Recommendations for fun stays/exploration somewhat near TMB? Family are flying into Geneva and hiking from Courmayeur to Chamonix for six days in early July. I'd love to explore, somewhat nearby, perhaps meeting them in Chamonix at the end. Priorities include beautiful vistas, moderate temps, less crowds (if possible), and shorter (1-3 mile) hikes. Interests include photography, art making, food, architecture. Less emphasis on churches and museums. Open to taking the train or driving, but not up for high-volume traffic chaos. Thank you. 😊
Posted by
Alaska
78 posts
Ruthie,
Do you want to hike or just explore? In Chamonix, you can take a glacier train or go up to Aiguille du Midi (incredible on a clear day).
Annecy is nearby, and we found Chamonix to be a bustling area with plenty of restaurants and things to do, but probably not enough to fill 6 days.
I wanted to connect my TMB with a trip to Lyon but couldn’t make that work!
Posted by
Chicago
9572 posts
If the family is off for 6 days, take advantage of the time to spend a night or two in Lyon and also visit Annecy. The later makes a nice day trip but I'd do a couple of nights for Lyon.
Posted by
Chicago
1261 posts
I would agree that Annecy is worth a day trip or at most 1 night.
Depending on how you get there, Lyon is 4-5 hours from Chamonix
and 2 hours from Annecy. So that might argue for a circle trip
Geneva -> Annecy -> Lyon -> Chamonix. Most likely Annecy will be
a madhouse.
But, if you are from Denver, you may think, well, we have mountains
in Colorado too. But those mountains are nothing like the ones in
Chamonix. I would offer that you should spend at least 3 nights
in Chamonix itself. For one thing, if it's hot in the cities, it will be
cool in the mountains (well, maybe warm in the day, but probably in
the 50's at night). Second, the sheer jaggedness and verticality of
the French Alps is staggering. We could see the top of Mont Blanc
at 16,000' from our patio deck in Chamonix at 3500'. Take the Aiguille
du Midi to 12,500', then the Panoramique across the glacier over to
Courmayeur (you can wave to your family along the way).
There is more hiking of every variety than you could ever hope to
handle in Chamonix. It is a bustling mountain town in the summer
but long and narrow in the valley (think Vail from East Vail to Edwards).
As most ski resorts these days, Chamonix has had to develop a summer
program with lots of diverse events for every interest.