Hello all,
In July, my family and I will be seeing French Switzerland and the French Alps. We are staying in Geneva as a home base. One day we will be going to Chamonix. Rick Steves mentioned that from the Aiguille du Midi view point, you can take a cable car to Aosta, Italy.
Does anyone have any recommendations for getting back to Chamonix from Aosta? Or alternatively how together from Aosta to Geneva?
Any general recommendations about Aosta would also be appreciated :)
Thank you!
Aosta is a wonderful place to spend a night or two. The method for completing the trip from Aguille du Midi is to catch the gondola to Helbronner and then down into Courmayeur, rather than into Palud, which was a bit of a distance into Courmayeur in the past. From there, you can get the bus into Aosta, which takes about an hour. Here's the problem, timewise. Your trip from Geneva to Chamonix takes 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Then you get to wait in line for the cable car to Aguille du Midi. Depending upon when you leave Geneva and when you arrive in Chamonix, this could be a lengthy wait, especially in summertime. I took the first cable car at around 8:00 or so in the morning, and there was a decent line at 7:30 when I arrived at the station. Figure an hour wait at the minimum, could be more. The trip up the mountain to the Aguille is about 20 minutes, but then figure another hour or so to Helbronner. I don't know how long the Helbronner cable car takes, but let's estimate 30 minutes down, assuming you catch it just right. That's roughly 5 hours so far from Geneva to Courmayeur, assuming you hit everything perfectly. Add another hour into Aosta, and you have a 6 hour day under your belt without seeing Aosta at all. Figure another 2 hrs or so back to Geneva, and it's a full day.
I would do the trip with a small bag and spend the night, returning the next day. The cable car ride was amazing, but it doesn't go to Aosta.
I did this route (in reverse) in 2006 and it was the best thing I've ever done in Europe. We started our day in Aosta, took a bus to La Palud (as it was in those days), took the first cable car up to Hellbronner, the second across La Vallée Blanche to L'Aiguille du Midi, and the third down to Chamonix.
Apparently the Italian station was moved from La Palud to Entrèves (not Courmayeur) in 2015.
We didn't do this, but Google Maps shows there is a bus from Entrèves to Chamonix via the Mont Blanc tunnel, which you could use to get back to Chamonix.
"Figure another 2 hrs or so back to Geneva..." This timing is by bus, such as Flixbus or other companies. It may be too early to confirm July schedules. (I saw some Flixbus departures at 16:00 in April that might be perfect but not on a test date in July.) Trains routes are much more circuitous and take all day.
Thank you so much for your advice everyone!
This is really helpful.
Sounds like it would be too much to add Aosta if I'm first doing Geneva and Chamonix, and would be better to do a day trip from Geneva to Aosta.
Just FYI, Aosta is a wonderful, laid back destination. It was a northern Roman city, sort of an outpost where legions would be quartered. There is a decent amphitheater, an old Roman gate, and other artifacts. The food is different, almost alpine, with fondutta (Italian fondue) and game dishes. I loved it, as well as the more dramatic events like the Aguille du Midi. Look for mushroom dishes and non typical Italian delicacies.
