French Alps area

Where are you flying home from?
You could do a little circle tour. Lyon to Annecy to Chamonix, then the Mont Blanc Express (misnamed as you have to change trains at the border) to Martigny then to Montreux or Vevey, then to Lausanne and then to Geneva.

We thought we would fly home to Seattle from either Lyon or Geneva. That sounds like a wonderful circle. Is 9 or 10 days enough time to stop at all those places or maybe we pick and choose?

9-10 days is enough time for that loop!
2-3 nights in Annecy, 3 in Chamonix, 3-4 in Vevey, Montreux or Lausanne, and a final pre-flight night in Geneva (or if flight times allow it, you could just take an early train from Lausanne/Montreux, risk of delay is minimal in Switzerland (never 0, though)).

Thanks so much! This really helps. Are there specific things to do in Chamonix that you would recommend to take advantage of the mountain views?

Chamonix is a very pretty place , and two of the major places to visit are The Aiguille du Midi lift , and the The Mer de Glace ( sea of ice ) glacier , reached by the Montenvers narrow gauge rack railway ( just behind the main train station .https://www.chamonix.net/english Also , information here on the Mont Blanc Express -https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-us/experiences/mont-blanc-express/

Thanks so much! This is exactly the sort of thing I was hoping to find out about! Sure appreciate your response.

You don't say when you are going, but if you are there during the summer, another
must-do in Chamonix is the Panoramic Mont Blanc, which goes across the glacier
from the top of the Aiguille du Midi to the Skyway Monte Bianco. Depending on your
interest in cable cars, you can almost make a day of riding them.

If you do decide to do this, get a multiday pass ahead of time - it will save you tons
of money compared to paying for each individual ride. Also, the Aiguille Du Midi
requires (well, you should make) reservations to confirm boarding time.

And the mountains will make a nice weather break from the summer heat if that's
when you are there.

I would also definitely include Annecy. If you can figure out how to do a lake cruise
or boat rental, that's a great way to see the area.

I definitely should have mentioned we will be there the second week of September. A day riding cable cars sounds like a very memorable experience! Thanks so much for your ideas and for your advice to get a multi-day pass. I will check into that right away and also make reservations for Aiguille du Midi. We are hoping the August heat of France will not be too ghastly but don’t know how realistic that is.
We are going to Annecy for 3 days either right before or right after Chamonix and a lake cruise sounds wonderful.
Do you happen to have any recommendations on where to stay in Chamonix?
Again, many thanks!

Take a look at these - https://www.hotel-oustalet.com/ and https://all.accor.com/hotel/2808/index.fr.shtml

These hotels look exactly like what we would be interested in. I will check availability. Thanks so much!

There is one more to consider , which I had forgotten - https://hotelarve-chamonix.com/en/index.php?msclkid=45dd2a0252af120cf49c4e4e367d5c9f

This looks like a great option too! Thanks very much.