Things to do in  Chamonix

Soaring up the rocky peak of Aiguille du Midi at 12,605 feet (3,842 meters), the Aiguille du Midi Cable Car is one of the highest in Europe. Setting out from Chamonix, the cable car has two stages, culminating in an elevator ride to the summit with spectacular views over Mont Blanc and the surrounding French and Swiss Alps.

Towering 15,771 feet (4,807 meters) above sea level, Mont Blanc is western Europe’s highest summit and a mecca for outdoor enthusiasts. Straddling the border of France and Italy, this iconic peak is considered the birthplace of modern mountaineering, and travelers still flock to Chamonix to experience it. As well as endless opportunities for hiking, mountaineering, and adventure sports, less active visitors can admire it from a cable car.

Chamonix’s Amusement Park is open year-round and offers plenty of family-friendly fun from giant swings, electric motorcycles, and water games in the summer to skiing, arcade games, and more during the winter months. The park’s most popular attraction is the exhilarating 4,265-feet (1300-meter long Alpine Coaster, which twists and turns down the mountainside.

Housed in the 20th-century Chamonix Palace, the Alpine Museum (or Le Musee Alpin celebrates the history of the Chamonix Valley and notable ascents of Mont Blanc. The museum’s collection of vintage mountain climbing equipment, old photographs, and maps draw visitors interested in mountaineering history and the development of tourism in the valley.

The Aiguille du Midi peak near Chamonix sits at a dizzying altitude of 12, 391 feet (3,777 meters), making it the closest point that sightseers can get to the Mont Blanc summit. Accessed via cable car, the peak offers viewing platforms, photo attractions, and a gondola to Italy; serious skiers use it as the starting point for the famous off-piste Vallée Blanche descent.

The distinctive blue icefields of the Bossons Glacier (Glacier des Bossons hovers over the town of Chamonix just below the Mont Blanc massif. Once stretching from the Mont Blanc summit to the village of Les Bossons below, the glacier has retreated in recent years. With chairlift service and plenty of easy hiking trails, the Bossons Glacier is one of the most easily accessible glacier hikes from Chamonix.

The Step into the Void (Aiguille du Midi Skywalk)is a glass room suspended 12,604 feet (3,842 meters) high on the summit of Aiguille du Midi mountain. Reinforced by strong steel and set on the edge of a steep cliff, the transparent box offers unobstructed views of Europe’s highest peaks, with nothing but air below.

Located 1.5 miles (2.5 kilometers) outside Chamonix city center, Lake Gaillands (Lac des Gaillands) is a man-made lake created in the early 1900s during excavation work for a nearby train line. The site quickly filled with water, creating an outdoor recreation area frequented by locals and visitors who enjoy hiking, fishing, and rock climbing at the lake.

Grands Montets Ski Area (Les Grands Montets) is the biggest and most popular ski area in Chamomix, boasting some of the largest vertical drops in the world at more than 6,561 feet (2,000 meters). Huge areas of the mountain are left ungroomed, making it a mecca for off-piste enthusiasts. The snow is exceptional here both early and late in the season.