How many days in Chamonix and queries regarding reaching Italy via cable car ride?

To reach Firenze from Cormaryeur (the Italian town at the foothill of the Mont Blanc, just across Chamonix), you need a bus ride, then trains. I think it would be a very demanding day to enjoy the Alps and go to Firenze.

In your place, what I'd do is to visit Punta Helbronner from Chamonix, go back to Chamonix, take your luggage and then the train to Martigny (Switzerland), across the scenic pass over there. Alternatively, go further to Sion. Next day, you take a train from either Martigny or Sion to Firenze, with one change in Milano Centrale.

Thank you so much for sorting it out. I can definitely try out this option to reach Florence.

I want to ask now if in chamonix 2 nights are required or if there is any possibility we can cut it down to 1 night? From what all I have researched I m pretty much Keen to do montblanc cable car and train ride to montenvers. Is it possible to do the same in one day? ( Considering we will be reaching chamonix from annecy sometime nearing noon).

The lift over to Italy was closed in 2018 ; due to storm damage that occurred during the winter.
Have no idea if it will be open in summer of 2019 ; it has always been a summer only lift so odds of finding information about it until next Spring will not be good.

The issue with 1 night, is mountain weather is always extremely unpredictable.
Giving yourself only 1 night is taking a risk; as a photographer you should recognize that.
If something you really want to photograph at a given time, you only get one chance with a 1 night stay.

In general you could do both the Aiguille du Midi and Mer De Glace in one day but would be badly timed on one of them.
Ideally both places should be visited early in the morning, as crowds get bad later.

Thank you for helping me out. I will consider these factors in account and plan accordingly.

Chamonix is a breathtaking site, one that really deserves at least two nights. With that said, your travel plans will be dictated by the time of year you are traveling and the weather. Good weather means the cable cars will be running--bad weather means you get to spend time in a bar chatting with other travelers.

As previously noted, the transit from the Aiguille du Midi to Helbronner point was/may still be out of commission. This means that you cannot cross from Chamonix into the Aosta Valley in Italy by cable car/gondola. If it is fixed, you may be able to make this journey. Check with the various websites that have information about Chamonix to determine how big a piece of luggage you can carry across.

Here is one:
https://www.chamonix.net

I believe you will need to consult a map to get a realistic idea of distances. On a good day, the trip from Aosta to Florence should take a minimum of 4 1/2 hours. Adding this to the time needed to transit on the cable car to the La Palud area in Italy (i.e. Chamonix-Aiguille du Midi-Helbronner-La Palud) assuming the cable system is open, would add another 3 hours or so, with transit to Aosta taking another hour, you are traveling for at least 8 and possibly 10 hours. Consider a night in Aosta.

Otherwise, get up early in Chamonix, do whatever cable cars you think you might want to, come back and catch the bus into Italy and spend the night in Aosta or however far you get.

Wow!! It's a great info. Thanks a ton. I will consider taking a bus from chamonix to aosta .

The best reason for spending multiple nights in Chamonix is to find a window with nice weather. I went in September 2017 and stayed three nights. I stopped at Annecy in the morning on the way from Lyon. It was a pretty town but no view that day because it was cloudy with a smattering of rain. Same overcast when I got to Chamonix but it was projected to be clear the next day. It snowed quite a bit up top overnight. A trail I wanted to hike was closed and I had to opt for a lower trail. The mountains were clear and spectacular, so I was able to get up to Midi first thing in the morning and over to Helbronner on a perfect day.

shefali,

A few additional comments to add to the others, and some questions.....

To begin with, when is this trip taking place? The Panoramic Mont Blanc (from the Aguille du Midi to Pointe Helbronner) only operates during a limited time from spring to fall. As someone else mentioned, this was closed in 2018 and I haven't seen any information yet on the status for 2019.

I suppose taking luggage on the small four-person Telecabines from Aguille to Pointe Helbronner would be possible? As others have suggested, it would be prudent to check that. You might consider just making the Aguille du Midi and the trip to Pointe Helbronner a day trip, and use more "conventional" transportation for your ongoing trip to Florence as that will be quicker and a better use of your travel time.

One important caveat to mention regarding the Aguille du Midi and Pointe Helbronner. The Aguille du MIdi is located at an elevation of about 12,600 feet (3840 M) so this could affect people that suffer from "altitude issues". Trust me, you won't have any difficulty in recognizing the condition if you're affected by it.

In the same situation, I might use this method to get from Chamonix to Florence......

• Chamonix Shuttle (there are many of these) from Chamonix to Geneva main station
• Train from Genève to Firenze Santa Maria Novella. The quickest trip from Geneva will be departures at 07:39 or 13:39. The trip is 6H:20M, with one change at Milano Centrale.

One point to note is that many European cities have more than one station, so you'll have to know which station you'll be using when you buy tickets. Also, there are some potentially expensive caveats when using trains, buses and other public transit in Italy, so you'll need to do some research on that. If you need more information, post another note here.

As this is your first European trip, I'd highly recommend reading Europe Through The Back Door prior to the trip. Use country or city specific guidebooks to plan the details such as transportation, hotels, sightseeing, etc. (preferably Rick Steves guidebooks). If you don't have access to the paper copies of guidebooks, many of Rick's books can be downloaded as E-books in different formats (Kindle, iBooks, etc.). The Kindle books can be used on PC's, Mac's, smartphones other devices simply by downloading the free Kindle app.

Good luck with your planning!