own or with a tour

Going alone costs about €116–155 a day from Geneva: a bus at €12–20 each way, about 1 h 25 min on the A40, plus the lift and the train bought at the station. The coach tours cost €84–104 without the tickets and €215–227 with them, and they take care of the reservation and the timing. This site sets every Mont Blanc tour sold on GetYourGuide against that do-it-yourself total, so the gap is visible before you book.